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Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu (previously spelled Iyeyasu); 徳川家康 (January 31, 1543 – June 1, 1616) was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa bakufu of Japan which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu ruled from 1600 (officially 1603) until his abdication in 1605.

Biography

Early Life (1543-1556)

Tokugawa Ieyasu was born on January 31, 1543 in the Mikawa province. Originally named Matsudaira Takechiyo, he was the son of Matsudaira Hirotada (1526-1549), a lord of Mikawa who spent most of his time at war with the Oda and Imagawa clans. The Matsudaira family was split: one side wanted to be a vassal of the Imagawa clan, while the other side prefered the Oda. This family feud was the reason behind the murder of Hirotada's father (Takechiyo's grandfather), Matsudaira Kiyoyasu (? - 1536). Unlike his father and the majority of his branch of the family, Hirotada saw the Imagawa as the lesser of two evils. Hirotada's loyalty to the Imagawa caused the remainder of his family to support the Oda even more strongly than before. In 1548, when the Oda clan invaded Mikawa, Hirotada turned to Imagawa Yoshimoto, the head of the Imagawa clan, for help to repel the invaders. Yoshimoto agreed to help under the condition that Hirotada send his son Takechiyo to Sumpu as a hostage in exile. Hirotada consented, despite the protestations of the Matsudaira family. Takechiyo and a group of non-Matsudaira servants were sent to Sumpu as hostages. Oda Nobuhide, the leader of the Oda, learned of this arrangement and attacked Takechiyo's entourage en route to Sumpu. Takechiyo was abducted and confined to Owari's Kowatari Castle. Nobuhide threatened to execute Takechiyo unless Hirotada severed all ties with the Imagawa. Hirotada replied that sacrificing his own son would show his seriousness in his pact with the Imagawa clan. Takechiyo was not harmed. In 1549, Hirotada died of natural causes, and a short time later, Nobuhide also died. The deaths dealt a heavy blow to an already weakened Oda and left the Matsudaira leaderless. With the Imagawa in a strong position, Yoshimoto sent an army under his father's younger brother, Imagawa Sessai, to attack an Oda castle where Oda Nobuhiro, Nobuhide's eldest son and the new head of the Oda, lived. Sessai, who was also a brilliant statesman, took the castle and took Nobuhiro hostage. Bargaining with Nobuhide's second son, Oda Nobunaga, he offered to return the castle to the Oda and spare Nobuhiro's life only if Takechiyo was handed over to the Imagawa. Nobunaga reluctantly agreed, and both Nobuhiro and the captured castle were returned to the Oda. Sessai, meanwhile, returned to Sumpu with Takechiyo. Takechiyo grew up in Sumpu, but his kinsmen in Mikawa were apprehensive about the future of the Matsudaira family now that the Oda were weakened and that the Matsudaira were vassals to the Imagawa.

Rise to Power (1556-1584)

