Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; January 31, 1543 – June 1, 1616) was the founder and first shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow Oda subordinate Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The son of a minor daimyo, Ieyasu once lived as a hostage under daimyo Imagawa Yoshimoto on behalf of his father. He later succeeded as daimyo after his father's death, serving as ally, vassal, and general of the Oda clan, and building up his strength under Oda Nobunaga.

After Oda Nobunaga's death, Ieyasu was briefly a rival of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, before declaring his allegiance to Toyotomi and fighting on his behalf. Under Toyotomi, Ieyasu was relocated to the Kanto plains in eastern Japan, away from the Toyotomi power base in Osaka. He built his castle in the fishing village of Edo (now Tokyo). He became the most powerful daimyo and the most senior officer under the Toyotomi regime. Ieyasu preserved his strength during Toyotomi's failed attempts to conquer Korea. After Hideyoshi's death, Ieyasu seized power in 1600, after the Battle of Sekigahara.

He received appointment as shōgun in 1603, and voluntarily resigned from his position in 1605, although he still held the de facto control of government until his death in 1616. He implemented a set of careful rules known as the bakuhan system, designed to keep the daimyo and samurai in check under the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Early life (1543–1562)
Tokugawa Ieyasu was born in Okazaki Castle on the 26th day of the twelfth month of the eleventh year of Tenbun, according to the Japanese calendar. Originally named Matsudaira Takechiyo (松平 竹千代), he was the son of Matsudaira Hirotada (松平 広忠), the daimyo of Mikawa of the Matsudaira clan, and Odai no Kata (於大の方), the daughter of a neighbouring samurai lord, Mizuno Tadamasa (水野 忠政). His mother and father were step-siblings. They were 17 and 15 years old, respectively, when Takechiyo was born.

During the Muromachi period, the Matsudaira clan controlled a portion of Mikawa Province (the eastern half of modern Aichi Prefecture). Ieyasu's father, Matsudaira Hirotada, was a minor local warlord based at Okazaki Castle who controlled a portion of the Tōkaidō highway linking Kyoto with the eastern provinces. His territory was sandwiched between stronger and predatory neighbors, including the Imagawa clan based in Suruga Province to the east and the Oda clan to the west. Hirotada's main enemy was Oda Nobuhide, the father of Oda Nobunaga.

In the year of Takechiyo's birth, the Matsudaira clan was split. In 1543, Hirotada's uncle, Matsudaira Nobutaka defected to the Oda clan. This gave Oda Nobuhide the confidence to attack Okazaki. Soon afterwards, Hirotada's father-in-law died, and his heir, Mizuno Nobumoto, revived the clan's traditional enmity against the Matsudaira and declared for Oda Nobuhide as well. As a result, Hirotada divorced Odai-no-kata and sent her back to her family. Hirotada later remarried to different wives, and Takechiyo eventually had 11 half-brothers and sisters.

Hostage life


As Oda Nobuhide continued to attack Okazaki, Hirotada turned to his powerful eastern neighbor, Imagawa Yoshimoto for assistance. Yoshimoto agreed to an alliance under the condition that Hirotada send his young heir to Sunpu Domain as a hostage. Oda Nobuhide learned of this arrangement and had Takechiyo abducted. Takechiyo was five years old at the time. Nobuhide threatened to execute Takechiyo unless his father severed all ties with the Imagawa clan. However, Hirotada refused, stating that sacrificing his own son would show his seriousness in his pact with the Imagawa. Despite this refusal, Nobuhide chose not to kill Takechiyo, but instead held him hostage for the next three years at the Honshōji Temple in Nagoya. It was said that Oda Nobunaga met Takechiyo at the temple, when Takechiyo was 6 years old, and Nobunaga was 14. However, Katsuhiro Taniguchi reported there is no concrete historical records about this story of first meeting between Ieyasu with Nobunaga.

In 1549, when Takechiyo was 6, his father Hirotada died of unknown causes. There was a popular theory that he was murdered by his vassals, who had been bribed by the Oda clan. However, recent research stated that the assassination theory was unreliable and Hirotada's death may have been caused by a natural illness. At about the same time, Oda Nobuhide died during an epidemic. Nobuhide's death dealt a heavy blow to the Oda clan.

In 1551, an army under the command of Imagawa Sessai laid siege to the castle where Oda Nobuhiro, Nobuhide's illegitimate eldest son was living. Nobuhiro was trapped by the Imagawa clan but was saved through negotiation by Oda Nobunaga, Nobuhide's second son and heir. Sessai made an agreement with Nobunaga to take Takechiyo back to Imagawa, and he agreed. Takechiyo, now nine years old, was taken as a hostage to Sunpu. At Sunpu, he was treated fairly well as a potentially useful ally of the Imagawa clan until 1556 when he was 14 years old. Yoshimoto decided that the Matsudaira clan's territory will be inherited by Takechiyo in the future, with the aim that Imagawa clan could rule the area by extensions of their Matsudaira clan as their vassal, this including Zuien-in (the daughter of Matsudaira Nobutada and Takechiyo's great-aunt), who was the only member of the Anjo Matsudaira clan left in Okazaki Castle.

Service under Imagawa clan
In 1556, Takechiyo officially came of age, with Imagawa Yoshimoto presiding over his genpuku ceremony. Following tradition, he changed his name from Matsudaira Takechiyo to Matsudaira Jirōsaburō Motonobu (松平 次郎三郎 元信). He was also briefly allowed to visit Okazaki to pay his respects to the tomb of his father, and receive the homage of his nominal retainers, led by the karō Torii Tadayoshi.

One year later, at the age of 15 (according to East Asian age reckoning), he married his first wife, Lady Tsukiyama, a relative of Imagawa Yoshimoto, and changed his name again to Matsudaira Kurandonosuke Motoyasu (松平 蔵人佐 元康). A year later, their son, Matsudaira Nobuyasu, was born. He was then allowed to return to Mikawa Province. There, the Imagawa ordered him to fight the Oda clan in a series of battles.

Motoyasu fought his first battle in 1558 at the siege of Terabe. The lord of Terabe, Suzuki Shigeteru (or Suzuki Shigetatsu), betrayed the Imagawa by defecting to Oda Nobunaga. This was nominally within Matsudaira territory, so Imagawa Yoshimoto entrusted the campaign to Motoyasu and his retainers from Okazaki. Motoyasu led the attack in person, but after taking the outer defences, he burned the main castle and withdrew. As anticipated, the Oda forces attacked his rear lines, but Motoyasu was prepared and drove off the Oda army.

He then succeeded in delivering supplies in the siege of Odaka a year later. Odaka was the only one of five disputed frontier forts under attack by the Oda clan which remained under Imagawan control. Motoyasu launched diversionary attacks against the two neighboring forts, and when the garrisons of the other forts came to assist, Motoyasu's supply column was able to reach Odaka.

By 1559 the leadership of the Oda clan had passed to Oda Nobunaga. In 1560, Imagawa Yoshimoto leading a large army of 25,000 men, invaded Oda territory. Motoyasu was assigned a separate mission to capture the stronghold of Marune in the Siege of Marune operation. As a result, he and his men were not present at the Battle of Okehazama where Yoshimoto was killed in a surprise assault by Nobunaga, In the end, Ieyasu on the process managed in capturing Marune castle. Later, in response of the news about Yoshimoto's death Ieyasu sent out lookouts to check the state of the battle, and then retreated from Otaka Castle at midnight. After leaving Otaka Castle, the Tokugawa forces headed for Okazaki with Asai Michitada as their guide. On the way, they were stopped by the Mizuno clan's forces at Chiryu (Chiryu), but because Asai Michitada was with them, they were not attacked. Having escaped from danger, Ieyasu entered Daijuji Temple outside Okazaki Castle on the following day, the 20th.

With Imagawa Yoshimoto dead, and the Imagawa clan in a state of confusion, Ieyasu used the opportunity to assert his independence and marched his men back into the abandoned Okazaki Castle and reclaimed his ancestral seat. Ieyasu then decided to ally with Oda Nobunaga. A secret deal was needed because Ieyasu's wife, Lady Tsukiyama, and infant son, Nobuyasu, were held hostage in Sunpu by Imagawa Ujizane, Yoshimoto's heir.

In 1561, Ieyasu openly broke his allegiance with the Imagawa clan and captured the Kaminogō castle. Kaminogō was held by Udono Nagamochi. Resorting to stealth, Motoyasu forces under Hattori Hanzō attacked under cover of darkness, setting fire to the castle, and capturing two of Udono's sons, whom he used as hostages to exchange for his wife and son.

Ieyasu-Nobunaga Alliance (1562–1582)
Sometime in the aftermath of the Okehazama battle where Imagawa Yoshimoto was slain, Ieyasu formed the so-called Kiyosu Alliance with Oda Nobunaga, daimyo lord of Owari Province and the head of Oda clan.

In 1563, Matsudaira Nobuyasu, the first son of Motoyasu, was married to Oda Nobunaga's daughter Tokuhime. In February, Matsudaira Motoyasu changed his name to Matsudaira Ieyasu. Some historian believe that these actions stimulated the pro-Imagawa faction, including the Sakurai and Okusa Matsudaira families, which led to the simultaneous uprising against Ieyasu in the following year.

Unification of Mikawa


During this period, the Matsudaira clan also faced a threat from the Ikkō-ikki movement, where peasants banded together with militant monks under the Jōdo Shinshū sect, and rejected the traditional feudal social order. Ieyasu undertook several battles to suppress this movement in his territories, including the Battle of Azukizaka (1564). In the Ikkō-ikki ranks were some of Ieyasu's vassals, like Honda Masanobu and Natsume Yoshinobu, who had deserted him for the Ikkō-ikki rebellion out of religious sympathy. However, many of Ieyasu's core vassals who were also followers of the sect such as Ishikawa Ienari, and Honda Tadakatsu quickly abandoned the Ikkō faith of Jōdo Shinshū and stayed loyal to Ieyasu to strike on the rebels. On January 15, 1564, Ieyasu had decided to concentrate his forces to attack and eliminate the Ikkō-ikki from Mikawa. In the Battle of Azukizaka, Ieyasu was fighting in the front line and was nearly killed when struck by several bullets which did not penetrate his armour. Both sides were using the new gunpowder weapons which the Portuguese had introduced to Japan just 20 years earlier. At the end of battle, the Ikkō-ikki were defeated. By 1565, Ieyasu became master of all of Mikawa Province.

In 1566, as Ieyasu declared his independence from the Imagawa clan, he reformed the order of Mikawa province starting with the Matsudaira clan, after he pacified Mikawa. This decision was made after he counseled by his senior vassal Sakai Tadatsugu to abandon their allegiance with the Imagawa clan. He also strengthened his powerbase by creating a military government system of Tokugawa clan in Mikawa which based from his hereditary vassals Fudai daimyō. The system which called "Sanbi no gunsei" (三備の軍制) with the structure divide the governance into three sections:


 * 1) Hatamoto-Senshi: Ieyasu's direct vassals unit of army. Their task was to personally protect Ieyasu, the earliest commanders of this unit such as Matsudaira Ietada (Tojo), Torii Mototada, Honda Tadakatsu, Sakakibara Yasumasa, Ōkubo Tadayo, Osuga Yasutaka, Uomura Iezumi, and others
 * 2) Higashi Mikawa: unit of Western Mikawa province army, put under the control of Sakai Tadatsugu as overall commander, the commanders of this unit consisted of many Matsudaira clansmen and other hereditary vassals of Tokugawa such as Matsudaira Ietada (Fukōzu), Matsudaira Tadamasa, Matsudaira Ietada (Katahara), and others
 * 3) Nishi-Mikawa: unit of Eastern Mikawa province army, put under the control of Ishikawa Ienari (De jure, De facto was his nephew, Ishikawa Kazumasa) as overall commander, the commanders of this unit consisted of many Matsudaira clansmen and other hereditary vassals which assigned on eastern side of the province, such as Shimada Heizo, Hiraiwa Chikayoshi, Naitō Ienaga, Sakai Tadatoshi, Matsudaira Shinichi, and others.

