Tokugawa Hidetada

Tokugawa Hidetada (1579 – 1632) was the second shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty in the Edo Period. He ruled as shogun from 1605 to 1616 and as ogosho (retired shogun) from 1616 until 1632. During his rule he strengthened Tokugawa control of the country, persecuted Christians, closed Japan to the outside world, and ended Sengoku Jidai (the Warring States Period).

His father was Tokugawa Ieyasu. He had two older brothers. The oldest was accused of plotting to assassinate Oda Nobunaga and was executed. His second older brother, Hideyasu, was adopted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and later was given to another clan.

Hidetada spent much of his youth as a hostage of Toyotomi Hideyoshi to ensure Ieyasu’s loyalty to Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi arranged for Hidetada to marry his adopted daughter, O-hime (1585 – 1591), but she died soon afterwards. Hideyoshi also presided over Hidetada’s coming-of-age ceremony. In 1593, Hidetada was allowed to leave and return to his home.

In 1595, Hidetada married Oeyo, also known as Sugen-in (1573 – 1626), who was an adopted daughter of Hideyoshi and niece of Oda Nobunaga. Their wedding was held in Hideyoshi’s Fushimi Castle. From his marriage with Oeyo, he had two sons – Tokugawa Iemitsu (the third Tokugawa shogun) and Tokugawa Tadanaga and several daughters.

Rise of the Tokugawa

After the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the regents he appointed for his heir, Hideyori, began to quarrel. Eventually, Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated all rivals at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, becoming the most powerful man in Japan.

In this important battle, Ieyasu expected Hidetada to join him. Even though Hidetada had been given a sizable army, he was held up by the much smaller Sanada clan. Even after victory, Ieyasu was quite angry with Hidetada.

Hidetada becomes Shogun

In 1603, Ieyasu was appointed shogun. To avoid the missteps of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Ieyasu established a dynastic pattern in short order. After only two years he abdicated and appointed Hidetada as his successor. Ieyasu continued to rule as Ogosho, much like the Insei or Cloistered Emperors.

Ieyasu and Hidetada formed a dual rule, in which Hidetada carried out Ieyasu’s wishes. Ieyasu ruled as Ogosho in Sunpu Castle, until his death in 1616.  Hidetada worked with the bakufu (shogunal government) in Edo Castle.

In 1612, Hidetada arranged the marriage of his daughter and Ieyasu’s favorite granddaughter, Sen or Senhime, to Toyotomi Hideyori, who was in Osaka Castle with his mother, Yodo-dono. Hidetada’s wife, Oeyo, was the adopted daughter of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Oeyo and Yodo-dono were sisters and nieces of Oda Nobunaga. Senhime and Hideyori were cousins. While not as interwoven as the imperial family and the Fujiwara, it was off to a good start.

Ending the Warring States Era

After his poor performance in the Battle of Sekigahara, Hidetada was very anxious to prove his ability in battle and Ieyasu wanted to eliminate future risks to Tokugawa dominance, especially from Hideyori, who intrigued against the Tokugawa. Hidetada urged more aggressive actions than did Ieyasu. Hidetada still needed to prove himself while Ieyasu had success with patience and thoughtful planning. As soon as it was decided to attack Hideyori at Osaka Castle, Hidetada led a forced march from Edo Castle to Fushimi in Kyoto in only seventeen days ignoring Ieyasu’s order to rest his men, resulting in the loss of so many troops and baggage that when the force arrived in Kyoto, it was in no shape for fighting. After two campaigns the Tokugawa prevailed, but Ieyasu not Hidetada garnished the honors.

Strengthening Tokugawa Control

Over time, Hidetada proved himself not as a busho, but as a competent administrator for “the Maintenance Ages.” Ieyasu had started the dynasty and it was up to Hidetada to continue it. Hidetada was to run the bakufu strictly in accordance with his father’s wishes and he did not disappoint.

Hidetada, with Ieyasu, enacted several laws including the Code of Warrior Households that governed the daimyo and Code for Emperor and Court nobles.

Hidetada cemented Tokugawa legitimacy and its ties to the Imperial Court by marrying his daughter Kazuko (also known as Masako) to Emperor Go-Mizunoo. From this marriage, a daughter was born who became Empress Meishō.

After Ieyasu died in 1616, Hidetada filled key bakufu positions with his own close aides. He tightened the controls on daimyo, Japanese feudal lords. In foreign affairs, he limited ports of call for foreign ships to the ports of Hirado and Nagasaki, starting an isolationist policy.

In 1623, Hidetada resigned as shogun in favor of his son, Tokugawa Iemitsu. Following Ieyasu’s lead, Hidetada retained power as Ōgosho. It was during this period when the government began persecuting Christians.

In his later years Hidetada demonstrated Tokugawa strict and total control over the Imperial Court and temples and shrines in the Shie Incident or Purple Robe Incident in which he overruled the imperial court and exiled several prominent Buddhist priests. One of his last major acts was to confiscate Tadanaga’s territories and place him under house arrest.

Assessment

His ruling style has been compared to both Ieyasu’s and Iemitsu’s as follows:

Ieyasu decided everything by himself.’
Hidetada fell short of that, but decided at least half by himself.’
Iemitsu left everything to his chief retainers.’