In 1556, Takechiyo came of age, and changed his name to Matsudaira Motoyasu. Allowed to return to his native Mikawa, the Imagawa ordered him to fight the Oda clan in a series of battles. Motoyasu won his first battle at Terabe, thus making a name for himself. By this time, Oda Nobuhiro had died, and the leadership of the Oda clan had passed to Oda Nobunaga, Nobuhiro's younger brother. Soon after these battles, the Matsudaira clan and the Mikawa soldiers began to petition for greater autonomy from the Imagawa. Unfazed, in 1560 Yoshimoto assembled 20,000 men (many of them from Mikawa) and marched on Kyoto - the first daimyo to do this since 1538. Motoyasu was dispatched from Mikawa with his men to attack the fortress of Marune. Successful in capturing the fort, Motoyasu and the Mikawa men stayed there to defend it. Because of this, Motoyasu and his men avoided the bloody Battle of Okehazama, fought near Nagoya (close to the present day town of Arimatsu), in which the Imagawa were defeated and Imagawa Yoshimoto was slain. Motoyasu retreated with his men back to Mikawa, and finally, with the death of Yoshimoto, decided to rid himself of Imagawa influence. Motoyasu decided to ally with the Oda, striking a secret deal with Oda Nobunaga. This secrecy was necessary since most of the Matsudaira family - including Motoyasu's wife and infant son, Hideyasu - were still held hostage in Sumpu by the new head of the Imagawa, Yoshimoto's son, Imagawa Ujizane. In 1561, Motoyasu and his men marched on and captured the Imagawa fortress of Kaminojo, signalling to Nobunaga that Motoyasu was no longer loyal to the Imagawa. Motoyasu killed the castle commander, Udono Nagamochi, and took Nagamochi's wife and two sons hostage. Ujizane, reasoning that the Udono were more important retainers than the Matsudaira, released the Matsudaira family in return for Udono's wife and children. Now having freedom of action with the return of his family, Motoyasu set about reforming the Matsudaira clan after years of decay, and pacifying Mikawa. He also nurtured and strengthened his vassals by awarding them with land and re-distributing the castles in Mikawa to the most important retainers and vassals (including Honda Tadakatsu, Ishikawa Kazumasa, Koriki Kiyonaga Sakai Tadatsugu, and Sakikabara Yasumasa), in 1566. In 1564, Motoyasu defeated the Mikawa Monto, a militaristic anti-Matsudaira group, almost losing his life in the process when he was struck by a bullet that did not penetrate his armor. In 1565, he attacked the Imagawa defences in Totomi. In 1567, he petitioned Emperor Ogimachi to change his surname to Tokugawa, taking the name Tokugawa Ieyasu. In so doing, he began to claim descent from the Minamoto clan through the Nitta clan, and ultimately, descent from the Imperial Family. At the same time, he designed a separate family tree which claimed descent from the Fujiwara. Modern historians today use this as proof that Ieyasu's claims of imperial heritage were fabricated (as the Ashikaga did before him) to legitimize himself. Even though the Tokugawa family was symbolically independent, they still could not survive without the Oda clan, and were subject to Oda Nobunaga himself. When Nobunaga captured Kyoto in 1568, thus becoming the de-facto leader of Japan, many of the victorious troops were Tokugawa troops. At the same time, Ieyasu himself was eager to expand his own territories. He and Takeda Shingen, the head of the Takeda clan, in Kai, entered a pact, where they together would annex the rest of the Imagawa territory. In 1570, Ieyasu's troops finally annexed Totomi, and later Shingen occupied Suruga and the Imagawa capital of Sumpu. However, by this time, the Takeda-Tokugawa alliance was on the decline, and Ieyasu even sheltered his former enemy, Imagawa Ujizane, promising to restore Totomi and Suruga to him. At the same time, Ieyasu attempted to make another alliance with Uesugi Kenshin, the