Tokugawa clan
In 1567, Ieyasu started the family name "Tokugawa", finally changing his name to Tokugawa Ieyasu. As he was a member of the Matsudaira clan, he claimed descent from the Seiwa Genji branch of the Minamoto clan. However, as there is no proof that the Matsudaira clan were descendants of Emperor Seiwa, The Emperor initially did not approve the appointment, citing the lack of a precedent for the Serada clan of the Seiwa Genji clan being appointed as Mikawa no Kami. Ieyasu then consulted with imperial noble Konoe Motohisa through mediation of a Mikawa native and abbot of Kyo Seiganji Temple. Due to Motohisa's efforts, Yoshida Kaneyoshi discovered a genealogical document in the Manri-koji family that was a precedent, saying, "Tokugawa (belongs) to Minamoto clan, as another offshoot of the Fujiwara clan," and a copy was transferred to him and used for the application. Then after passing several steps, Ieyasu gained permission of the Imperial Court, after writing a petition, and he was bestowed the courtesy title Mikawa-no-kami (Lord of Mikawa) and the court rank of Junior 5th Rank, Lower Grade (從五位下). Though the Tokugawa clan could claim some modicum of freedom, they were very much subject to the requests of Oda Nobunaga. Ieyasu remained an ally of Nobunaga and his Mikawa soldiers were part of Nobunaga's army which captured Kyoto

in 1568. At the same time, Ieyasu was eager to expand eastward to Tōtōmi Province. Ieyasu and Takeda Shingen, the head of the Takeda clan in Kai Province, made an alliance for the purpose of conquering all the Imagawa territory. Regarding the division of the Imagawa territory with the Takeda clan, it is said that the Tokugawa clan had made an agreement with the Takeda clan that the eastern Suruga Province would become Takeda territory and the western Tōtōmi province would be Tokugawa territory, with the Ōi River as the border. However, on January 8, 1569, the Takeda vassal Akiyama Nobutomo invaded the Tōtōmi province from Shinano Province. The Takeda clan, through Oda Nobunaga, with whom they had a friendly relationship, asked Ieyasu, who was Nobunaga's ally, to reconsider cooperation with the Takeda, but Ieyasu rejected the idea, and Ieyasu is considered to have been in a position of independence from Nobunaga to a certain extent. However, until around April of the first year of the Genki era, diplomatic negotiations were being conducted between Sakakibara Yasumasa and Tsuchiya Masatsugu, who acted as intermediaries between the two sides.

Tōtōmi campaign
In 1568, Ieyasu besieged the Horikawa Castle in Tōtōmi. However, the castle were only captured in 1569. After it was captured, Ieyasu ordered Ishikawa Hanzaburo to massacre the castle prisoners and castle denizens, including women and children. It was recorded that around 700 people were beheaded on the banks of the Miyakoda River. Ōkubo Tadachika, who witnessed this massacre testified in his personal journal, Mikawa Monogatari, that "... both mens and womens can be cut into pieces [sic]...".

Later, in the same year of 1569, Ieyasu's troops penetrated into Tōtōmi Province. Meanwhile, Takeda Shingen's troops captured Suruga Province (including the Imagawa capital of Sunpu). Imagawa Ujizane fled to Kakegawa Castle, which led to Ieyasu laying siege to Kakegawa. Ieyasu then negotiated with Ujizane, promising that if Ujizane should surrender himself and the remainder of Tōtōmi, Ieyasu would assist Ujizane in regaining Suruga. Ujizane had nothing left to lose, and Ieyasu immediately ended his alliance with Takeda, instead making a new alliance with Takeda's enemy to the north, Uesugi Kenshin of the Uesugi clan. Through these political manipulations, Ieyasu gained the support of the samurai of Tōtōmi Province. Furthermore, Ieyasu also assigned the "Iinoya's trio" (Iinoya-Sanninshu) clans under the command of his trusted vassal, Ii Naomasa. The Iinoya trio were a powerful clans that originated from eastern side of Mikawa who contributed much for Ieyasu expansion during his conquest of former Imagawa territories in Tōtōmi Province.

In 1570, Ieyasu established Hamamatsu as the capital of his territory, placing his son Nobuyasu in charge of Okazaki.

Campaign against Asakura-Azai clan
Asakura Yoshikage, head of the Asakura clan and regent of Ashikaga Yoshiaki, refused to come to Kyōto. This caused Nobunaga to declare them as rebels. Several reports from Mikawa Monogatari, Nobunaga Koki, Tokugawa Jikki, and a supplement from Ietada Nikki recorded Ieyasu and his forces also participating in this punitive campaign where they fought and captured Mount Tenzutsu castle, while the Oda-Tokugawa forces managed to kill 1,370 enemies on April 25. They continued afterwards the next day where they besieged the Kanegasaki castle However, as the Azai clan sent reinforcements to relieve the siege, Nobunaga retreated without contacting Ieyasu. After dawn, Ieyasu was guided by Kinoshita Tokichi (later Toyotomi Hideyoshi), an Oda vassal, to withdraw from the battle.

Later, in mid 1570, Azai Nagamasa, the brother-in-law of Nobunaga, broke his alliance with the Oda clan during the siege of Kanegasaki. Nobunaga was ready to punish Nagamasa for his treachery and Ieyasu led 5,000 of his men to support Nobunaga at the battle. As the Oda clan engaged the Azai clan army on the right, Tokugawa forces engaged the Asakura clan's army on the left. At first, the Asakura army gained the advantage as they steadily pushed back the Tokugawa army. However, Honda Tadakatsu suddenly launched a lone, suicidal charge, while Sakakibara Yasumasa launched his force in timely counterattack on Asakura's flank; they managed to beat the Asakura forces. Furthermore, as Ieyasu's army was now free to move, they exploited the gap between Asakura and Azai forces while sending Tadakatsu and Yasumasa to attack the flank of Azai's army formation, causing the battle to be won by Oda-Tokugawa forces.

Suruga campaign against Takeda clan
In October 1571, Takeda Shingen broke the alliance with the Oda-Tokugawa forces and allied with the Odawara Hōjō clan. He decided to make a drive for Kyoto at the urgings of the shōgun Ashikaga Yoshiaki, starting with invading Tokugawa lands in Tōtōmi. Takeda Shingen's first objective in his campaign against Ieyasu was Nishikawa Castle, Yoshida Castle and Futamata Castle. In 1572, after besieging Futamata, Shingen would press on past Futamata towards the major Tokugawa home castle at Hamamatsu. Later, Ieyasu asked for help from Nobunaga, who sent him some 3,000 troops. Early in 1573 the two armies met at the Battle of Mikatagahara, north Hamamatsu. The considerably larger Takeda army, under the expert direction of Shingen, overwhelmed Ieyasu's troops and caused heavy casualties. Despite his initial reluctance, Ieyasu was convinced by his generals to retreat. The battle was a major defeat, but in the interests of maintaining the appearance of dignified withdrawal, Ieyasu brazenly ordered the men at his castle to light torches, sound drums, and leave the gates open, to properly receive the returning warriors. To the surprise and relief of the Tokugawa army, this spectacle made the Takeda generals suspicious of being led into a trap, so they did not besiege the castle and instead made camp for the night. This error would allow a band of Tokugawa soldiers to raid the camp in the ensuing hours, further upsetting the already disoriented Takeda army, and ultimately resulting in Shingen's decision to call off the offensive altogether. Takeda Shingen would not get another chance to advance on Hamamatsu, much less Kyoto, since he died from unknown cause shortly after the siege of Noda Castle later that same year.

In 1574, as Shingen was succeeded by his son Takeda Katsuyori, the conflict continued as the Tokugawa forces under Honda Tadakatsu and Sakakibara Yasumasa seized many of the Takeda clan's castles, including Komyo castle. At some point, Ieyasu tried to capture Inui Castle in Tōtōmi Province, however strong resistance from its garrison commander, Amano Kagehira, forced Ieyasu to abort the siege. During their retreat, Kagehira launched a counterattack to pursue Ieyasu, which was repelled by Mizuno Tadashige and Torii Mototada who led the rearguard.

In 1575, on April, Ōga Yashirō a deputy governor of over 20 villages in Oku district of Mikawa under Matsudaira Nobuyasu, was arrested by Ōkubo Tadayo Yashirō and paraded him around Hamamatsu Castle, before Tadayo executed Yashirō brutally by mutilating him alive with a saw, while Tadayo crucified the wife and children of Yashirō. According to the investigation, Yashirō was implicated of betrayal allegation for colluding with Takeda Katsuyori to invade the Tokugawa clan's territory. According to a letter, Yashiro had teamed up with Takeda Katsuyori of Kai to seize Okazaki Castle. However, one of Yashiro's colleague, Yamada Hachizō, betrayed Yashiro and passed on information about the rebellion to Nobuyasu. Meanwhile, Ieyasu himself also learned further crime of Yashirō of corruptions in governance through one of his vassal's report. On June, during Takeda Katsuyori's raid through Mikawa Province, he attacked Yoshida Castle and besieged Nagashino Castle. Ieyasu appealed to Nobunaga for help and Nobunaga came personally with 30,000 strong men. The Oda-Tokugawa forces of 38,000 won a great victory and successfully defended Nagashino Castle. Though the Takeda forces had been destroyed, Katsuyori survived the battle and retreated back to Kai Province. For the next seven years, Ieyasu and Katsuyori fought a series of small battles, as the result of which Ieyasu's troops managed to wrestle control of Suruga Province away from the Takeda clan.

Nobuyasu Incident
In 1579, Lady Tsukiyama, Ieyasu's wife, and his heir Nobuyasu were accused by Nobunaga of conspiring with Takeda Katsuyori to assassinate Nobunaga, whose daughter Tokuhime was married to Nobuyasu. For this reason, Ieyasu ordered his wife to be executed and forced his son to commit seppuku.

There are various theories regarding this incident. According to the "Mikawa Monogatari'", which was written by Ōkubo Tadachika, Tokuhime (wife of Nobuyasu), who was not on good terms with her mother-in-law Tsukiyama-dono, wrote in a letter to her father, Nobunaga, that her mother-in-law and her husband were secretly conspiring with Takeda Katsuyori.

However, this hypothesis was considered obsolete by various historians in the modern era. According to Katsuhiro Taniguchi, the more plausible theory was there was friction within the house of Tokugawa clan between two factions with conflicting ideals, as proposed by the Japanese writer Tenkyu Goro. One faction was active on the front lines and had many opportunities to advance their careers, dubbed the "Hamamatsu Castle Faction." The other faction was the "Okazaki Castle Faction," which consisted of Tokugawa vassals responsible for logistical support due to past injuries and other factors that caused them to play a lesser role in the current politics of Tokugawa clan. According to this theory, the conflict between these two factions eventually led to a conflict between Ieyasu and his son Nobuyasu, who represented the Okazaki faction, finally ending with Nobuyasu's death in prison. Nobuyasu planned to exile Ieyasu with the help of the Okazaki Castle faction. Before and after his son's execution, Ieyasu punished or executed many of those who worked at Okazaki Castle, and some escaped from the castle. Taniguchi theorized that Tsukiyama also participated in the coup d'état that was going on in Okazaki Castle. Furthermore, Sakai Tadatsugu, the most prominent general of Ieyasu, also may have played a role in confirming Oda Nobunaga's suspicion of the alleged betrayal against the Oda clan being planned by Nobuyasu Tsukiyama. Nobunaga thus may have concluded that if a high-ranking Fudai daimyō such as Tadatsugu confirmed the accusation against Lady Tsukiyama, then her treason must be true.

It was said in another theory that Tadatsugu was actually conspiring with the mother of Ieyasu, Odai no Kata, to get rid of Lady Tsukiyama. Arthur Lindsay Sadler theorized this was a deliberate act of spite from Tadatsugu due to many senior Tokugawa clan generals' dislike of Nobuyasu.

In the same year Ieyasu named his third son, Tokugawa Hidetada, as his heir since his second son had been adopted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who would later become an extremely powerful daimyo.

Takeda clan annihilation
In 1580, Ieyasu built up around five fortresses in order to isolate the Takatenjin castle from external supplies and reinforcements. In addition of those 5 new fortresses, Ieyasu renovated an old castle named Ogasayama fort, which originally built by Ieyasu far before the conquest of Tōtōmi Province against Imagawa clan to capture Kakegawa Castle. As these six fortresses completed, Ieyasu assigned Ishikawa Yasumichi to garrison the Ogasayama fort, Honda Yasushige to garrison the Nogasaka fort, Osuga Yasutaka to garrison the Higamine fort, Shishigahana Fort and Nakamura Fort, while Sakai Ietada was appointed to garrison the Mitsuiyama fort. With the completion of those cluster of castles which were referred as "six fortresses of Takatenjin", the Takatenjin castle which was defended by Okabe Motonobu, immediately suffered a period of starvation as they were deprived of any sources or supplies to sustain the population inside the castle, while the siege outside the castle by Oda-Tokugawa forces intensified. In response, Motonobu tried to negotiate truce with Ieyasu by offering Takisakai Castle and Koyama Castle to be given for Ieyasu in exchange that Takatenjin castle be spared from the siege. However, after Ieyasu consulted this matter to Nobunaga, he refused Motonobu's plea, as Nobunaga stated his reason in a letter that if Takeda Katsuyori sent his forces to assist Motonobu, then there would be an opportunity to bait Takeda clan's army out and annihilate them on the field. Meanwhile, Nobunaga also stated a further reason that if Katsuyori neglected Motonobu from any help, it would damage the Takeda clan's credibility as they could not save their own vassals.

