Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu

Resting place of Tokugawa Ieyasu, in Nikko, Japan.

Tokugawa Ieyasu 1542-1616

The Third of Japan's Three Great Unifiers

Over the course of 40 years, progressing through till the close of the 16th century three successive feudal lords: Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu - forged military alliances and developed administrative structures to unite and govern the formerly fractured, feuding islands of Japan. Tokugawa Ieyasu (Toh-kuu-gah-wah Ee-eh-yah-sue) was born in 1542, only 3 years prior to the beginning of Portuguese trade with Japan. Trade with the distant Europeans and their strange customs soon brought disruptive changes to the feuding daimyos (regional castle-centered land lords), new wealth from trade (unevenly distributed), guns, cannons and other technology and Christianity. Some historians have speculated that the introduction of the musket alone had hastened Japan's political changes by several decades.

In 1599, Hideyoshi's (mentioned above) untimely death catalyzed a new rush between daimyo leaders to establish successful regional alliances. Many feared the clever Ieyasu, one of the then 5 most powerful lords formerly under Hideyoshi. But Ieyasu hailed from a distant northern backwater town called Edo - far from the action in Western Japan. (Edo is now called Tokyo, by the way. But at that time Kyoto and Osaka were most centered geographically.) Soon though Ieyasu cleverly consolidated his position, establishing secret ties with even some allies of his main opponents and by October of 1600 the powerful Western Japanese alliance resisting him summarily collapsed. In a matter of days, Ieyasu made his triumphant entrance into Osaka, the military leader of a mostly unified Japan.

In 1603 the Emperor obligingly bestowed the title of Shogun on Tokugawa Ieyasu. Though exercising legitimacy from far in the background through much of Japanese history the Imperial household in Kyoto was ever-present and of important consequence. (Westerners didn't know this fact until much later, after the Meiji Restoration of the late nineteenth century. But the emperor's blessing added legitimacy to the new Shogun's rule.) Volumes have been written trying to adequately relate Tokugawa Ieyasu's impact upon Japan's political and cultural development, but this writer believes that his two most powerful traits were wisdom and cunning.

Domestically, Ieyasu successfully divided his foes keeping them off balance and his effective use of spies and informants led to successive power consolidations, particularly in the Western reaches of Honshu and Kyushu where his influence was most often challenged. He thwarted uprisings, institutionalized the fragmenting of daimyo powers, and cleverly cobbled the warring factions into one stable government over the whole nation.

Internationally he proved an astute observer of human nature, particularly keen at judging a person's true character. In 1599 a weakened Dutch ship and scurvy ridden crew beached itself near Edo (i.e. just south of Tokyo). After months at sea, lost in the great Pacific, ridden with disease and death, the surviving crew members were disoriented and defenseless. Ieyasu's vassals had no clue as to their origin. They appeared to be of "European" origin but the crew was definitely not Portuguese or Spanish. The (Catholic) Portuguese were called in to help identify the (Protestant) Dutch and British ship and crew. The Portuguese (by then long time traders in Japan, and devout Catholics too, by the way) wasted no time in proclaiming the new arrivals to be pirates - they should be put to death at once.

Ieyasu considered their counsel, but instead had the men put into custody, and not mistreated. Soon they began to recover from maladies resultant from malnutrition and exposure during their many months at sea. The Portuguese interpreted poorly and raised charges at the important trial which followed, but were frustrated that the Japanese did little to punish these men from northern Europe. Ieyasu sat quietly, observing the behavior of both groups of strangers during the "trial." Shortly thereafter one of the men, William Adams (still known to Japanese today under his later given Japanese name of, Miura Anjin) was brought to a private study chamber. Adams seemed to be a natural leader among the men. Ieyasu waited for him, studied his face, and then quietly led him to a large crude map of the world. The men could not speak to each other but Adams understood the question and pointed to England - a land just far enough away from Spain and Portugal that Ieyasu could surmise the true reason for the European rivalry and their hatred of each other. Ieyasu reportedly smiled in response. Soon Adams was learning Japanese and Ieyasu was able to solicit competitive views and knowledge from both sides - the Catholic Spanish & Portuguese and the Protestant English & Dutch.

It could be argued that Ieyasu's wisdom and the Tokugawa government in general gave the Land of the Rising Sun sufficient independence and resilience to survive the succeeding Colonial Era intact, a feat accomplished by very few non-white nations in the world! Even large powerful China was to suffer at the hands of well armed outsiders from their small distant countries. Japan though soon closed its doors and kept the foreign powers completely out for well over 200 years, until the 1850's; Japan's native culture and pride remained intact.

Officially Ieyasu handed his title as Shogun down to his son in 1605, beginning the Tokugawa family dynasty which was to hold strong for 250 years. But until his death in 1616 he remained an active force in consolidating and strengthening Japan under his family's rule. (by Paul Abramson)


Send comments to: paul@zzz.com

Go To Main Page:  http://www.paulzilla.org/