head of the Uesugi clan and the arch-enemy of the Takeda clan. Having secured the support of the Uesugi, Ieyasu moved his capital from Hamamatsu in Mikawa to Totomi (where he would be closer to Shingen). With the Imagawa land completely absorbed within the Tokugawa sphere of influence, the Imagawa clan became vassals of the Tokugawa, with the Uesugi as strong allies to the Tokugawa. The Tokugawa and the Takeda were ready to go to war. Ieyasu still had the support of Nobunaga, but Nobunaga thought that some of Ieyasu's doings were dangerous and provocative. In 1570, however, Ieyasu led 5,000 of his own men to aid Nobunaga at the Battle of Anegawa against the Asai and Asakura clans thus strengthening the Tokugawa-Oda alliance. However, Ieyasu would not be able to aid Nobunaga for another two years because in 1571, the Takeda clan attacked. In 1572, the Takeda took Futamata Castle from Ieyasu, and Shingen defeated Ieyasu at the Battle of Mikatagahara, where Ieyasu almost lost his life while leading his troops. Takeda Shingen died in 1573, and was succeeded by his son and heir, Takeda Katsuyori, who managed to capture the fort of Taketenjin in 1574. However, despite the capture of this important Tokugawa port, the Takeda ascendancy was nearing its end. In 1575, Katsuyori attacked Nagashino Castle in Mikawa, and Ieyasu asked Nobunaga for help. When Nobunaga showed some apprehension at attacking the Takeda, Ieyasu threatened to make peace with the Takeda and attack the Oda clan's positions in Owari and Mino. Nobunaga changed his mind, and led his army into Mikawa. The Oda-Tokugawa force of 38,000 inflicted a devastating defeat to the Takeda on June 28, 1575, although for the next several years, Takeda Katsuyori continued to raid Tokugawa and Oda territory frequently. In 1579, Ieyasu's wife, and his eldest son, Tokugawa Nobuyasu, were accused of conspiring with Takeda Katsuyori to assasinate Nobunaga. Ieyasu's wife was beheaded and Hideyasu was forced to commit harakiri. Ieyasu then named his third and favorite son, Tokugawa Hidetada, as heir, since his second son was to be adopted by another ascendant samurai, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In 1582, another combined Oda-Tokugawa force attacked and destroyed the Takeda ranks. Takeda Katsuyori, as well as his eldest son and heir, Takeda Nobukatsu, commited harakiri. Now that the Takeda were no longer a threat, Ieyasu could help Nobunaga with his campaign to reunify Japan. For his help, Ieyasu received de jure control of Suruga province (including Sumpu) and areas bordering the Hojo clan. The Tokugawa and Hojo allied, since Ieyasu was on friendly terms with Hojo Ujinori, younger brother of the head of the Hojo clan, Hojo Ujimasa. In late 1582, Ieyasu was staying in Sakai, Settsu Province, when he received word that Oda Nobunaga had been assasinated by Akechi Mitushide, head of the Akechi clan. Ieyasu slipped away back to Mikawa, afraid that he too, would be assasinated. Ieyasu did not wish to attack the Akechi clan, but the Tokugawa did take advantage of the situation taking both Kai and Shinano. After a decisive victory at the Battle of Yamazaki. Hojo Ujimasa, feeling threatened, sent troops into Kai. However, no fighting took place, and the Hojo and Tokugawa made peace soon after. In order to save face, Ieyasu gave some lands in Kai and Shinano to the Hojo. Ieyasu begain modifying his administration, basing it on the model of the now-defunct Takeda, integrating Takeda into the Tokugawa army. In 1583, the top candidates to lead Japan were Toyotomi Hideyoshi (the adopted father of Ieyasu's second son) and Shibata Katsuie. Ieyasu stayed neutral in this conflict, and Hideyoshi defeated Katsuie at the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583. After Shibata Katsuie commited harakiri, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and his Toyotomi clan became the de-facto rulers of Japan.