In 1581, Ieyasu forces managed to subdue Tanaka castle,  and recapture Takatenjin castle, where Okabe Motonobu was killed during the fight.

The end of the war with Takeda Katsuyori came in 1582 when a combined Oda-Tokugawa force attacked and conquered Kai Province, where Katsuyori was cornered and defeated at the Battle of Tenmokuzan, and then committed seppuku. Then as the Takeda clan practically annihilated as political entity, Nobunaga gave Ieyasu the right to govern Suruga Province in recognition of his service to fight the Takeda clan.

Tokugawa expansions (1582–1584)
In late June 1582, before the incident at Honnō-ji temple, Oda Nobunaga invited Ieyasu to tour the Kansai region in celebration of the demise of the Takeda clan. When he learned that Nobunaga had been killed at the Honnō-ji temple by Akechi Mitsuhide.

"Shinkun Iga-goe" journey
Tokugawa Ieyasu heard the news in Hirakata, Osaka, but at the time, he had only few companions with him. The Iga province track were also in danger of the Ochimusha-gari, or "Samurai hunters" gang Ieyasu and his party, therefore, chose the shortest route back to the Mikawa Province by crossing the Iga Province, which was differed in many versions according to primary sources such as the records of Tokugawa Nikki or Mikawa Todai-Hon:


 * The Tokugawa Nikki theory stated that Ieyasu taking the roads to Shijonawate and Son'enji, then following the stream of Kizu river until they spent a night in Yamaguchi castle. The next day they reached a stronghold of Kōka ikki clan of Tarao who allowing them to take refugee for night. Then in the last day, Ieyasu group using a ship from Shiroko to reach Okazaki Castle. However, The Tokugawa Nikki theory were doubted by modern historians, since it was not the shortest route for Ieyasu to reach Mikawa from his starting position at Sakai, while on the other hand, it was also considered by history researchers as very risky path due to the existence of Iga ikki clans which were hostile to Oda and Tokugawa clan.
 * The Mikawa Toda-Hon stated that Ieyasu went north from Ogawadate, crossed Koka, and entered Seishu Seki (from Shigaraki, passed through Aburahi and entered Tsuge in Iga. This theory was championed by Modern Japanese historian such as Tatsuo Fujita from Mie University, who take this material to formulate three different theories about the details of Ieyasu's trek that he propagated. This theory also supported by a group or history researchers of Mie city, which happened to be the descendants of Kōka ikki clans. The researchers stated that by taking this path, before Ieyasu group reached Kada pass where they could be escorted by the Kōka clan Jizamurai, Ieyasu mostly depended his protection on his high-rank vassals, particularly the four Shitennō (Tokugawa clan) generals of Tokugawa clan, rather than the popular theory about the help of "Iga Ninja" clans.



Regardless which theory was true, historians agreed that the track ended Kada(a mountain pass between Kameyama town and Iga), Tokugawa group suffered a last attack by the Ochimusha-gari outlaws at Kada pass where they reached the territory of Kōka ikki clans of Jizamurai who are friendly to the Tokugawa clan. The Koka ikki samurais assisted Ieyasu to eliminate the threats of Ochimusha-gari outlaws and escorting them until they reached Iga Province, where they further protected by other allied clans from Iga ikki which accompany the Ieyasu group until they safely reach Mikawa. There are many high ranking vassals of Tokugawa clan who accompany Ieyasu such as Sakai Tadatsugu, Ii Naomasa, and Honda Tadakatsu, Sakakibara Yasumasa and many others.

Portuguese missionary Luís Fróis has recorded in his work History of Japan, that during this journey, Tokugawa retainers such as Sakai Tadatsugu, Ii Naomasa and Honda Tadakatsu fought their way out against the raids and harassments of Ochimusha-gari outlaws during their march escorting Ieyasu, while sometimes also paying bribes of gold and silver to the Ochimusha-gari outlaws which they could bribe. Matsudaira Ietada recorded in his journal, Ietada nikki (家忠日記), the escorts of Ieyasu has suffered around 200 casualties during their journey, as when they arived at Ietada's residence in Mikawa, they only left about 34 personnels, including high ranking Tokugawa generals such as Tadatsugu, Naomasa, Tadakatsu, Sakakibara, Ōkubo Tadayo, Hattori Hanzō, and others.

Tenshō-Jingo war
After Ieyasu has reached Mikawa from his dangerous journey to escape the Honnō-ji, he immediately move out to shift his focus on the large former Takeda clan territory as he expected unrests there. as preemptive measure, Ieyasu dispatched his vassal Honda Nobutoshi to contact Kawajiri Hidetaka, who ruled Suwa District as a vassal of the Oda clan, and requested cooperation from Kawajiri.

Meanwhile, Ieyasu had Yoda Nobushige, former Takeda clan governor of Saku district who as been hidden in the Tokugawa territory and maintain contact with Ieyasu for certain period, to organize contacts with other Takeda clan remaining vassals to restore orders after the chaos following the death of Nobunaga. At that moment, Nobushige was settled in the secluded village of Osawa. However, at the same time, Uesugi clan and the Hōjō clan also mobilized their forces to invade Shinano Province, Kōzuke Province, and Kai Province (currently Gunma Prefecture), which ruled by the remnants of the many small clans formerly serving Takeda clan, as they learned the death of Nobunaga. This caused the triangle conflict between those three factions in the event which dubbed by historians as Tenshō-Jingo War (天正壬午の乱) broke out.

Preeliminary movements
At first the Hōjō clan who ruled Kantō region also led an army of 55,000 men to invade Shinano Province through Usui, as they aimed to prevent the Tokugawa incursion to Kai. By June 13, the Hōjō clan had captured Iwadono Castle in Tsuru District, and instructed Watanabe Shozaemon, a local magnate from Tsuru District to assist them in their conquest. Subsequently, Sanada Masayuki led his army and received Numata Castle to the Uesugi clan. On June 14 however, Kawajiri Hidetaka killed Honda Nobutoshi. This followed with an uprising from many clans in Kai province against Hidetaka on the following day, which resulted in Hidetaka being killed in June 18. The Hōjō also gained support from ex-takeda vassal from Hoshina clan which led by Hoshina Masatoshi and his sons Hoshina Masanao and Naitō Masaaki. By the end of June, they had secured territory except for the areas controlled by the Sanada in Numata and Agatsuma.

Meanwhile, Ieyasu immediately marched his 8,000 soldiers to those disputed region, then splitting his army into two parts, with separate detachment led Sakai Tadatsugu and Ogasawara Nobumine goes to pacify Shinano Province, while Ieyasu himself took the main forces to pacify Kai. However, Tadatsugu and Nobumine met with unexpected resistance from Suwa Yoritada, a former Takeda vassal who now allied with the Hōjō clan. they were beaten by Yoritada, who now reinforced by the Hōjō forcing Tadatsugu to retreat. As Tadatsugu forces retreating, they were pursued by 43,000 mens of Hōjō clan army, where Okabe Masatsuna, a member of the Suruga clan samurai who once served under Baba Nobuharu, taking the initiative to defend the rear of Tadatsugu army from the enemy charges and repelling them. As they successfully retreat without further losses, they rejoin Ieyasu's main forces at Wakamiko area in Suwamachi (modern day Yamanashi Prefecture). In June 5, Ieyasu instructed two members of Takekawa clan from Kai who were hiding in Kiriyama, Tōtōmi Province, Orii Tsugumasa and Yonekura Tadatsugu, to proceed with the work of enticing the Kai samurai to the Tokugawa side. On the next day, Ieyasu also sent a letter to Masatsuna instructing him to began the construction of a castle at Shimoyama Castle (Shimoyama, Minobu Town) in the Kai Kawachi domain, former base of Anayama Nobutada, who was killed by outlaws during his escape from Honnō-ji Incident, when Nobunaga was murdered, and Suganuma Castle (Terazawa, Minobu Town) was built along the Fuji River and Suruga Highway (Kawachi Road). After the death of Nobutada and senior members of Anayama clan's superior, the Obikane clan, the Anayama clan left leaderless, so they decided to pledge allegiance to Ieyasu and follow his orders. Later, Ieyasu dispatched Sone Masatada, formerly one of the three Shingen Takeda's most prominent generals, to Erinji area with 500 mens to confront a Hōjō troops numbered 3,000 mens, which Masatada manage to defeat and inflict 600 to 700 casualties on them. On June 12, Masatada joined force with another former Takeda vassal, Okabe Masatsuna, and a senior Tokugawa general, Osuga Yasutaka. On the same day, Yoda Nobushige set off to Saku District and manage to rally around 3,000 Takeda clan retainers as Ieyasu instructed. Several days later in 17 June, Osuga Yasutaka, a senior Tokugawa vassal, inspected the troops of Masatada, where he commended the cooperation of Masatada lieutenant, Kubota Masakatsu. Later on June 28, Ieyasu also dispatched the Anayama clan of the former Takeda vassal, to resist the Hōjō clan, while he also sent his generals such as Ōkubo Tadayo, Ishikawa Yasumichi and Honda Hirotaka along with his son Yasushige as reinforcement for them to resist The Hōjō. At certain point of this war, the Tokugawa clan also gained support fromt the Tomohisa clan.

On the other hand, Uesugi Kagekatsu of Uesugi clan also made his move by supporting the former Takeda clan forces under the lead of Ogasawara Dōsetsusai from Ogasawara clan and Yashiro Hidemasa at Chikuma and the Nishina clan of Azumino. They defeated and expelled Kiso Yoshimasa, who was granted the control of both Chikuma and Azumino by Oda Nobunaga. However, facing another branch of Ogasawara clan which led by Ogasawara Sadayoshi and his retainers opposed the steps taken by Dōsetsusai. Sadayoshi group appealed to the Tokugawa clan and offer their allegiance to Ieyasu. On June 24, Kagekatsu advanced into northern Shinano and entered Naganuma castle.

As the triangle battle undergoing between the three factions, subsequently, order was restored in Owari province as the rebellion of Akechi Mitsuhide already suppressed in the Battle of Yamazaki, Ieyasu also informed the Oda clan the developments in Shinano and Kai. In response, on July 7, as the Oda clan learned the defeat of Takigawa Kazumasu at the Battle of Kanagawa by the Hōjō clan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi sent a letter to Ieyasu to give him authorization for leading military operations secure the two provinces of Kai and Shinano from Hōjō and Uesugi clan.

Conflict chronology


Ieyasu deployed his forces in various fortresses in the Kōfu Basin to oppose Ujinao, who camped his army in the area of present-day Hokuto City. Hattori Hanzō led the Iga clan warriors to Katsuyama Castle (Kamisone-cho, Kofu City), Misakuchi Castle, and Kotohirayama Castle (Misakuchi-cho, Kofu City), where he monitored the Nakamichi road connecting the Kai and Suruga provinces. Furthermore, Ieyasu manage to recruit more samurai clans formerly served under various Takeda generals such as Ichijō Nobutatsu, Yamagata Masakage, and Hara Masatane, with the assistance of Ii Naomasa. Naomasa corresponding around 41 letters of submission to the Tokugawa clan. Furthermore, Naomasa also received another letter of submission from Obata Nobusada, leader of Takeda clan red armored cavalry troops.

In July 9, Masayuki changed his allegiance from the Uesugi clan to the Hōjō as he surrendered to Hojo Ujinao, and began building a system of forifications to station his vassals in Ueno Province. Subsequently, In July 12 as the troops under Hōjō Ujinao advanced across Usui Pass, Nobushige resisted them, abandoned the Komoro Castle, and retreated to a fortress which he deemed more suitable to defend against the Hōjō army. Later On July 16, Sadayoshi launched an attack on Fukashi Castle, forcing Dōsetsusai along with Hidemasa surrendered to Sadayoshi. Ujinao advanced his troops while leaving the siege against the castle to his general, Daidōji Masashige. Meanwhile, the Hōjō negotiate truce with the Uesugi in July 19 so they could focus the front towards the Tokugawa in Kai province, much to the dismay of Masayuki as he hoped to secure his territory in Numata instead from the Uesugi. The resistances of local warlords against Hōjō increased during this time, as an Ogasawara clan branch in Mishima Izu province under Ogasawara Hirokatsu also resisted the Hōjō clan. However, the Hōjō clan beating them in battle as Hirokatsu's father killed and he was forced to retreat into Mitsuba Castle in Suruga province. Meanwhile, the Enoshita clan, another local clan of former Takeda clan, which led by Enoshita Norikiyo, also showing their resistance against the Hōjō as they fought and beat a Hōjō troops detachment at the Battle of Sakaguchi.

