Tokugawa Hidetada
Tokugawa Hidetada (徳川 秀忠 (May 2, 1579-March 14, 1632) was the second shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa bakufu.
Early Life (1579-1593)
Tokugawa Hidetada was born to Tokugawa Ieyasu and one of his many consorts in 1579. His childhood name was Tokugawa Nagamaru. His exact birthdate is unknown. This was shortly after Nagamaru's stepmother (Ieyasu's official wife - Nagamaru was born to a consort) and his half-brother Tokugawa Nobuyasu were executed following an accusation that they were planning to assassinate Ieyasu following negotiations with Ieyasu's arch-nemesis, Takeda Shingen. Around this time, Nagamaru's father had allied with the Oda clan under Oda Nobunaga to crush the Takeda under Takeda Shingen. Ieyasu was in a way making a name for himeslf.
In 1590, the new ruler of Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, joined Tokugawa Ieyasu in attacking the Hojo northeast of Mikawa, the traditional powerbase of the Tokugawa in the Odawara Campaign. Ieyasu had agreed to a deal - if Ieyasu gave the five provinces currently under his jurisdiction, he would receive the eight Kanto provinces, including the city of Edo. In order to keep Ieyasu in line, and probably to prevent him from ever joining the Hojo against him (since the Hojo and the Tokugawa were on a friendly basis), Hideyoshi took the eleven year old Nagamaru as a hostage. In 1592, Hideyoshi presided over Nagamaru's coming of age ceremony, and Nagamaru's name became Tokugawa Hidetada. He was named the heir of the Tokugawa family, being the eldest surviving son of Ieyasu, and his favorite (since Ieyasu's eldest son had been previously executed, and his second son was adopted by Hideyoshi while still an infant). In 1593, Hidetada returned to be with his father, Ieyasu.
Early military achievements and Sekigahara (1593-1605)
In 1598, Hideyoshi died, and Hideyoshi's son Toyotomi Hideyori, became the new ruler of Japan, with five regents - one of which was Hidetada's father, Ieyasu. Nonetheless, Hideyori was ignored by the regents who began to feud among themselves. Tokugawa Ieyasu was one of the strongest of the regents, and began to rally around an Eastern faction, while people like Ishida Mitsunari rallied around a Western faction. The person and faction to rule Japan would be decided at a critical battle, the Battle of Sekigahara.
Hidetada had trained in his father's army and gradually began to direct some of his father's troops. In 1600, he and 16,000 of his father's men were in Shinano, containing the Uesugi clan, who were allied with the Westerners, waiting for an order from Ieyasu to arrive at Sekigahara so that father and son could fight against the Ishida. After Ieyasu gave the notice, Hidetada took too long to arrive, since he was having trouble defeating the Sanada Clan, so by the time he arrived, Ieyasu had defeated the Western bloc and became the ruler of Japan. Hidetada and Ieyasu's relationship was never the same again because of Hidetada's tardiness during that crucial battle.
In 1603, Ieyasu was granted by Emperor Go-Yozei the title of shogun. Thus, Hidetada also became the heir to the shogunate. In 1605, Ieyasu abdicated as shogun, and Hidetada became Shogun himself.
Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada (1605-1623)
In 1605, Hidetada became Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada. Even though he was officially Shogun, his father still was the real power behind the bakufu.
After he became shogun, he married Oeyo, and they had two sons, Tokugawa Iemitsu, and Tokugawa Tadanaga. They also had two daughters, one Senhime, who married twice, once of them to Toyotomi Hideyori. The other daughter, Tokugawa Masako, married Emperor Go-Mizunoo.
Much to the dismay of Ieyasu, in 1612, Shogun Hidetada engineered a marriage between one of his daughters, Senhime, and Toyotomi Hideyori. Hideyori, who was living as a common citizen in Osaka Castle with his mother, Senhime, and infant son and heir, was attacked by a Tokugawa force led by Tokugawa Hidetada. Father and son once again split about what to do about the Osaka Winter/Summer Campaigns of 1614-1615. Ieyasu favored a conservative, slow approach, while Hidetada preferred a direct, brutal attack. In the end, Hidetada had his way, and Osaka Castle was decimated, Hideyori and his mother were executed. Even Hideyori's infant son, who was part Tokugawa himself, was not spared. Only Senhime, Ieyasu's favorite granddaughter, was spared, and later re-married and had a new family. Ieyasu, disgusted with his son, died early in 1616.
After Ieyasu's death, Hidetada took control completely of the bakufu. He tried to strengthen the Tokugawa hold on power, and improve relations with the Imperial court. He secured a marriage with his daughter Kazuko and the emperor Go-Mizunoo. The product of that marriage, a girl, eventually succeeded to the throne of Japan, becoming Empress Meisho. The city of Edo was also heavily developed.
Cloistered Shogun Hidetada (1623-1632)
In 1623, Hidetada abdicated the shogunate in favor of his eldest son and heir, Tokugawa Iemitsu. Like his father before him, Hidetada became Ogosho, or Retired Shogun. He retired to Edo but retained effective power as Retired Shogun. Nonetheless, he took heavy anti-Christian measures, which Ieyasu thought of but never put in place. He banned Christian books from entering the country, and executed 55 Christians (both Japanese and foreign) in Nagasaki in 1628. He died in 1632, at the age of 53.