The Road to Sekigahara (1584-1600)

1583 In 1584, Ieyasu decided to support Oda Nobukatsu, the eldest son and heir of Oda Nobunaga. This was intended to provoke Hideyoshi into battle, since the Oda were weakened after the murder of Nobunaga and the Tokugawa had now eclipsed the Oda in power (though the ruling Toyotomi were more powerful than both of them). With the assent of Oda Nobukatsu, Tokugawa troops took the traditional Oda stronghold of Owari, in an effort to entice Hideyoshi onto the battlefield. Hideyoshi responded by sending an army into Owari, beginning his Komaki Campaign. During the campaign Oda Nobukatsu broke his pact with the Tokugawa, making a separate truce and allying with Hideyoshi. Ieyasu won the only notable battle of the campaign, the Battle of Nagakute. Finally, at the end of 1584, a truce between the Toyotomi/Oda and the Tokugawa was reached. The Oda clan and their terrtories (including Owari) were absorbed into Toyotomi's lands, marking an end to the Oda clan's political power. Ieyasu went to Osaka in 1585, and promised to end the fighting against Hideyoshi. Despite Ieyasu's promise, the Komaki Campaign had made Hideyoshi distrustful of Ieyasu, and there was only one instance (the Odawara Campaign of 1590) where Toyotomi and Tokugawa fought together on the battlefield. In 1585, Ishikawa Kazumasa left Ieyasu for Hideyoshi, after which Ieyasu reformed all of the Tokugawa military structure on the Takeda model. The Tokugawa did not participate in Hideyoshi's invasions of Shikoku and Kyushu, nor in the pacification of Honshu, but did act as a buffer between in the conflicts between the Toyotomi and the Hojo in the 1580's. Ieyasu did his best for Hojo Ujimasa, but in the end, the Tokugawa elected to support the Toyotomi in 1589 when the Odawara Campaign would begin. In Hideyoshi's invasion of the Hojo clan's territories in 1590, Ieyasu himself led 30,000 men to battle. The Toyotomi-Tokugawa forces laid siege to the city of Odawara. During this campaign, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu became closer - Hideyoshi offered a trade-off. He offered Ieyasu the eight Kanto provinces in return for the five provinces that were the traditional stronghold of the Tokugawa and their Matsudaira ancestors, which Ieyasu then held. In 1590, the Hojo were defeated and their lands were annexed by the Toyotomi, ending the clan's 450 year reign. Eagerly accepting Hideyoshi's offer, Ieyasu gave up the five provinces of Mikawa, Totomi, Suruga, Shinano, and Kai and moved his new power base to the Kanto region, setting himself up in the castle town of Edo in Kanto. Ieyasu was now a great lord to be reckoned with. Furthermore, being surrounded by the sea and the mountains allowed Tokugawa to remain far from the mainstream of Japanese politics, giving the Tokugawa a unique autonomy from the Toyotomi. In 1592, Hideyoshi invaded Korea as a prelude to his plan to attack China and India and "rule the world". Though the Japanese armies took the capital, they were harassed by Korean guerillas throughout the mountainous country. The Tokugawa never took part in this attack, During the campaign, Ieyasu remained in Kyushu, probably so Hideyoshi could keep careful watch of the Tokugawa. Despite his absence, Ieyasu's retainers and vassals were able to consolidate Edo and the other new Tokugawa lands. In 1598, the Japanese withdrew from Korea, and Ieyasu returned to Edo. In 1593, Hideyoshi fathered a son and heir, Toyotomi Hideyori. In 1598, he called a meeting that would determine six regents responsible for ruling for his son after Hideyoshi himself died. The six that were chosen as regents (tairo) for Hideyori were Maeda Toshiie, Mori Terumoto, Ukita Hideie, Uesugi Kagekatsu, Kobayakawa Takakage, and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Aside from Ieyasu, the other five men were retainers of Ieyasu who were also loyal to Hideyoshi. Ieyasu was the most powerful of the six.

Lead-up to the Battle of Sekigahara (1598-1603)