In August 6, the main body of Tokugawa army led by Ieyasu met with and Hōjō clan main army stationed at Wakamiko castle, where series of engagements occurred between them. 8,000 of Tokugawa soldiers fought against around 50,000 soldiers of Hojo soldiers led by Hōjō Ujinao. As Ieyasu lined up at Shinpu Castle and Nomi Castle to the north, and fortified their defenses, various Skirmishes broke out during this phase, where the smaller Tokugawa forces manage to stall the much larger Hōjō forces. In the middle of this engagements, Sakakibara Yasumasa once stormed one of a castle belongs to the Hōjō, while Matsudaira Ietada harassing the Hōjō food supplies. Then the Tokugawa forces engaged in the battle of Kurokoma village against large army of Hōjō who has just received reinforcements from their ally, the Satomi clan, with fresh 10,000 soldiers led by Satomi Yoshiyori, ruler of Awa Province (Chiba). To break the stalemate on the frontline, Hōjō Ujinao ordered a 10,000 troops detachment led by Hōjō Ujitada to march on the periphery of Kurokoma, as they intended to encircle the Tokugawa army. Ieyasu realized the Hōjō's plan to encircle him, so he dispatched Mizuno Katsunari and Torii Mototada to lead 2,000 soldiers in raid operation to intercept them, where they manage to rout those Hōjō troops and prevent the encirclements. Katsunari and his colleague Yasusada Miyake assault caused panic among Ujinao soldiers. Hōjō Ujikatsu saw this and went to lead reinforcement to rescue Ujitada. However, Katsunari and Miyake managed to repel Ujikatsu's reinforcements too. despite some quarrel with Mototada as he viewed Katsunari being reckless and not following order, Katsunari were praised for his outstanding performance and received some rewards. Due to this daring raid by Mototada and Katsunari, the Hōjō army ultimately failed to encircle to Tokugawa army from behind. In the end, the Tokugawa clan manage to force stalemate, as the alliance of Hōjō and Satomi clan which far outnumbered Tokugawa cannot dislodge them from Kurokoma.

In August 12, after the series of Tokugawa clan victories over the Hōjō clan, former Takeda clan generals such as Kiso Yoshimasa, Hoshina Masanao, Yoda Nobushige, and many others, now gained confidence to openly declare their allegiance to Ieyasu. Seeing the trends, Masanao's father and brother, Masatoshi and Masaaki also defected to Tokugawa. In response, Ieyasu assigned his Hatamoto officer Shibata Yasutada as military inspector under Nobushige. At the same time, a Tokugawa army detachment from the Iga Province commanded by Hattori Hanzō invaded Saku District, where they also aided by Shinano local samurai warriors from Tsugane clan led by Öbi Sukemitsu. Up to this point, generally Ieyasu was still at a disadvantage of the war. In Saku district, he only had Yoda Nobushige which still struggling himself in guerilla against the Hōjō, as the bulks of Tokugawa new supporters such as the Takekawa and Tsugane clans of Kai, also suffering the shortage of provisions despite their number of anti-Hōjō forces continue to grew. In response, Yoda Nobushige taking initiative by contacting Masayuki to entice him to Tokugawa side. Taking advantage of the Hōjō setbacks, Masayuki had placed Yazawa Tsunayori in Numata Castle and his son Sanada Nobuyuki in Iwabitsu Castle, as he started to colluding with Ieyasu and Nobushige in secret.

In early September, Hattori Hanzō and Öbi Sukemitsu launched a night attack towards Egusuku Castle (also known as Shishiku Castle) and capturing it. Later, Hanzō also captured the Sanogoya castle in Izu Province under the cover of heavy rain, causing Ieyasu to elicit praise to Hanzō for this achievement. In the same month, at Yamanashi Prefecture, local former Takeda clan vassals led by Kōno Morimasa manage to defeat the Hōjō clan at Misaka pass.



In October 19, Sanada Masayuki openly declared his allegiance to the Tokugawa clan by attacking Nezu Masatsuna, a lieutenant of Hōjō Ujinao, and cooperating with Yoda Nobushige to resist the Hōjō clan forces around Komoro, as Ieyasu instructed. It was believed by historian that the Information about Masayuki's defection have reached the Hojo clan in early October, as there are document of letters from Sone Masatada and Yoda Nobushige praising Sanada Masateru for his success to convince Masayuki to join the Tokugawa side. In response for Masayuki betrayal, a commander of Hōjō forces named Fujita Ujikuni tried to capture Numata castle. However, he failed to do so as Masayuki resisted his attempt.

In October 21, the Tokugawa troops in Saku district manage to capture Mochizuki Castle. In response, the Hōjō side recalled Hojo Tsunanari and others from Kai Province, and ordered Nyudo Urano, lord of Ooto Castle in Agatsuma County, to immediately attack Iwabitsu Castle. Masayuki and Yoda Nobutaka then cut off communication between Komoro Castle and Tomono Castle. Later in October 24, Ieyasu issued Shuinjō (Red Seal Permit) to Masanao which granting him control for half of the Ina district, and he forced the Naito clan that had remained in Takatō Castle to switch their allegiance to the Tokugawa side. In November, Masanao attacked Minowa Castle, and caused Fujisawa Yorichika, the lord of who was on the side of Hōjō, to commit suicide. Masanao also expelled his grandson and annexed the Minowa territory. As a result, Masanao took control of Kamiina district around Takato Castle. In October 26, the Tokugawa manage to capture Ashida Castle, while Masayuki provided military supplies to secure the castle. Nobushige also captured Uchiyama Castle, successfully cutting off the Hojo army's supply route. Eventually, together with Masayuki, they occupied Usui Pass, and then captured Iwamurata Castle. Thus, the battle in Saku County was in Tokugawa's favor, and Masayuki retreated to his main territory.

Between November 1682 to January 1683, In conjunction with the main battles at Wakamiko and Kurokoma which still ongoing, Komai Masanao worked together with Torii Mototada and Ii Naomasa, along with Suwa Yoritada, who now has joined the Tokugawa rank, to attack Chikuma District which controlled by Ogasawara Sadayoshi. In February 10, Sadayoshi confirmed his allegiance to them as he has joined the Tokugawa side. Overall, in the duration of Ieyasu's fight against the Hōjō and the Satomi clan for 80 days, his ranks gradually increased and swelled as more than 800 former vassals of Takeda clan (900 according to Susumu Shimazaki ) from Kōfu has joined Tokugawa clan to oppose the Hōjō.

Aftermath of Tenshō-Jingo war


The problems for the Hōjō clan increased by days as Ieyasu also establish contact with daimyo lords from north-east Japan such as the since the Satake, Yuki, and Utsunomiya clan, who threatened to invade the Hōjō from behind while the Hōjō still engaging Ieyasu in battle. As the war turned in favor of Ieyasu, combined with the defection of Sanada Masayuki to the Tokugawa side, the Hōjō now negotiate truce with Ieyasu.

The Hōjō clan then sent Hōjō Ujinobu as representative, while the Tokugawa sent Ii Naomasa as representative for the pre eliminary meetings. Furthermore, representatives from the Oda clan such as Oda Nobukatsu, Oda Nobutaka, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi who has mediated the negotiation from October 1582, also assisted the ratification of the truce. Meanwhile, Sanada Nobutada, a younger brother of Sanada Masayuki, was given 5,000 koku worth revenue of territory to his control by Ieyasu, and Okabe Masatsuna rewarded with 7,600 koku of domain inbetween Kai and Shinano province. In the aftermath of the war, Ieyasu once again sent Tadatsugu in December to subdue Suwa Yoritada at Suwa in Shinano, where Tadatsugu manage to defeat Yoritada and secure his surrender to the Tokugawa clan this time.

In March 1583, according to the Meishō genkō-roku record, after the destruction of the Takeda clan in the Tenmokuzan, Ieyasu organized a kishōmon(blood oath) with many samurai clans, local lords, low rank officials, Ninja mercenaries, and even noble ladies that formerly were vassals of the Takeda clan assigned under the command of Tokugawa clan retainers. Due to the ritual taken place after the Tenshō-Jingo war and in the same location, this oath taking ritual was named Tenshō-Jingo kishōmon. During the process of the oath-taking Ieyasu Tokugawa planned to give control most of former Takeda samurai to Ii Naomasa command, having consulted and reached agreement with Sakai Tadatsugu, a senior Tokugawa clan vassal. However, Ieyasu's decision garnered protest from Sakakibara Yasumasa, who went so far as to threaten Naomasa. Tadatsugu immediately defended the decision of Ieyasu in response and warned Yasumasa that if he did any harm to Naomasa, Tadatsugu would personally slaughter the Sakakibara clan; thus, Yasumasa heeded Tadatsugu and did not protest further. As there are no more protest, Ieyasu decided to assign the new recruits into various commands, as following:
 * 70 former Takeda samurai from Tsuchiya clan, and also the clan of Ishiguro Shōgen under the command of Ii Naomasa. (another source mentioned that total of 120 Takeda samurai warriors came under the command of Naomasa. )
 * 11 former Takeda samurai from Komai clan led by Komai Masanao under the command of Sakakibara Yasumasa.
 * 60 former Takeda samurai of Asari clan led by Asari Masatane under the command of Honda Tadakatsu.
 * largest numbers of Takeda clans vassals under the direct control of Ieyasu himself, including clans which led by Yoda Nobushige or Hoshina Masanao (along with the local daimyo lords from Shinano who followed Masanao. ), Kurihara clan under the lead of Kurihara Nobumori, 49 samurai from Jō clan led by father and son Jō Kageshige and Jō Masashige, samurai who formerly guarded the frontiers of Takeda clan led Watanabe Hitoyanosuke, and many others. Among those who were assigned as Hatamoto, or direct vassal of Ieyasu, they were allowed to retain their positions, and even increased the domains revenue they controlled particularly from the new territories which the Tokugawa clan conquered. This was apparent from the Saegusa clan, where the son of the clan leader, Saegusa Masayoshi, retain his, while his father Saegusa Torayoshi was appointed as one of four magistrate in the Tokugawa clan.

Aside from the already established workforces from the former Takeda clan, Ieyasu also established new offices such as the Hachiōji sen'nin-dōshin, which formed from patchwork memberships from 9 small clans of Takeda retainers. This group will continue to serve the Tokugawa clan faithfully until their disbandment during Meiji Restoration in 1868.

In 1583, Ieyasu also had a detachment from Ii Naomasa's troops to conquer Takatō area of Shinano, which still not submitted to Tokugawa clan. Meanwhile, Nobushige led the attack against the Tomono clan which did not submit to Ieyasu, and defeated them. However, in the middle of operation, Yoda Nobushige was killed in action. Yoda Yasukuni, who succeeded him as head of the Yoda clan, was given the surname Matsudaira and Komoro Castle. The territory he was allowed to inherit was 60,000 koku, one of the largest for any vassal of Ieyasu at the time. Meanwhile, regarding Yashiro Hidemasa, who surrendered to Ogasawara Sadayoshi, also joined the Tokugawa clan later in April 1, 1584, together with his younger brother Ogasawara Mitsutoshi.

Meanwhile, regarding the conflict between Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Shibata Katsuie, where Hideyoshi defeated Katsuie at the Battle of Shizugatake. Ieyasu did not take a side for any of them.

Earthquake & conflict with Hideyoshi
As the sphere of Tokugawa clan territory expanded, many of their regions were hit by earthquakes and heavy rains from 1583 to 1584. In particular, from May to July of that year, heavy rains occurred one after another from the Kantō region to the Tōkai region, which was dubbed in historical record of Ietada-nikki as "heaviest flood in 50 years". Under these circumstances, the Tokugawa clan was forced to fight against the Hōjō clan and the Toyotomi government, as in 1584, Ieyasu decided to support Oda Nobukatsu, the eldest surviving son and heir of Oda Nobunaga, against Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The Ryumonji Kojiki, written by the successive chief priests of Ryumonji Temple in Tahara, Mikawa Province, records that in 1582, many people were mobilized in the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute, which led to the devastation of farmland and famine. The devastation of the Tokugawa clan's territory made it difficult to continue fighting against the Toyotomi government, and they were forced to rebuild their country. This was a considered as dangerous situation for the Tokugawa clan and could have resulted in the annihilation of them, due to the fact that the Oda clan collapsed after Nobunaga's death.

