Introduction
Background and his family
Tokugawa Ieyasu was born in the year 1526 in Matsudaira Takechiyo. He was son of Lord Matsudaira Hirotada of province of Mikawa. During civil war which was a violent between territorials lords which lasted for almost a century. In the year 1550 his family split one side sought to be a vassals of Imagawa clan while the other side ought Oda clan. The murder of Matsudaira who was Ieyasu paternal grandfather was due to family hostility (BBC, 2013).
Oda clan invaded Mikawa in the year 1548. At the age of four he was sent as a hostage to safe his clan from hostile Imagawa clan who were their neighbors. At the age of six years Nobuhide threaten to execute Tokugawa unless his father disconnected all ties with the Imagawa clan. Hirotada responded that surrendering his own son would indicate his significance in his pact with the Imagawa clan. Despite this rejection, Nobuhide opt not to kill Ieyasu however he held him for the next three years at the Manshoji Temple in Nagoya (BBC, 2013).
Tokugawa was raised in court where he learned education which was suitable for a nobleman. In the year 1567 his further passed away and he was left as a leader of the Matsudaira his clan. During this time he changed his name from Matsudaira to Tokugawa. This was a name of the area from which his family originated. His campaigning with Nobunga lasted for decades while his aim was to expand his wealth and own influence. By then he gained a considerable military status (BBC, 2O13). After the assassination of Nobunga, Tokugawa assimilated more territory and governed lands in the east of Japan.
Why he dominated Japan
The dominance of Tokugawa came after he won the battle of Sekigahara in 1600, he swiftly consolidate power from his highly fortified castle at Edo which is the current day Tokyo. He established powerless imperial court that would rule Japan for two and a half centuries. His regime at first was mainly focusing on reestablishing order in social, political and internal affair after a century of war (Royal Armories, 1). His political structure was solid and was successfully used by his two successors and also limited them to acquire too much land power.
Tokugawa dominance is established in the success in the battles he was involved in. in 1567, Tokugawa alliance with Oda Nobunaga. Together with Takeda Shingen, the fought, conquered and divided up the old Imagawa territories. He moved his capital to the castle in Hamamatsu o that he could govern his territory appropriately. As the two were fighting old Imagawa, Oda on the other hand was gaining control of Kyoto. These were the territories that had been a threat to his empire for a long time (Royal Armories, 1). His domination is attributed to the army that he commanded. His army was well organized and won many battles. Collaboration was also an important aspect of his ruling that he utilized to be successful as a ruler and a leader.
In the reigning period of Tokugawa neo-confusion dominated and it recognized only four social classes which were the warriors or samurai, artisans, farmers and merchants with their interaction prohibited. During his ruling period, the Japan economy recorded a significant growth in agriculture production which resulted in the growth of cities (Royal Armories, 1). The expansion of trade and other forms of production and manufacturing activities was advantageous in making his army stronger which he would use to conquer and establish his jurisdiction.
Tokugawa was a bright leader with high organization skills. This enabled him to effectively organize the region under his sovereignty. He was able to create a long spell of peace that fostered social, economic and political changes in the whole of japan. Through this, the subjects become loyal to him and any resistances raised against him were effectively countered due to the strength that japan had. The stability in politics and economics that he strived to create brought rapid modernization that went through to the Meiji period (McCargo, 106). Tokugawa found it necessary to recognize the four social classes that were prevalent in japan as he knew that they were capable of dictating the country’s political, social and economic direction.
Another critical factor that enabled Tokugawa to remain effective as a leader for a long period was his military strength and skills. He had created a strong military that could effectively face and conquer any force that threatened the security and existence of japan. Additionally, his military strength allowed him to absorb relatively weaker states and this increased his powers. He signed treaties with the Dutch and British who also provided him with any urgent help that was needed from time to time. He gained the West's preeminence in weaponry, technology and science (McCargo, 64). With such a strength economy and culture Tokugawa gained enough confidence that his subjects were living a good life and enemies could not destabilize the strong japan with a abled leaders.Tokugawa could not dismiss any security threat but took immediate remedial action as he firmly stood to defend his leadership. He however shielded Japanese from the Christianity influence as he perceived this to be a major threat to his leadership.
Reforms
Tokugawa Leyasu was the first shogun in Japan. He played a very critical role in ensuring that he fought towards unifying Japan after a long period of civil strife and wars. By 1600, he had successfully gained momentum to control Japan. He ensured that he created the Edo city as the capital city of his kingdom. In the previous days, Kyoto had been the capital city of Japan and the Emperor during those times had built his place at the place (Nakane and Shinzaburou, 65)
Tokugawa Leyasu is remembered for the pace that he set since he was a popular Military Commander. He went further in changing the social structure of Japan and this reform gave him an upper hand to control the various functions in Japan.
He was also the founder of a dynasty that belonged to the Tokugawa clan that will rule over japan even after he dies. The man was also charged with the responsibilities to supervise the early diplomatic relations that he shared with the Europeans. This made him to pass a law that restricted Christianity from all parts of Japan. When Tokugawa Leyasu dominated Japan, he implemented reforms which were aimed at transforming the Shogunate to a state of financial solvency. The reforms that were aimed at making the shogunate reach the state of financial solvency were popularly known as the Kyoho Reforms. He went further to introduce the Gosankyo that countered the Gosanke (Harold, 78).
Work cited
Bolitho, Harold. Treasures Among Men: The Fudai Daimyo in Tokugawa Japan. New Haven: Yale University Press. 10-ISBN 0-300-01655-7/13-ISBN 978-0-300-01655-0; OCLC 185685588, 1974
Chie Nakane and Shinzaburou Oishi. Tokugawa Japan - The Social and Economic Antecedents of Modern Japan. University of Tokyo Press. , 1990, pp.12.
McCargo, Duncan. Contemporary Japan. New York, N.Y: St. Martin's Press, 2000. Print.
Royal Armories. "The Life of Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu | Royal Armouries." Home | Royal Armories. 2013. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. <http://www.royalarmouries.org/what-we-do/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/shogun-the-life-of-lord-tokugawa-ieyasu/the-life-of-lord-tokugawa-ieyasu>.
"BBC - History - Tokugawa Ieyasu." BBC - Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.