Toyotomi Hideyoshi finally died in 1598. He was succeeded by his son and heir Hideyori, who was officially put in the care of one of his regent Maeda Toshiie. As soon as Hideyoshi died, Ieyasu began to make alliances with various anti-Toyotomi families, alienating his fellow regents. When Toshiie died in 1599, Ieyasu led his troops to Fushimi and occupied Osaka Castle, which angered the four remaining regents (Takakage had died). Opposition to Ieyasu was led most valiantly by Ishida Mitsunari who was not himself a regent but had previously attempted to assasinate Ieyasu in 1599. A few of Ieyasu's top generals wanted to kill Ishida, but Ishida ironically found refuge with Ieyasu. The "friendship" between Ieyasu and Ishida was soon broken, however. Japan split into two factions - the "eastern camp" centered on Tokugawa Ieyasu, and the "western camp" around Ishida Mitsunari. Mitsunari was determined to attack first, allying himself with Regent Uesugi Kagekatsu who had a fief not far from Ieyasu's center of Edo. Ishida wanted Uesugi to engage Ieyasu's troops long enough so that the Western faction could take Edo and defeat the Eastern faction. In June 1600, Kagekatsu and Ieyasu clashed. Ieyasu and his allies, the Date and Mogami clans, defeated the Uesugi and Ieyasu then led an army west to defeat the Ishida in October. Although Ishida managed the heroic effort of re-taking Fushimi from Ieyasu, this took a great deal of time for Ishida's troops. Meanwhile, in the province of Shinano, Ieyasu had stationed 36,000 Tokugawa men, led by Ieyasu's son and heir Tokugawa Hidetada for no apparent reason. Ieyasu knew, however, that the Kobayakawa clan, led by Kobayakawa Hideaki, were planning to defect from the Ishida side, and that the Mori clan intended to remain neutral. The Battle of Sekigahara began on October 21, 1600, a total of 160,000 Ishida and Tokugawa men facing each other across the battlefield. The Kobayakawa and the Mori remained in the mountains, obviously the deciding factor as to who won the battle. Hidetada, who had been summoned by Ieyasu from Shinano, had not yet arrived. Just as the Tokugawa appeared to be defeated, the Mori and Kobayakawa rushed to the aid of the Tokugawa attack, defeating and crushing Ishida. The Battle of Sekigahara was a Tokugawa and Eastern victory. The Western bloc had been crushed, Kobayakawa and Mori affirmed their alliance with Tokugawa, and over the next few days Ishida Mitsunari and other western generals were beheaded. Tokugawa Hidetada finally arrived, but only after the battle had finished. Tokugawa Ieyasu was now the de facto ruler of Japan. Immediatly after the victory at Sekigahara, Ieyasu redistributed land to the vassals who had served him. Vassals who had pledged allegiance to him before Sekigahara were known as the fudai daimyos, while those who pledged allegiance to him after were known as tozama daimyos. Ieyasu left some western daimyo intact, such as the Shimazu clan, but others were completely abolished. However, Toyotomi Hideyori was allowed to become a common citizen. living a quiet life in Osaka Castle while Tokugawa Ieyasu ruled Japan.

Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (1603-1605)

Shimazu In 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu received the title of 'shogun' from Emperor Go-Yozei, at the age of 60. Ieyasu's heir was still his son Tokugawa Hidetada. As shogun, he inaugurated the Tokugawa bakufu, the third shogunal government (after the Minamoto and the Ashikaga). Surprisingly, after only a short time as Shogun, he abdicated in 1605. His successor was his son and heir, Tokugawa Hidetada, who became the second shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty and bakufu.

Retired Shogun Ieyasu (1605-1616)

Despite his abdication in favor of Hidetada, Ieyasu, held the position of Cloistered Shogun (Ogosho) and was still very much the effective ruler of Japan, remaining so until his death. Ieyasu retired to Sumpu, and supervised the construction of Edo Castle. In place of his son, Shogun Hidetada, Retired Shogun Ieyasu supervised diplomatic affairs with the Netherlands and Spain in 1609, and chose to distance Japan from them. In 1611, Ieyasu, at the head of 50,000 men, visited Kyoto to witness the coronation of Emperor Go-Mizunoo, even though his son was the official Shogun. In Kyoto, Ieyasu ordered the remodling of the imperial court and buildings, and forced the remaining western daimyo to sign an oath of fealty to him. In 1613, he composed the Kuge Shohatto, a document which put the court daimyo under strict supervision, leaving them as mere ceremonial figureheads. In 1614, he signed the Christian Expulsion Edict which banned Christianity, expelled all Christians and foreigners, and banned Christians from practicing their religion. As a result, many Christian Japanese fled to the Spanish Philippines. In 1615, he prepared the Buke Shohatto, a document setting out the future of the Tokugawa regime. The climax of the early Edo period was the Siege of Osaka of 1614-1615. Although Hideyori was still living in Osaka Castle and did not plan to rebel against Ieyasu, Ieyasu used a pretext to attack. Initially, the Tokugawa were repulsed by the remnants of the Toyotomi, led by an anxious Hideyori, but Ieyasu ordered a counter-attack. The Tokugawa, led by Shogun Hidetada, attacked Osaka castle in a lengthy siege. Finally, in late 1615, Osaka Castle fell to the Tokugawa, and Hideyori, his mother (Hideyoshi's widow, Yodogimi), and his infant son and heir, commited seppuku. His wife, Senhime (a granddaughter of Ieyasu), was rescued by Ieyasu and did not suffer the same fate as her husband, son, and mother-in-law. With the Toyotomi finally extinguished, the Tokugawa were free to develop Japan. In 1616, Ieyasu fell ill and died in his bed at the age of 73. He had many children, and could die in peace knowing that he had created many branches of the family to continue the Tokugawa dynasty. He was buried in Nikko Toshogu.