Tokugawa troops took the traditional Oda stronghold of Owari. Hideyoshi responded by sending an army into Owari. Ieyasu decided to confront Hideyoshi's forces in Komaki, as his general, Sakakibara Yasumasa suggested the area were favorable for the Tokugawa force to fight the incoming enemies from the west. Additionally, Ieyasu and Nobukatsu built an anti-Hideyoshi alliance with Chōsokabe Motochika, with contacts of Kōsokabe Chikayasu.

At first, Ieyasu ordered his generals Mizuno Tadashige and Mizuno Katsunari to capture Hoshizaki Castle. Then as a Toyotomi army vanguards under the command of Toyotomi Hidetsugu start entering the area of Komaki, Ieyasu sent Yasumasa and Osuga Yasutaka for surprise attack and inflicted heavy losses to Hidetsugu army. before they stopped by Hori Hidemasa. Hidemasa himself decided to retreat as Ieyasu then brought his main forces forward. Later, as another Toyotomi vanguard led by Mori Nagayoshi entered the area, Ieyasu has his senior generals Sakai Tadatsugu, Okudaira Nobumasa, and Matsudaira Ietada beat Nagayoshi's troops and forcing him retreat. In the last phase of this series of engagements, Nagayoshi returned again along with other Toyotomi general. Ikeda Tsuneoki. However, both of them were repeatedly beaten at the field of Nagakute by Mizuno Katsunari, and later, Ii Naomasa, causing the Toyotomi forces suffered heavy losses as both Tsuneoki and Nagayoshi were killed in the battle. Furious with the decimation of Nagayoshi and Tsuneoki forces, Hideyoshi mobilize his main army to crush Ieyasu army in Nagakute. However, Ieyasu has already retreated as Hideyoshi's main forces already arrived.

After the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute in April, the front line in northern Owari reached stalemate. At this time, Kanie Castle was located about three miles between Ieyasu's Kiyosu Castle and Nobuo's Nagashima Castle, and was connected to the Mie moat and three castles: Ono Castle, Shimojima Castle, and Maeda Castle. At that time, Kanie castle were facing the sea and was one of the leading ports in Owari, along with Atsuta and Tsushima. Then in June 18, Ieyasu and Nobuo led 20,000 soldiers and besieged three castles: Kanie Castle, Maeda Castle, and Shimojima Castle. The Kanie castle were defended by Maeda Nagatane and Takigawa Kazumasu. Tadatsugu, Okanabe Mori, and Yamaguchi Shigemasa spearheading the attack towards Shimojima castle, while Sakakibara Yasumasa, Osuga Yasutaka were deployed to capture any fleeing defenders. During this siege, Ieyasu's Hatamoto retainers such as Mizuno Katsunari blockaded the port of the castle, and hijacked two ships belongs to Kuki Yoshitaka, to prevent any outside help for Kanie castle. After the fall of Shimojima castle, On June 22, Oda Nobuo and Tokugawa Ieyasu launch an all-out attack on Kanie Castle. The soldiers led by Tadatsugu, who has been deployed at the major entrance, were exhausted after days of fierce fighting, and in the evening, the soldiers of Yasumasa Sakakibara and Ietada Matsudaira entered Kaimonjiguchi in their place. On June 23, Ieyasu entered the castle with Sakakibara Yasumasa, thus the castle were subdued.

Becoming a vassal of Toyotomi Regency
The conflict with Hideyoshi become dragged down, until Nobukatsu decided to surrender to Hideyoshi. By this event, Ieyasu lost his motivation to further oppose Hideyoshi, then decided to also submit to Hideyoshi. After the peace negotiation between Ieasu Tokugawa with Toyotomi Hideyoshi on the aftermath of battle of Komaki and Nagakute, Tadatsugu, Naomasa, Tadakatsu, and Yasumasa gained fame in Kyoto. Then in following month, the three of them joined by Tadatsugu Sakai to accompany Ieyasu in his personal trip to Kyoto, where the four of them "became famous".

However, on November 13, 1585, Ishikawa Kazumasa defected from Ieyasu to Hideyoshi. Ogasawara Sadayoshi, who also defected and followed Kazumasa, led over 3,000 troops to attack Takato. In Takato Castle, there were only 40 cavalrymen and 360 soldiers other than the elderly Hoshina Masatoshi, but Masatoshi himself took command and defeated the Ogasawara forces in the open battle. This prevented the collapse of the Tokugawa rule in Shinano, and Ieyasu awarded Masanao the sword of Tsunehisa on December 24 in recognition of his military achievements. These incidents caused Ieyasu to undergone massive reforms of the structures of Tokugawa clan government by incorporating more of Takeda clan's vassals into his administrations both civil and military. At first, Ieyasu ordered Torii Mototada, who served as the county magistrate of Kai, to collect military laws, weapons, and military equipment from the time of Takeda Shingen and bring them to Hamamatsu Castle (Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture). Later, he also appointed two former Takeda vassals, Naruse Masakazu and Okabe Masatsuna, as magistrates under authority of Ii Naomasa and Honda Tadakatsu, while he also ordered all of former Takeda vassals who now serve him to impart any military doctrines and structures they knew during their service under Takeda clan., and lastly, he ordered the three of his prime generals, the so-called "Tokugawa Four Heavenly Kings," Ii Naomasa, Honda Tadakatsu, and Sakakibara Yasumasa, to serve as supreme commander of this new military regiments. In the same year, Hideyoshi forced his younger sister Asahi no kata to divorce her husband and sent her sister to Ieyasu to offer her to marry her.

In 1586, in response of Ishikawa Kazumasa defection from Tokugawa clan, former Takeda clan vassals from Kai and Shinano province such as Yonekura Tadatsugu reaffirm their loyalty to Ieyasu by presented their family members as hostages to Ieyasu.

Later in the same year, Hideyoshi sent his own mother as a hostage to Ieyasu. If Ieyasu continued to refuse to go to Kyoto after such a gesture, it would give Hideyoshi a just cause for war. Ieyasu finally decided to become Hideyoshi's vassal.

Ruling Kanto & rebellions suppression


in 1590 May, Ieyasu participated in the campaign against the Hōjō clan. The siege of Odawara as the last Hōjō clan stronghold almost saw no significant military action, with the exception of Ii Naomasa night raid attack. This happened after, after a group of miners from Kai Province dug under the castle walls, allowing troops under Naomasa to enter and engage the enemy. After the surrender of the Hōjō clan, Ieyasu sent Naomasa and Sakakibara Yasumasa with 1,500 soldiers to witness the Seppuku suicide ritual procession of the defeated enemy generals, Hōjō Ujimasa and Hōjō Ujiteru. As result of his meritorious service during this campaign, Naomasa was awarded with increase of domain stipends to 120,000 Koku. Daidōji Masashige, a senior Hōjō clan retainer, was also forced to commit Seppuku by Hideyoshi. However, his children were spared from execution at the behest of Ieyasu, and his eldest son, Daidōji Naoshige, became a vassal of Ieyasu after the death of Ujinao until his death in Edo period.

Later in October 28 of the same year, a massive rebellion against the Toyotomi government in Mutsu Province which incited by Hienuki Hirotada and Waga Yoshitada broke out. In response, Hideyoshi sent a punitive expedition with 30,000 army in strength led by Ieyasu Tokugawa, Toyotomi Hidetsugu, Date Masamune, Ishida Mitsunari, Ōtani Yoshitsugu, Gamō Ujisato, Uesugi Kagekatsu, Satake Yoshishige, and Maeda Toshiie, in order to pacify those rebellions.

In 1591, Ieyasu gave up control of his five provinces (Mikawa, Tōtōmi, Suruga, Shinano, and Kai) and moved all his soldiers and vassals to his new eight provinces at the Kantō region. The proclamation of this decision were happened on the same day with the day when Hideyoshi entered Odawara castle after the Hōjō clan formally surrendered. The moment Ieyasu appointed to rule Kantō, he immediately assign his premier vassals such as Ii Naomasa, Honda Tadakatsu, Sakakibara Yasumasa, and Sakai Ietsugu, son of Sakai Tadatsugu, each to control large area of the former Hōjō clan territories in Kantō. Historian saw this step were aimed to bring order the newly subdued population of the area, while also guard the eastern domains from any influence or threat from the Satomi clan which has not yet submit to Toyotomi rule at that time. Meanwhile, Ieyasu himself establish his personal new seat of power on Edo town, which at that time was an underdeveloped town in Kantō.

Historian Adam Sadler saw this step as the riskiest by Ieyasu ever made—to leave his home province and rely on the uncertain loyalty of the formerly Hōjō clan samurai in Kantō. In the end however, it worked out brilliantly for Ieyasu. He reformed the Kantō region, controlled and pacified the Hōjō samurai and improved the underlying economic infrastructure of the lands. Also, because Kantō was somewhat isolated from the rest of Japan, Ieyasu was able to ally with daimyos of north-east Japan such as Date Masamune, Mogami Yoshiaki, Satake Yoshishige and Nanbu Nobunao; he was also able to maintain a unique level of autonomy from Toyotomi Hideyoshi's rule. Within a few years, Ieyasu had become the second most powerful daimyo in Japan. It was said by anecdotal proverb that: "Ieyasu won the Empire by retreating." However, modern Japanese historians rejected this step as inherently deliberate move by Ieyasu since it was an order from Hideyoshi. Nevertheless, Watanabe Daimon stated that the general opinion usually though Ieyasu was reluctant about his transfer to Kantō. Daimon stated the perception of Ieyasu's reluctance were unfounded. Instead, Daimon suspected that Ieyasu actually responded this transfer positively as he saw huge undeveloped potential by making Edo as his seat of power. Similarly, Andō Yūichirō also viewed this transfer were rather an advantage for the Tokugawa regime in the long run as this move was not only doubled the territories he control, but he also further added the bulk of new vassals in Kantō to the already impressive political and military power of Tokugawa regime as they already absorbed the army of Imagawa clan and Takeda clan before. Yūichirō also added that aside from the samurai clans from Imagawa, Takeda, and Hōjō, the Mikawa samurai clans which was Tokugawa clan traditional followers also lose their sense of independence after being transferred into new unfamiliar territory, while increasing their sense of dependence towards Ieyasu, thus in effect further minimize the possibility of them to going renegade and betraying Ieyasu, just like Ishikawa Kazumasa had done several years earlier.

In March, subsequent with Waga-Hienuki rebellion, Kunohe rebellion also broke out in March 13, 1591. This causing the punitive expedition army to take measure of this development by splitting their forces as Ieyasu, Naomasa, Ujisato, and some commanders were now changing their focus to suppress Masazane's rebellion first. Ieyasu, which at that time also busy in suppressing rebellions with his main commanders such as Sakakibara Yasumasa, Ii Naomasa, and Honda Tadakatsu, arrived at Iwatesawa, Tamazukuri district, Mutsu (modern dayIwadeyama Town, Tamazukuri, Miyagi Prefecture) on August 18, where he camped until October and led the troops. During the operation against the Kunohe clan rebels, Naomasa Ii became the vanguard with Nanbu Nobunao. As they advanced towards Kunohe castle, they faced a small forces of Kunohe rebels which easily defeated. As they approached the Kunohe castle, Naomasa suggested to the other commanders to besiege the Kunohe's castle until they surrender, which met with agreement from them. On 4 September, the rebels executed the prisoners inside the castle and committing mass suicide after setting fire which burned the castle for three days and three nights and killed all within. The rebellions finally being suppressed June 20 with Waga Yoshitada being slain in battle, while Hienuki Hirotada sentenced to "Kaieki law" which stated that he and his clan's status and rights as samurai being stripped. As the operation ended, Ieyasu return to Edo on October 29 and began managing his new territory in the Kantō region. In the end, Ieyasu manage to establish his home base in Kantō, as he built sustainable economic infrastructure in those region. Furthermore, to streamline the Tokugawa clan's economy, Ieyasu also employed Gotō Shōzaburō, head of the gold mining and metal industries of Sengoku period, to mint gold coins and establish a bank-like institution for the Tokugawa clan's government.

