Tokugawa Iemitsu, the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada, held a special place in the heart of his grandfather, Tokugawa Ieyasu. Although his younger brother Tadanaga was favored by their parents and initially considered as Hidetada’s successor, Ieyasu asserted that Iemitsu would inherit the position. Interestingly, during his childhood, Iemitsu shared the same name as his grandfather, Takechiyo.
In 1617, Iemitsu celebrated his Coming of Age ceremony, marking the official transition to adulthood and adopting the name Iemitsu. He was officially declared as the future shogun, a proclamation that was contested by his younger brother, sparking a bitter rivalry between them. When Hidetada passed away in 1632, Iemitsu, fearing his brother's ambitions, compelled Tadanaga to commit seppuku to eliminate any threat to his authority.
Moreover, Iemitsu disregarded the regents, a group of daimyo appointed by his father to serve as advisors, instead favoring his own circle of trusted friends. While this decision caused discontent among the daimyo, it led to the establishment of a robust and centralized government. Any dissent from the daimyo was swiftly dealt with, often resulting in their forced removal from positions of influence.
Iemitsu was responsible for implementing the Sankin Kotai system, which required daimyo to travel between their provinces and Edo (Tokyo), spending designated periods attending the court and maintaining separate residences in the city, where their families were held as hostages. This system served to control the daimyo and impose financial strain, limiting their ability to acquire arms, armor, and maintain large armies. Additionally, Iemitsu enforced Japan's isolationist policies, known as Sakoku, prohibiting foreigners from entering the country and restricting Japanese citizens from leaving. Foreign trade was strictly regulated and conducted solely at Deshima, a small island in Nagasaki.
Legend has it that in 1620, Iemitsu had a dispute with his childhood friend, as well as his homosexual partner and retainer, Sakabe Gozaemon, resulting in Gozaemon's death during a confrontation while they were bathing together. Seventeen years later, the Shimabara Rebellion erupted, with over 27,000 individuals killed or executed in protest against Iemitsu's policies.
Shogun Iemitsu passed away at the age of 47 on June 8, 1651, and was succeeded by his son, Tokugawa Ietsuna.
See also
-
Takigawa Kazumasu
Takigawa Kazumasu (1525 – October 21, 1586), also known as Takikawa Sakon or Sakonshogen, was a prominent samurai and daimyō of the Sengoku period. He served as a loyal retainer and military commander under Oda Nobunaga and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi. His biological son, Toshimasu, was adopted by Maeda Toshihisa, the elder brother of Maeda Toshiie, and Kazumasu served alongside Toshiie in Nobunaga’s campaigns.
-
Sanada Yukitaka
Sanada Yukitaka (c. 1512 – June 8, 1574) was a renowned samurai warrior of the Sengoku period, best known as one of the "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen." He was the father of Sanada Nobutsuna and Sanada Masayuki, as well as the grandfather of the legendary Sanada Yukimura, who later served the Toyotomi clan.
-
Torii Mototada
Torii Mototada (1539 – September 8, 1600) was a Japanese samurai and daimyo who lived through the Sengoku and late Azuchi–Momoyama periods. A loyal retainer of Tokugawa Ieyasu, he is best remembered for his heroic last stand at the Siege of Fushimi, an event that played a crucial role in shaping Japanese history.
-
Toyotomi Hideyori
Toyotomi Hideyori (August 28, 1593 – June 4, 1615) was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who first unified Japan. His mother, Yodo-dono, was Oda Nobunaga's niece.
-
Okubo Tadanori
Okubo Tadanori (January 13, 1842 – August 10, 1897) was the 9th daimyo of Odawara Domain in Sagami Province (modern-day Kanagawa Prefecture) during the late Edo period. Before the Meiji Restoration, he held the courtesy title of Kaga no Kami.
-
Okubo Tadayo
Okubo Tadayo (1532 – October 28, 1594) was a samurai general who served Tokugawa Ieyasu during the Azuchi–Momoyama period and later became the daimyo of Odawara Domain in the early Edo period.
-
Araki Murashige
Araki Murashige (1535 – June 20, 1586) was a samurai and retainer of Ikeda Katsumasa, the head of the powerful Settsu-Ikeda clan in Settsu Province. Initially serving under Katsumasa, he aligned himself with Oda Nobunaga after Nobunaga’s successful campaign to establish control over Kyoto.
-
Yuki Hideyasu
Yuki Hideyasu (March 1, 1574 – June 2, 1607) was a Japanese samurai who lived during the Azuchi–Momoyama and early Edo periods, serving as the daimyō of Fukui Domain in Echizen Province. Born Tokugawa Ogimaru, he was the second son of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Lady Oman (also known as Lady Kogō), a handmaiden to Ieyasu’s wife, Lady Tsukiyama. Due to Ieyasu’s fears of his wife’s reaction to Oman’s pregnancy, Ogimaru and his twin brother were born in secrecy at the home of Honda Shigetsugu, one of Ieyasu’s retainers. Oman’s other son eventually became a priest, while Ogimaru was raised apart from Ieyasu, whom he only met at the age of three, in a meeting arranged by his older half-brother, Matsudaira Nobuyasu.