Tokugawa Ieyasu in popular culture

- The history of Tokugawa's rise to power is fictionalized in James Clavell's novel Shogun. Clavell uses the name Toranaga to refer to the Tokugawa throughout his Asian Saga.
- Kagemusha, a film by Akira Kurosawa tells a fictionalized account of the events leading up to the Battle of Nagashino
- In the video game Kessen the game is about Ieyasu famous battles in Sekigahara against Ishida Mitsunari and later Sanada Yukimura. The game is dramatic and half fictional. Ieyasu is portrayed as an heroic Warrior albeit sometimes arrogant.
- Ieyasu appears as an evil posessed character in the samurai anime Samurai Deeper Kyo.
- Tokugawa is a character in the 2005 computer game Civilization IV.
- Tokugawa Ieyasu appears in the film "Rikyu," which focuses on the life of tea master Sen no Rikyu but features Ieyasu briefly.
- Tokugawa Ieyasu appears in the video game Samurai Warriors where he is an unplayable leader who is in charge of the Hattori ninja clan. The game is half fictional.

Ieyasu as a Person

Ieyasu is known for being loyal towards his personal friends and generals whom he rewarded. However, he also remembered those who wronged him in the past. It is said that Ieyasu executed a man who insulted him when he was just a child. Ieyasu's favourite past-times were swimming and hawking. He also enjoyed Noh, a form of Japanese drama traditionally identified with the austerity of the samurai class. Later in life he also took to scholarship and religion, patronizing famous scholars like Hayashi Razan, and further tightening restrictions on Christianity. Still, Ieyasu has sometimes been known for being heartless. This could be attributed to his upbringing amidst with wars and destruction. A quote from Ieyasu as portrayed in the film "Rikyu" can roughly sum up his outlook on life: "Life means that I can live to see tomorrow." It is said that Ieyasu expressed compassion at the decapited head of Takeda Katsuyori after the fall of Takeda clan. Ieyasu protected many former Takeda retainers from the wrath of Oda Nobunaga, who was known to harbor a bitter grudge towards the Takeda. He went on to integrate many of the retainers of the Takeda, Hojo, and Imagawa clans-- all whom he defeated himself or helped to defeat-- into his retainer force and those of his children. Ieyasu also cared for his children and grandchildren greatly, establishing three of them, Yorinobu, Yoshinao, and Yorifusa as the regional lords of Kii, Owari, and Mito provinces, respectively. Despite this compassion for his own kin, Ieyasu was also the one who personally ordered his men to execute Hideyori's infant son, Kunimatsu.

January 31

January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 334 days remaining, (335 in leap years). January 31 is also the last day of January.