In 1592, Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Korea as a prelude to his plan to attack China. The Tokugawa clan samurai never actually took part in this campaign, as Hideyoshi ordered eastern provinces daimyo such as Ieyasu, Uesugi Kagekatsu, and Date Masamune to maintain logistical supports for the war efforts in Nagoya Castle.

In 1593, Toyotomi Hideyoshi fathered a son and heir, Toyotomi Hideyori. Later, though in early 1593, Ieyasu himself was summoned to Hideyoshi's court in Nagoya (in Kyūshū, different from the similarly spelled city in Owari Province) as a military advisor and given command of a body of troops meant as reserves for the Korean campaign. Ieyasu stayed in Nagoya off and on for the next five years.

In July 1595, the "Toyotomi Hidetsugu Incident" occurred. In response to this major incident that shook the Toyotomi government, Hideyoshi ordered the various daimyo to come to Kyoto in an attempt to calm the situation. Ieyasu also came to Kyoto on Hideyoshi's orders. From this point on, Ieyasu spent longer periods in Fushimi Castle than in his underdeveloped residence, Edo Castle. Due to this chain of events, Ieyasu's position in the Toyotomi government had risen, but by being at the center of the government, Ieyasu himself was able to learn directly about the political system of the central government.

Ruler of Japan (1598–1603)


In 1598, with Toyotomi Hideyoshi's health clearly failing, Hideyoshi called a meeting that would determine the Council of Five Elders, who would be responsible for ruling on behalf of his son after his death. The five that were chosen as tairō (regent) for Hideyori were Maeda Toshiie, Mōri Terumoto, Ukita Hideie, Uesugi Kagekatsu, and Ieyasu himself, who was the most powerful of the five. This change in the pre-Sekigahara power structure became pivotal as Ieyasu turned his attention towards Kansai; and at the same time, other ambitious (albeit ultimately unrealized) plans, such as the Tokugawa initiative establishing official relations with New Spain (modern-day Mexico), continued to unfold and advance.

Death of Hideyoshi and Toshiie
Toyotomi Hideyoshi, after three more months of increasing sickness, died on September 18, 1598. He was nominally succeeded by his young son Hideyori but as he was just five years old, real power was in the hands of the regents. There are several incidents involving Ieyasu after the death of Hideyoshi:


 * The government of Japan under Toyotomi rule have an accident when seven military generals consisted of Fukushima Masanori, Katō Kiyomasa, Ikeda Terumasa, Hosokawa Tadaoki, Asano Yoshinaga, Katō Yoshiaki, and Kuroda Nagamasa came into conflict with Ishida Mitsunari. It was said that the reason of this conspiracy was dissatisfaction of those generals towards Mitsunari as he wrote bad assessments and underreported the achievements of those generals during the Imjin war against Korea & Chinese empire. At first, these generals gathered at Kiyomasa's mansion in Osaka Castle, and from there they moved into Mitsunari's mansion. However, Mitsunari learned of this through a report from a servant of Toyotomi Hideyori named Jiemon Kuwajima, and fled to Satake Yoshinobu's mansion together with Shima Sakon and others to hide. When the seven generals found out Mitsunari was not in the mansion, they searched the mansions of various feudal lords in Osaka Castle, and Katō's army also approached the Satake residence. Therefore, Mitsunari and his party escaped from the Satake residence and barricaded themselves at Fushimi Castle. The next day, the seven generals surrounded Fushimi Castle with their soldiers as they knew Mitsunari was hiding there. Ieyasu, who was in charge of political affairs in Fushimi Castle during that moment, attempted to arbitrate the situation. The seven generals requested Ieyasu to hand over Mitsunari, which refused by Ieyasu. Ieyasu then negotiated the promised to let Mitsunari retire and to review the assessment of the Battle of Ulsan Castle in Korea which became the major source of this incident, and had his second son, Yūki Hideyasu, to escort Mitsunari to Sawayama Castle. The seven generals reached agreement with Ieyasu to give pardon for Mitsunari, in condition that Mitsunari retire from his position as regent and he should reassess the administration records about the Korean war involving those generals.
 * He ordered his general, Sakakibara Yasumasa, to lead an army from Kantō and camp in Seta, Ōmi Province as a mean of show off and intimidate the "bureaucrat faction" which led by Ishida Mitsunari, as Ōmi was traditional hometown of Mitsunari clan.
 * In 1599, there are riot occurred within the Ukita clan, as several of Ukita clan vassals such as Togawa tatsuyasu, Sadatsuna Oka, and others rebelled against Hideie. At first, Ieyasu sent his general Sakakibara Yasumasa to intermediate the disputes between Ukita Hideie with his rebellious vassals. however, as the situation does not resolved for long time, Ieyasu ordered Yasumasa to return to his post and decide to resolve the case himself. In the end, Ieyasu himself managed to solve the case and averted the civil war between two faction. However, the aftermath of this incident causing many of Hideie retainers such as Sakazaki Naomori changing their allegiance into Ieyasu Tokugawa and leaving Hideie. This defections has caused massive setback for the Ukita clan politically and militarily while strengthening Ieyasu.
 * In April of the same year, Ieyasu cited Hideyoshi's will as pretext for him to review the decision regarding the Mōri clan territories that Mitsunari had pushed through, and pressed Mōri Terumoto to allocate part of Nagato Province and Suō Province to Mōri Hidemoto. In June, the Ieyasu's manifesto to curtail Terumoto's domains implemented, as Hidemoto now given the former Mōri Motokiyo territory of Nagato, Yoshiki District in Suō, Aki, and Bingo, leaving Kikkawa Hiroie's territory intact, and returned Kobayakawa Takakage's estate to Terumoto.
 * Ieyasu also had his general and diplomat, Ii Naomasa, establish close contact with the scions of Kuroda clan, Kuroda Yoshitaka and Kuroda Nagamasa, and gained political support from them.
 * On September 12, 1599, when Ieyasu returned from Osaka castle to Fushimi castle, there are alleged attempt of assassination by three of Toyotomi Hideyoshi vassals. They are Katsuhisa Hijikata, Asano Nagamasa, and Ōno Harunaga. However, their attempt to assassinate Ieyasu were failed due to Ieyasu's tight security and bodyguards. As the three of them were apprehended, further investigation also linked the assassination attempt with Maeda Toshimasa, son of Maeda Toshiie. As Ieyasu consulted with Honda Masanobu about the proper punishments for each of the conspirators, Masanobu instead advised Ieyasu to give leinence towards the three perpetrators. In the end, Ieyasu accepted Masanobu counsels and decided that he would not execute them all, as in exchange, he placed Hijikata and Katsuhisa in house arrest on northern side of Kantō region. Meanwile, Nagamasa has given far more lenient punishment than his compatriots by only ordered to move his residence Musashi Fuchū, as Ieyasu saw Nagamasa important political position in the government. As for Toshimasa, Ieyasu at first prepared harsh punishment as he prepared to dispatch his army to Kaga in order to subjugate Toshinaga, who was one of the Five Elders. In response, Toshinaga sent his subordinate Nagatomo Yokoyama to Ieyasu and immediately made an excuse and apologized to Ieyasu. Furthermore, he sent his mother, Hoshunin, as a hostage to Edo, and arranged for his adopted heir, Toshitsune, to marry Hidetada's daughter, Tamahime. Due to the fact that those four mens later would support Ieyasu in Sekigahara war against Mitsunari, modern historian Daimon Watanabe saw the lenient attitude towards his would-be assassins as political move to gather more allies which would support his success in the future war.
 * Marrying his sixth son, Matsudaira Tadateru, with the first daughter of Date Masamune, Irohahime. Furthermore, Ieyasu also gained firm support from Mogami Yoshiaki, brother-in-law of Masamune and also a powerful eastern Japan daimyo in his own, who held grudge towards Toyotomi clan since Hideyoshi once executed one of his daughter. This relation with Yoshiaki was caused by an incident in July 1595, which involved Yoshiaki's daughter Komahime. This caused Hidetsugu accused of treason and committed seppuku at Mount Kōya on the order of Hideyoshi. The aftermath of this incident affected Not only Hidetsugu, but also his wife, concubines, and children were also executed at Sanjogawara. Yoshiaki's daughter, Komahime, who was only 15 years old and had recently married Hidetsugu, was also executed in result. Yoshiaki begged for her life but was refused. Komahime was beheaded along with Hidetsugu's other wives and concubines, and her body was dumped in the Sanjogawara River on August 2 of the same year. Furthermore, Yoshimitsu was also suspected of participating in the rebellion of Hidetsugu, but was pardoned with the assistance of Tokugawa Ieyasu's intercession on his behalf. However, as result of the execution of Komahime, Yoshiaki's wife, Osaki-dono, also struck with deep grief by the sudden death of her daughter and passed away on August 16. After this incident, Yoshiaki grew closer to Ieyasu and became one of his strongest supporters.
 * in the same year, an incident occurred within the Shimazu clan, where Shimazu Tadatsune, the third son of Shimazu Yoshihiro and heir to the main Shimazu family, assassinated a clan's chief vassal named Ijuin Tadamune. The background to this incident seems to be that Tadamune, who was on close terms with Ishida Mitsunari, had infringed the Shimazu clan's domain. However, this incident did not end there, and Tadamune's eldest son, Ijuin Tadamasa, started a rebellion. As the civil war reached deadlock, Ieyasu mediated the two sides, which resulted Tadamasa surrendered in March 1600.

Conflict with Mitsunari


Meanwhile Opposition to Ieyasu centered around Ishida Mitsunari, one of Hideyoshi's Go-Bugyō, or top administrators of Hideyoshi's government and a powerful daimyo who was not one of the regents. Mitsunari plotted Ieyasu's death and news of this plot reached some of Ieyasu's generals. They attempted to kill Mitsunari but he fled and gained protection from none other than Ieyasu himself. It is not clear why Ieyasu protected a powerful enemy from his own men but Ieyasu was a master strategist and he may have concluded that he would be better off with Mitsunari leading the enemy army rather than one of the regents, who would have more legitimacy.

Nearly all of Japan's daimyo and samurai now split into two factions—the Western Army (Mitsunari's group) and the Eastern Army (Ieyasu's group). Ieyasu supported the anti-Mitsunari group, and formed them as his potential allies. Ieyasu's allies were Katō Kiyomasa, Fukushima Masanori, Mogami Yoshiaki, Hachisuka Iemasa, the Kuroda clan, the Hosokawa clan and many daimyo from eastern Japan. Mitsunari allied himself with the three other regents: Ukita Hideie, Mōri Terumoto, and Uesugi Kagekatsu, as well as with Ōtani Yoshitsugu, Chosokabe clan, Shimazu clan and many daimyo from the western end of Honshū.

War became imminent when Uesugi Kagekatsu, one of Hideyoshi's appointed regents, defied Ieyasu by building up his military at Aizu. When Ieyasu officially condemned him and demanded that he come to Kyoto to explain himself, Kagekatsu's chief advisor, Naoe Kanetsugu, responded with a counter-condemnation that mocked Ieyasu's abuses and violations of Hideyoshi's rules, and Ieyasu was infuriated.

In July 1600, Ieyasu was back in Edo and his allies moved their armies to defeat the Uesugi clan, which they accused of planning to revolt against Toyotomi administration. On September 8, Ieyasu received information that Mitsunari had captured Fushimi castle and his allies had moved their army against Ieyasu. Ieyasu held a meeting with the Eastern Army daimyo, and they agreed to follow Ieyasu. Later on September 15, Mitsunari's Western army arrived at Ogaki Castle. On September 29, Ieyasu's Eastern Army took Gifu Castle. On October 7, Ieyasu and his allies marched along the Tōkaidō, while his son Hidetada went along through Nakasendō with 38,000 soldiers (a battle against Sanada Masayuki in Shinano Province delayed Hidetada's forces, and they did not arrive in time for the main Battle of Sekigahara).

Battle of Sekigahara


The Battle of Sekigahara was the biggest as well as one of the most important battles in Japanese feudal history. It began on October 21, 1600. The Eastern Army led by Tokugawa Ieyasu initially numbered 75,000 men, with the Western Army at a strength of 120,000 men under Ishida Mitsunari. Ieyasu had also secretly acquired a supply of arquebuses.

Knowing that the Tokugawa forces were heading towards Osaka, Mitsunari decided to abandon his positions and marched to Sekigahara. Even though the Western Army had tremendous tactical advantages, Ieyasu had already been in contact with many of the daimyo in the Western Army for months, promising them land and leniency after the battle should they switch sides. Ieyasu had also secretly communicated with Toyotomi Hideyoshi's nephew, Kobayakawa Hideaki. With a total of 170,000 soldiers facing each other, the Battle of Sekigahara ensued and ended with an overwhelming Tokugawa victory. At the conclusion of the battle, Ieyasu marched to Osaka castle, where Mōri Terumoto, the grand commander of Western army, surrendered to him.

