Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康, January 31, 1543 - June 1, 1616; born Matsudaira Takechiyo and later adopting other names) was the founder and first shōgun of Japan's Tokugawa Shogunate, which ruled the country from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow Oda subordinate Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he was one of Japan's three "Great Unifiers." Ieyasu, the son of a minor daimyo, served as a hostage for daimyo Imagawa Yoshimoto on behalf of his father. After his father's death, he succeeded as daimyo, serving as vassal and general of the Oda clan and consolidating his power under Oda Nobunaga.

Tokugawa Ieyasu was a rival of Toyotomi Hideyoshi after Oda Nobunaga's death, before declaring his allegiance and fighting on his behalf. Toyotomi moved Ieyasu to the Kanto plains in eastern Japan, away from the Toyotomi power base in Osaka. He built his castle in Edo, a fishing village (now Tokyo). Under the Toyotomi regime, he rose to become the most powerful daimyo and senior officer. In Toyotomi's failed attempt to conquer Korea, Ieyasu maintained his strength. Ieyasu seized power after Toyotomi's death in 1600, following the Battle of Sekigahara. He was appointed shogun in 1603, and voluntarily resigned in 1605, but remained in power until his death in 1616. He instituted the bakuhan system, a set of strict rules designed to keep the daimyo and samurai in check during the Tokugawa Shogunate.