Tokugawa Hidetada, born on May 2, 1579, was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Following the execution of Ieyasu's first son and wife on accusations of plotting against Oda Nobunaga, Hidetada became the sole remaining heir.
Raised by one of Ieyasu's concubines after his mother's sudden death in 1589, Hidetada was sent as a hostage to Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1590 during the Siege of Odawara. Held captive until 1593, he married Oda Nobukatsu's daughter, O-hime, but she passed away a year later. Upon his release, Hidetada married Oeyo, daughter of Azai Nagamasa, in 1595, with whom he had four children.
In 1600, Hidetada led an army to attack the Uesugi and later laid siege to Ueda Castle before arriving late to the Battle of Sekigahara, angering Ieyasu. Despite this, Hidetada became the second Tokugawa Shogun in 1605, although Ieyasu retained significant political influence until his death in 1616.
In 1612, Hidetada arranged the marriage of his daughter, Sen-Hime, to Toyotomi Hideyoshi's son, Hideyori, leading to tension with Ieyasu. After Hideyori's demise in the Osaka Castle siege, only Sen-hime was rescued, eventually marrying into the Tokugawa-loyal Honda clan. Hidetada's other daughter, Kazuko, married Emperor Go-Mizunoo's daughter, who later became Empress Meisho.
Hidetada retired as Shogun in 1623, passing the title to his son, Iemitsu. He passed away in 1632 and was buried at the Taitoku-in mausoleum in Zojo-ji Temple in Edo.
See also
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Takeda Nobuyoshi
Takeda Nobuyoshi (1128–1186 or later) was a prominent Japanese samurai lord of the late Heian and early Kamakura periods and the founder of the Takeda clan.
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Tokugawa Iemochi
Tokugawa Iemochi (1846–1866) was the fourteenth shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate and ruled from 1858 until his death. His reign came during the turbulent final years of the shogunate, when Japan faced growing Western pressure and serious internal political conflict.
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Tokugawa Ienari
Tokugawa Ienari (1773–1841) was the eleventh shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate and ruled from 1787 to 1837, making him the longest-serving Tokugawa shōgun. He was a great-grandson of the eighth shōgun, Tokugawa Yoshimune.
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Matsudaira Nobuyasu
Matsudaira Nobuyasu was only twenty years old when his father ordered him to commit seppuku. The reason was not a defeat in battle, but a crisis inside the Tokugawa family that had become too dangerous to ignore.
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Yamagata Masakage
Masakage was one of Takeda Shingen’s most loyal and capable commanders. He was included in the famous list of the “Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen” and also belonged to the inner circle of four especially trusted warlords known as the Shitennō.
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Yagyu Munenori
Yagyū Munenori began his service under Tokugawa Ieyasu while his father, Yagyū Muneyoshi, was still at his side. In 1600, Munenori took part in the decisive Battle of Sekigahara. As early as 1601, he was appointed a kenjutsu instructor to Tokugawa Hidetada, Ieyasu’s son, who later became the second shogun of the Tokugawa clan.
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Yagyu Muneyoshi
A samurai from Yamato Province, he was born into a family that had been defeated in its struggle against the Tsutsui clan. Muneyoshi first took part in battle at the age of sixteen. Due to circumstances beyond his control, he was forced to enter the service of the Tsutsui house and later served Miyoshi Tōkei. He subsequently came under the command of Matsunaga Hisahide and in time became a vassal first of Oda and later of Toyotomi.
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Endo Naozune
Naozune served under Azai Nagamasa and was one of the clan’s leading vassals, renowned for his bravery and determination. He accompanied Nagamasa during his first meeting with Oda Nobunaga and at that time asked for permission to kill Nobunaga, fearing him as an extremely dangerous man; however, Nagamasa did not grant this request.