The Western bloc quickly collapsed, and over the next few days Ishida Mitsunari and other western leaders such as Konishi Yukinaga and Ankokuji Ekei were captured and executed. However, Ieyasu was angry at his son Hidetada, whose army was late to arrive, leading to an unexpectedly long siege against Ueda castle. However, Sakakibara Yasumasa offered an explanation and testified in defense of Hidetada. Meanwhile, Ieyasu pardoned his enemies who defended the Ueda castle, Sanada Masayuki and Sanada Yukimura, at the behest of Ii Naomasa and Sanada Nobuyuki.

Aftermath of Sekigahara battle
Ieyasu also redistribute the domain fiefs all daimyo lords who supported him during the war, such as the increase of Ii Naomasa into 180,000 koku. Ikeda Terumasa into 520,000 Koku. Tōdō Takatora for new domain which assessed at total of 200,000 koku, Yuki Hideyasu from 101,000 to 569,000 koku, Matsudaira Tadayoshi from 100,000 to 520,000 koku, Gamō Hideyuki from 180,000 to 600,000 koku, Maeda Toshinaga from 835,000 to 1,100,000 koku, Katō Kiyomasa from 195,000 to 515,000 koku, and Kuroda Nagamasa from 180,000 to 523,000 koku. Meanwhile, Fukushima Masanori had his 200,000 increased to 498,000 in Aki, Hiroshima, while Ieyasu also promoted many of his own hereditary vassals to at least 10,000 koku increase for their stipends. Meanwhile, regarding the losers of Sekigahara war, Ieyasu left some western daimyo unharmed, such as the Shimazu clan, but others were completely destroyed. Toyotomi Hideyori (the son of Hideyoshi) lost most of his territory which were under management of western daimyo, and he was degraded to an ordinary daimyo, not a Sesshō and Kampaku (regent) of Japan empire. In later years the vassals who had pledged allegiance to Ieyasu before Sekigahara became known as the fudai daimyō, while those who pledged allegiance to him after the battle (in other words, after his power was unquestioned) were known as tozama daimyō. Tozama daimyō were considered inferior to fudai daimyō. This redistributions of domains was done verbally, not by formal letter of intent, as historian Watanabe Daimon suspected this was because Ieyasu still wary with the existence of Toyotomi clan which now inherited by Toyotomi Hideyori.

On September 20, Ieyasu entered Otsu castle, where he welcomed and met with Kyōnyo, current head of Hongan-ji temple at that time, with the intermediary of Kanamori Nagachika. He met Ieyasu again the following year (1601), and Ieyasu visited Kyonyo on July 5 and August 16. However, for the rest of 1601, the relationship between the grew worse as Kyōnyo were accused of pro-Mitsunari sympathy. It was only in February 1602 the communication between Ieyasu with Kyōnyo opened again after the intercession from aide Honda Masanobu where the three of them discussed about the condition of Honganji temple development after the split of the sect into two factions, since Ieyasu worried the strife within the temple could affect the stability of Japan post Sekigahara war.

In 1602, Ieyasu changing his original surname from "Minamoto" to "Fujiwara". The reason for this name changing was because the emperor Go-Yōzei wanted to appoint Ieyasu as a court noble. However, but there was no precedent in the Tokugawa bloodline as Minamoto clan which Ieyasu ancestry claimed was a samurai clan. To resolve this problem, a fabrication made that the Tokugawa clan also descended from Fujiwara clan too, which is a noble family. By this name changing to Fujiwara, Ieyasu was able to be appointed to the rank of Junior Fifth Rank.

Tokugawa Shogunate establishment (1603–1616)
On March 24, 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu received the title of shōgun from Emperor Go-Yōzei. Ieyasu was 60 years old. He had outlasted all the other great men of his times: Oda Nobunaga, Takeda Shingen, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Uesugi Kenshin. As shōgun, he used his remaining years to create and solidify the Tokugawa shogunate, which ushered in the Edo period, and was the third shogunal government (after the Kamakura and the Ashikaga). He claimed descent from the Minamoto clan who had founded the Kamakura shogunate, by way of the Nitta clan. His descendants would marry into the Taira clan and the Fujiwara clan.

Following a well established Japanese pattern, Ieyasu abdicated his official position as shōgun in 1605. His successor was his son and heir, Tokugawa Hidetada. There may have been several factors that contributed to his decision, including his desires to avoid being tied up in ceremonial duties, to make it harder for his enemies to attack the real power center, and to secure a smoother succession of his son.

In 1604, Tōdō Takatora and Date Masamune advised the Shogunate government to introduce a rule across Japan that each feudal lord were obliged to maintain residence in Edo, capital of Shogunate, which immediately accepted and implemented officially.

Ōgosho (1605–1616)


From 1605 onwards, Ieyasu, retired from official position as Shogun and now become a retired shōgun (大御所), remained the effective ruler of Japan until his death. Ieyasu retired to Sunpu Castle in Sunpu, but he also supervised the building of Edo Castle, a massive construction project which lasted for the rest of Ieyasu's life. The result was the largest castle in all of Japan, the costs for building the castle being borne by all the other daimyo, while Ieyasu reaped all the benefits. The central donjon, or tenshu, burned in the 1657 Meireki fire. Today, the Imperial Palace stands on the site of the castle. Edo became the center of political power and the de facto capital of Japan, although the historic capital of Kyoto remained the de jure capital as the seat of the emperor. Furthermore, Ieyasu had the Imperial Court appoint his eldest remaining son, Hidetada, as Shogun, announcing to the world that the position of Shogun would be hereditary to the Tokugawa clan from then on. At the same time, he requested Toyotomi Hideyori to meet the new Shogun, Hidetada, but Hideyori refused. In the end, the matter was resolved by sending his sixth son, Matsudaira Tadateru to Osaka Castle. At the same time, the next generation of Tokugawa clan vassals such Ii Naotaka and Itakura Shigemasa, were also appointed.

in 1608 Ieyasu has Takatora assigned the control of Tsu It was reported that the landholdings which Takatora received in Iga province were previously belongs to a lord named Tsutsui Sadatsugu, which Ieyasu stripped off and give the rights to Takatora. The initial pretext were because Sadatsugu's sloppy governance of the domain. However, historians arguing that the reason were because Sadatsugu behaved suspiciously visiting Toyotomi Hideyori at Osaka Castle, without the Shogunate approval, while the land which Sadatsugu occupied was considered as important military strategic location. Furthermore, it was more though that in Ieyasu perspective to strip the land and give it to the Todo clan as political strategy against the Toyotomi clan, as despite his patronage to the Toyotomi family, Tōdō Takatora were considered as a close ally of Ieyasu. Thus by making him to control the portions of Iga province, it could pushed more strategic locations to the influence of Shogunate without directly provoking the Toyotomi faction in Osaka.

In 1611 (Keicho 16), Ieyasu, at the head of 50,000 men, visited Kyoto to witness the enthronement of Emperor Go-Mizunoo. In Kyoto, Ieyasu ordered the remodeling of the Imperial Court and buildings, and forced the remaining western daimyo to sign an oath of fealty to him. Furthermore, On April 12, Ieyasu presented three articles of legislation to the Daimyo lords in Kyoto. The important point of these three articles was that they referred to the Shogun's legal code since Minamoto no Yoritomo, and that they would strictly abide by the laws issued by the Shogunate from then on. Next, they made the lords swear not to conceal those who disobeyed the Shogun's orders, and not to hid or give shelters to any enemy of the states. 22 daimyo from the Hokuriku region and Western provinces agreed to the three articles of legislation and submitted an oath. daimyo lords from of Oshu and Kanto were not included in this list, because they were engaged in the construction of Edo Castle and did not come to Kyoto. In January of the following year, 11 major feudal lords from Oshu and Kanto swore to the Three Laws. After that, 50 small and medium-sized fudai and tozama feudal lords also swore to the Three Laws, and Ieyasu succeeded in making all the feudal lords in the country his vassals. Ieyasu did not have Hideyori work on national construction, nor did he have him swear to the Three Laws. However, Watanabe Daimon saw this three law articles issued by Ieyasu was a maneuver to isolate Hideyori politically by making other influential daimyo lords obey him.

In 1613, he composed the Kuge shohatto (公家諸法度), a document which put the court daimyo under strict supervision, leaving them as mere ceremonial figureheads.

In 1615, Ieyasu prepared the Buke shohatto (武家諸法度), a document setting out the future of the Tokugawa regime.

Relations with Catholics
As Ōgosho, Ieyasu also supervised diplomatic affairs with the Netherlands, Spain, and England. Ieyasu chose to distance Japan from European influence starting in 1609, although the shogunate did still grant preferential trading rights to the Dutch East India Company and permitted them to maintain a "factory" for trading purposes.

From 1605 until his death, Ieyasu frequently consulted English shipwright and pilot, William Adams. Adams, a Protestant fluent in Japanese, assisted the shogunate in negotiating trading relations, but was cited by members of the competing Jesuit and Spanish-sponsored mendicant orders as an obstacle to improved relations between Ieyasu and the Roman Catholic Church.

In 1612, Nossa Senhora da Graça incident occurred at Nagasaki, where bugyō official of Sakai Hasegawa Fujihiro has trouble with Portuguese captain André Pessoa. The conflict between them increased as Pessoa and the merchants from Macau petitioned Ieyasu directly to complain about Hasegawa and Murayama Tōan, magistrate of Ieyasu. As the Jesuits learning this affair, they were horrified when they found out about Pessoa's petition as they new that Hasegawa's sister Onatsu was a favorite concubine of Ieyasu. Later, Pessoa ceased his decision as he learned the intrigue of shogunate. However, Fujihiro refused to forgive Pessoa's action to petition him. Fujihiro encouraged Arima Harunobu, who wanted to retaliate for the prior Macau incident, to petition Ieyasu for the capture of Pessoa and the seizure of a merchant ship. Ieyasu, who had entrusted Harunobu with the purchase of Agarwood, was initially concerned that a retaliatory act would cut off trade with Portuguese ships. Thus, the shogunate took lenient attitude to Pessoa, as Honda Masazumi, with authorization from Ieyasu, gave Pessoa's envoy written assurances that Japanese sailors would be forbidden to travel to Macau, and any who did could be handled according to Portuguese laws. However, later Ieyasu gave Harunobu permission after he guaranteed that Manila ships of Spanish merchants, who had a personal alliance with Portugal, would replenish the raw silk and other goods carried by Portuguese ships, and he also expected Dutch ships to continue arriving. Then ultimately Ieyasu gave authorization to Hasegawa and Arima Harunobu. After several days battle which resulted in death of Pessoa, the remaining Portuguese merchants and missionaries were naturally concerned about their fates, especially since Ieyasu had personally ordered their execution. Harunobu, as a Catholic daimyo, interceded on the behalf of the Jesuits. Ieyasu changed his decision, and eventually, the merchants were allowed to leave for Macau with their properties. However, Ieyasu's Jesuit translator João Rodrigues Tçuzu, who was replaced by William Adams. João Rodrigues then expelled from Japan by Ieyasu.

In 1612, the Okamoto Daihachi incident occurred where Okamoto Daihachi (岡本大八, baptismal name Paulo), a Christian aide to the rōjū Honda Masazumi, and Arima Harunobu, were implicated in series of crimes such as bribery, conspiracy, forgery, and attempt to murder Hasegawa Fujihiro. Ieyasu angered when he heard that Catholic followers had gathered at Okamoto's execution to offer prayers and sing hymns.

in 1614, Ieyasu was sufficiently concerned about Spanish territorial ambitions that he signed a Christian Expulsion Edict. The edict banned the practice of Christianity and led to the expulsion of all foreign missionaries. Although some smaller Dutch trading operations remained in Nagasaki.

Conflict with Hideyori
The last remaining threat to Ieyasu's rule was Toyotomi Hideyori, the son and rightful heir to Hideyoshi. He was now a young daimyo living in Osaka Castle. Many samurai who opposed Ieyasu rallied around Hideyori, claiming that he was the rightful ruler of Japan. Ieyasu found fault with the opening ceremony of a temple (Great Buddha of Kyoto) built by Hideyori; it was as if he prayed for Ieyasu's death and the ruin of the Tokugawa clan. Ieyasu ordered Hideyori to leave Osaka Castle, but those in the castle refused and summoned samurai to gather within the castle. Then in 1614, Tokugawa besieged the Osaka Castle against Hideyori.

