5.1 Edo Period (1600 – 1867): The Rise and Rule of Tokugawa Ieyasu
Time Line
- 1500s Ponce de Leon in Florida (1513); Portuguese establish permanent settlement at Macau (1557); Spanish Armada (1588); Edict of Nantes ending France’s religious wars (1598); Shakespeare (1564-1616); Hapsburg Spain (1516-1700).
- 1600s: British East India Co. (1600-1874); Dutch East India Company ships Chinese ceramics to Europe (1802); Gunpowder Plot (1605); Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1617); Thirty Years War (1618-1648); Glorious Revolution England (1688); Frederick I of Prussia (1657-1713); Qing Dynasty (1644-1912)
- 1700s: War of Spanish Succession (1702-14); J. S. Bach (1685-1750); Catherine the Great of Russia (1729-1796); Seven Years War (1756-63); American Revolutionary War (1775-83), The French Revolution (1789); Coup of 18 Brumaire (1799); Mozart (1756-91); George Washington (1732-99) ; Beethoven (1770-1827).
- 1800s: Louisiana Purchase (1803); Napoleon Invades Russia (1812); First Opium War (1839-42); Crimean War (1853-56); Indian Rebellion (1857); Emancipation of Serfs in Russia (1861); American Civil War (1861-65); Bismarck (1815-98).
- 1900s: Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901); World War I (1914-18); Russian Revolution 1917; Wall Street Crash 1929; 1931 China floods; Edward VIII abdicates (1936); World War II (1939-45); Stalin (1878-1953); Churchill (1874-1965); Kennedy assassinated 1963; Vietnam War (1955-75); Cold War (1947-91)
Prior to his death Toyotomi Hideyoshi set up the Council of Five Elders to govern until his young son, Hideyori, came of age. There was an uneasy peace for a short time. Soon Ishida Mitsunari and Tokugawa Ieyasu battled for control. On October 21, 1600 Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated Mitsunari in the Battle of Sekigahara.
Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) was born in Okazaki Castle in Mikawa. Originally named Matsudaira Takechiyo, he was the son of Matsudaira Hirotada, head of the Matsudaira clan. kIeyasu was brought up during the Warring States Period in which the Matsudaira clan’s loyalties were split between two powerful neighbors, the Imagawa clan and the Oda clan.
After Battle of Okehazama, Ieyasu became an ally of Oda Nobunaga. Ieyasu participated in the Battle of Nagashino where the forces under Oda Nobunaga won a great victory.
In 1582, when Nobunaga had been killed by Akechi Mitsuhide, Ieyasu gathered an army to defeat Mitsuhide, but was too late; Toyotomi Hideyoshi had already defeated and killed Mitsuhide. Ieyasu continued to side with the Oda clan, taking up arms for Oda Nobukatsu, the eldest surviving son and heir of Oda Nobunaga, against Hideyoshi. But after an indecisive campaign the sides made peace. Ieyasu cemented loyalty with Oda Nobunaga by giving his son from one of his concubines to Hideyoshi for adoption. Now with new loyalties, Ieyasu joined with Hideyoshi in the siege of Odawara Castle.
During the siege of Odawara Castle, Hideyoshi offered Ieyasu a very intriguing deal. He offered the eight Kanto provinces, currently being held by the Later Hōjō in the castle, in exchange for five provinces Ieyasu currently held, including his home province of Mikawa. This was part of Hideyoshi’s plan to move daimyō around for his political purposes. For Ieyasu it was risky. Nevertheless, Ieyasu accepted the offer and the risks. Ieyasu took control of their provinces and occupied Edo. Ieyasu was able to pacify the Hōjō samurai, improve economic conditions, and amass great wealth there. This gave Ieyasu much autonomy, while he safely stayed his distance from Hideyoshi.
Ieyasu was appointed to Hideyoshi’s Council of Five to govern until Hideyoshi’s young son, Toyotomi Hideyori, came of age. A power struggle developed and Ieyasu emerged victorious in the Battle of Sekigahara.
After the Battle of Sekigahara, Ieyasu seized 90 fiefs, ended many opposing daimyō houses, reduced the size of others, and distributed the booty and spoils of war to his allies and family. Strengthening his hand, Emperor Go-Yōzei made him shogun in 1603.
Like Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, Ieyasu instituted reforms to stabilize the country under greater central authority. He restored the bakufu (tent government). In 1605, he retired, bestowing the title to his heir and son, Hidetada, while keeping the real power. He instituted a new system of classifying daimyō: the shinpan (related houses) who were related to Ieyasu and whose fiefs bordered his holdings; the fudai, who were daimyō rewarded for faithful service; finally, the tozama (outside vassals) who were former opponents or new allies. Within the shinpan were the estates of three of Ieyasu’s sons called the go-sanke. They were eligible to supply a member to be shogun if there was no son in the direct line.
In foreign affairs Ieyasu often relied on William Adams for advice. William Adams (1564-1620), known in Japanese as Miura Anjin (the pilot of Miura) encouraged Ieyasu to trade with the Netherlands. He helped build the first Western-style sea-going ships in Japan. He was also involved in Japan’s Red Seal Asian trade. Ieyasu favored trade with the Netherlands. He came to view missionaries as foreign agents. The Korean Joseon dynasty and China sent ambassadors to the Tokugawa shogunate.
Ieyasu maintained good relations with the court and emperor. However, Ieyasu had the imperial court and its officials strictly supervised, reducing them to ceremonial figureheads.
Ieyasu had one last threat and that was Toyotomi Hideyori, the son and heir to Hideyoshi. By 1614, Hideyori was now grown and a daimyō residing in Osaka Castle. Ieyasu ordered Hideyori to leave Osaka Castle; Hideyori refused. Ieyasu along with his son, the Shogun Hidetada, brought a large army and laid siege to Osaka Castle, after two separate actions, “the Winter Siege of Osaka” and “the Summer Siege of Osaka,” Osaka Castle fell in 1615 and most of the defenders were killed.
Hideyori and Yodo-dono committed seppuku. Hideyori and Senhime (Ieyasu’s granddaughter) had one child, Toyotomi Kunimatsu. This boy was a living link between the three unifiers of Japan: the grandchild of Hideyoshi, the great-grandchild of Ieyasu, and the great-nephew of Oda Nobunaga. However that did not save him. The seven year old Kunimatsu was captured and decapitated. With the Toyotomi line extinguished, there were no threats to the Tokugawa clan’s continued rule of Japan.