The Tokugawa forces, with a huge army led by Ieyasu and shōgun Tokugawa Hidetada, laid siege to Osaka Castle in what is now known as "the Winter Siege of Osaka". Eventually, the Tokugawa were able to force negotiations and an armistice after directed cannon fire threatened Hideyori's mother, Yodo-dono. However, once the treaty was agreed, the Tokugawa filled the castle's outer moats with sand so his troops could walk across. Through this ploy, the Tokugawa gained a huge tract of land through negotiation and deception that they could not through siege and combat. Ieyasu returned to Sunpu Castle, but after Toyotomi Hideyori refused another order to leave Osaka, Ieyasu and his allied army of 155,000 soldiers attacked Osaka Castle again in "the Summer Siege of Osaka".

Finally, in late 1615, Osaka Castle fell and nearly all the defenders were killed, including Hideyori, his mother (Toyotomi Hideyoshi's widow, Yodo-dono), and his infant son. His wife, Senhime (a granddaughter of Ieyasu), pleaded to save Hideyori and Yodo-dono's lives. Ieyasu refused and either required them to commit ritual suicide, or killed both of them. Eventually, Senhime was sent back to the Tokugawa alive. With the Toyotomi line finally extinguished, no threats remained to the Tokugawa clan's domination of Japan.



Final year & death
After the conflict with Toyotomi Hideyori, Ieyasu implemented the Buke shohatto code, which stated that each daimyo lord only allowed to possess one castle.

In 1616, Tokugawa Ieyasu died at age 73. The cause of death is thought to have been cancer or syphilis. The first Tokugawa shōgun was posthumously deified with the name Tōshō Daigongen (東照大權現), the "Great Gongen, Light of the East". (A Gongen is believed to be a buddha who has appeared on Earth in the shape of a kami to save sentient beings). In life, Ieyasu had expressed the wish to be deified after his death to protect his descendants from evil. His remains were buried at the Gongens' mausoleum at Kunōzan, Kunōzan Tōshō-gū (久能山東照宮). As a common view, many people believe that after the first anniversary of his death, his remains were reburied at Nikkō Shrine, Nikkō Tōshō-gū (日光東照宮), and his remains are still there. Neither shrine has offered to open the graves, so the location of Ieyasu's physical remains is still a mystery. The mausoleum's architectural style became known as gongen-zukuri, that is gongen-style. He was first given the Buddhist name Tosho Dai-Gongen (東照大權現), then after his death it was changed to Hogo Onkokuin (法號安國院). During this time, the chief physician who cared for him, Sotetsu Katayama, diagnosed Ieyasu with stomach cancer. However, Ieyasu misinterpret Katayama's diagnose of his illness as a mass of tapeworms problem. Thus, he did not take the medicine Sotetsu had prepared, and instead continued his own method of therapy which he believed could cure his perceived tapeworms problem. This resulted in Ieyasu's health became more deteriotated. Although his son, Hidetada, also warned him about his medical method, this only caused to anger Ieyasu, who had his pride as a person who possess high knowledge in medical field and ended instead exiling Sotetsu to the Shinshu Takashima Domain.

At the time of his death, Ieyasu was estimated has personal wealth of about 4 million koku, and reached 8 million koku for the total of the Tokugawa clan owernership. He also possess about 42 Ton of golds as the Tokugawa Shogunate implemented the centralization of gold and silver mines ownership, unlike the previous era government of Japan, which possession of mines ownership were managed by local lords through the shogunate authorization.

The Tokugawa shogunate would rule Japan for the next 260 years.

Personal info


Historical evaluation of Ieyasu by Junji Mitsunari from history faculty of Kyushu University has comparation of Ieyasu's upbringing with another Sengoku era leader, Mōri Terumoto. Mitsunari viewed that Terumoto, who has been raised in comfort and stable domains of the Mōri clan, has contrasted with the hardships of Ieyasu during his childhood, who experienced the unstable region in Mikawa province, where he spend much his youth as hostage of other warlords, thus forming both leader's character into different styles. Mitsunari viewed that this contrast of leadership style has reflected in the Sekigahara battle, where the indecisiveness of Terumoto costed the Western army greatly during the crucial moment, while Ieyasu's bold decision and his willingness to take the risk gave him the edge during the war. John T. Kuehn saw Ieyasu was capable of complex long game strategies both politically and militarily as he shown during his conflict against Ishida Mitsunari. Kuehn saw that the Siege of Fushimi Castle was Ieyasu's deliberate strategy to sacrifice the castle and baiting Mitsunari into set-piece battle, where his more battle proven forces has advantage than Mitsunari.

On the other hand, Kazuto Hongō has compared to Nobunaga what he saw as the Tokugawa had instrument to ensure the stability of nation, which was his optimization of the abilities of his vassals rather than relying on the power of individual personality, and established succession system. Tetsuo Owada personally praise of how Ieyasu manage to quickly accepted by the citizens of Kantō region and ruled there without unrests after he transferred there, by continuing the lenient tax policies of the Hōjō clan to gain sympathy.

Hamada Koichiro from Himeji Dokkyo University university has recorded that there is systematic attempt of historiography studies during the aftermath of Meiji Restoration to portray Ieyasu in negative reputation as "cunning old man" who used the temple's bell of Hokoji as casus belli to wage war against Hideyori. Koichiro saw this tendency of Ieyasu to resort into underhanded tactics were quite justified at some extend for different reason, namely was how his attempt in suppressing the Mikawa Ikkō-ikki rebellion by breaking his promise of leniency for Jōdo Shinshū's followers in exchange for surrender. However, Koichiro also points out that Ieyasu was also capable of bravery as he showed by personally entering the battlefield during the rebellion, while also pointing out several anecdotes of Ieyasu as a youth showing promise as a capable military tactician when he still under the wing of the Imagawa clan.

He was capable of great loyalty: once he allied with Oda Nobunaga, he never went against him, and both leaders profited from their long alliance. He was known for being loyal towards his personal friends and vassals, whom he rewarded. He was said to have a close friendship with his vassal Hattori Hanzō. However, he also remembered those who had wronged him in the past. It is said that Ieyasu executed a man who came into his power because he had insulted him when Ieyasu was young.

According to professor Watanabe Daimon, one of the biggest strengths of Ieyasu policies were his benevolence towards his subordinates and his capability to forgive his enemies and even his own generals who betrayed him during the Mikawa Ikkō-ikki uprising. This allowed him to gain the loyalty of the Mikawa samurai clans. As an example, during the battle of Mikatagahara, those who shielded Ieyasu and even gave their lives to allow his retreat were the ones who once fought against Ieyasu in the past and were pardoned by him. Ieyasu also once protected many former Takeda retainers from the wrath of Oda Nobunaga, who was known to harbour a bitter grudge towards the Takeda. He managed successfully to transform many of the retainers of the Takeda, Hōjō, and Imagawa clans —all whom he had defeated himself or helped to defeat—into loyal vassals. At the same time, he was also ruthless when crossed. For example, he ordered the executions of his first wife and his eldest son—a son-in-law of Oda Nobunaga; Nobunaga was also an uncle of Hidetada's wife Oeyo. However, according to George Sansom, Ieyasu was cruel, relentless and merciless in the elimination of Toyotomi survivors after Osaka. For days, scores of men and women were hunted down and executed, including an eight-year-old son of Toyotomi Hideyori by a concubine, who was beheaded. However, Ieyasu also known to be capable of forgiven, such as how he gave pardon to Watanabe Moritsuna after he rebelled against Ieyasu during Ikkō-ikki uprisings in Mikawa.

Unlike Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he harbored no desires to conquer outside of Japan—he only wanted to bring order and an end to open warfare, and to rule Japan.

Ieyasu's favorite pastime was falconry. He regarded it as excellent training for a warrior. "When you go into the country hawking, you learn to understand the military spirit and also the hard life of the lower classes. You exercise your muscles and train your limbs. You have any amount of walking and running and become quite indifferent to heat and cold, and so you are little likely to suffer from any illness.". Ieyasu swam often; even late in his life he is reported to have swum in the moat of Edo Castle.

Armors & weapons
Many armors are said to have been used by Ieyasu, and at least 10 pieces of armor were used by Ieyasu during his life and recorded in history.

While warlords at the time preferred flashy armor and frontlets to show off their presence, the 'Hada Gusoku' armor used by Ieyasu in the Siege of Osaka is a jet black armor with very few decoration, and is said to represent Ieyasu's frugal personality.

Like Hideyoshi, Ieyasu also presented armor to Europe, and there is a record of the "Moji-i Domaru Armor" at Ambras Castle in Austria being a gift from "the Emperor and Empress of Japan to Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II." This armor has the same characteristics as the aforementioned "Hanairo Hinomaru-i Domaru Armor" and armor presented by Hidetada to King James I of England in 1613, and is believed to have been presented by Ieyasu between 1608 and 1612. The armor has the characters "Tenka" ("World") on the front of the torso and left sleeve, and "Taihei" ("Great Peace") on the back of the torso and right sleeve, woven with red thread.

Quotes
"Life is like unto a long journey with a heavy burden. Let thy step be slow and steady, that thou stumble not. Persuade thyself that imperfection and inconvenience are the lot of natural mortals, and there will be no room for discontent, neither for despair. When ambitious desires arise in thy heart, recall the days of extremity thou hast passed through. Forbearance is the root of all quietness and assurance forever. Look upon the wrath of thy enemy. If thou only knowest what it is to conquer, and knowest not what it is to be defeated; woe unto thee, it will fare ill with thee. Find fault with thyself rather than with others."

"The strong manly ones in life are those who understand the meaning of the word patience. Patience means restraining one's inclinations. There are seven emotions: joy, anger, anxiety, adoration, grief, fear, and hate, and if a man does not give way to these he can be called patient. I am not as strong as I might be, but I have long known and practiced patience. And if my descendants wish to be as I am, they must study patience."

It is said that he fought, as a warrior or a general, in 90 battles.

He was interested in various kenjutsu skills, was a patron of the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū school, and also had them as his personal sword instructors.

Religion
Tokugawa Ieyasu was known for his devotion to the Jōdo-shū school of Buddhism throughout his life, having been born into the Matsudaira clan which followed Jōdō Buddhism. Demonstrating his constant favor towards the sect, he moved his familial temple to the Zōjō-ji Temple in Edo and funded massive renovations to older Jōdo temples, including the head temple of Chion-in in Kyoto, while also financing the creation of several new temples. After confiding in the abbot of Zōjō-ji temple about wanting to become a deity to protect his country, he was given the advice to regularly recite the nembutsu for the purpose of being born into Amida Buddha's Pure Land of Sukhavati, where he would be able to easily attain Buddhahood and protect his descendants and the entire nation of Japan. Ieyasu readily accepted this advice, and constantly repeated the nembutsu until the day he died. Despite his personal devotion to Jōdo-shū, Ieyasu was not a strict sectarian, placing his secretary Denchōrō, a Rinzai Zen monk, in charge of all religious affairs in Japan, Buddhist and Shinto alike.

Later in life he also took to scholarship and Confucianism, patronizing scholars like Hayashi Razan.

While at first tolerant of Christianity, his attitude changed after 1613 and the persecution of Christians sharply increased, with Ieyasu completely banning Catholicism in 1614. The hostility of Ieyasu towards Catholics were shown when he replaced Jesuits translator João Rodrigues Tçuzu with William Adams in his court. This change of attitude also believed due to Okamoto Daihachi incident, where a catholic daimyo and shogun's official were accused for the series of crimes. After the execution of Dahachi, Ieyasu reportedly said:

"If they see a condemned fellow, they run to him with joy, bow to him, and do him reverence. This they say is the essence of their belief. If this is not an evil law, what is it? They truly are the enemies of the Gods and of Buddha."

Honours

 * Senior First Rank (April 14, 1617; posthumously)

Popular culture
Ieyasu's life and accomplishments were used as a model for the Japanese statesman, Lord Yoshi Toranaga, portrayed in James Clavell's historical novel Shōgun. The 1980 television miniseries adaptation of the novel, starring Toshiro Mifune as the Shōgun, and the 2024 miniseries, starring Hiroyuki Sanada as the Shōgun, both used Ieyasu as a key reference.

A NHK show What Will You Do, Ieyasu? is a Japanese historical drama television series depicted a semi-fictional history of Tokugawa Ieyasu which starred Jun Matsumoto as Ieyasu.