Events

- 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon.
- 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes is executed for his plotting against Parliament and James I of England.
- 1747 - The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Dock Hospital.
- 1814 - Gervasio Antonio de Posadas becomes Supreme Director of Argentina.
- 1849 - Corn Laws abolished in the United Kingdom.
- 1865 - American Civil War: Confederate General Robert E. Lee becomes general-in-chief.
- 1867 - Maronite nationalist leader Karam leaves Lebanon on board of a French ship for Algeria
- 1876 - The United States orders all Native Americans to move into reservations.
- 1915 - World War I: Germany uses poison gas against Russians.
- 1917 - World War I: Germany announces its U-boats will engage in unrestricted submarine warfare.
- 1918 - A series of accidental collisions on a misty Scottish night leads to the loss of two Royal Navy submarines with over a hundred lives, and damage to another five British warships.
- 1929 - The Soviet Union exiles Leon Trotsky.
- 1930 - 3M markets Scotch Tape.
- 1936 - The Green Hornet radio show debuts.
- 1944 - World War II: American forces land on Kwajalein Atoll and other islands in the Japanese-held Marshall Islands.
- 1945 - US Army private Eddie Slovik is executed, the first American soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion.
- 1946 - Yugoslavia's new constitution, modeling the Soviet Union, establishes six constituent republics (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia).
- 1950 - President Harry S. Truman announces a program to develop the hydrogen bomb.
- 1953 - A flood causes over 1,800 deaths in the Netherlands.
- 1956 - Guy Mollet becomes Prime Minister of France.
- 1958 - The first successful American satellite, Explorer I, is launched into orbit.
- 1958 - James Van Allen discovers the Van Allen radiation belt.
- 1961 - Ham the Chimp travels into outer space.
- 1968 - Viet Cong attack the United States embassy in Saigon.
- 1968 - Nauru declares independence from Australia.
- 1971 - Apollo program: Astronauts aboard Apollo 14 lift off for a mission to the moon.
- 1971 - The Winter Soldier Investigation, organized by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War to publicize war crimes and atrocities by Americans and allies in Vietnam, begin in Detroit, Michigan.
- 1988 - Super Bowl XXII: The Washington Redskins win their second championship of the 1980s, 42-10.
- 1990 - The first McDonald's opens in Moscow, Russia.
- 1993 - Super Bowl XXVII: The Dallas Cowboys defeat the Buffalo Bills, 52-17.
- 1995 - President Bill Clinton authorizes a $20 billion loan to Mexico to stabilize its economy.
- 1996 - An explosives-filled truck rams into the gates of the Central Bank in Colombo, Sri Lanka killing at least 86 and injuring 1,400.
- Dragonball Z ends in Japan.
- 1999 - Super Bowl XXXIII: The Denver Broncos defeat the Atlanta Falcons, 34-19. After the game, the TV show Family Guy airs its pilot episode.
- 2000 - An Alaska Airlines MD-83 crashes in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Malibu, California killing all 88 aboard.
- 2001 - In the Netherlands a Scottish court convicts a Libyan and acquits another for their part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 which crashed into Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.
- 2004 - Mystery Science Theater 3000 ends its run on the Sci-Fi Channel.

Births

- 1338 - King Charles V of France (d. 1380)
- 1512 - King Henry of Portugal (d. 1580)
- 1550 - Henry I, Duke of Guise, French Catholic leader (d. 1588)
- 1597 - John Regis, French saint (d. 1640)
- 1624 - Arnold Geulincx, Flemish philosopher (d. 1669)
- 1686 - Hans Egede, Norwegian Lutheran missionary (d. 1758)
- 1752 - Gouverneur Morris, American lawmaker and diplomat (d. 1816)
- 1759 - François Devienne, French composer (d. 1803)
- 1797 - Franz Schubert, Austrian composer (d. 1828)
- 1866 - Lev Shestov, Russian philosopher (d. 1938)
- 1868 - Theodore William Richards, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
- 1872 - Zane Grey, American Western writer (d. 1939)
- 1881 - Irving Langmuir, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
- 1884 - Theodor Heuss, German politician and publicist (d. 1963)
- 1889 - Frank Foster, English cricketer (d. 1958)
- 1892 - Eddie Cantor, American actor and singer (d. 1964)
- 1894 - Isham Jones, American musician (d. 1956)
- 1902 - Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (d. 1968)
- 1902 - Alva Myrdal, Swedish politician, diplomat, and writer, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1986)
- 1905 - John O'Hara, American writer (d. 1970)
- 1914 - Sri Daya Mata, Hindu religious figure
- 1914 - Jersey Joe Walcott, American boxer (d. 1994)
- 1915 - Alan Lomax, American singer and musicologist (d. 2002)
- 1915 - Thomas Merton, American monk and author (d. 1968)
- 1915 - Garry Moore, American comedian and game show host (d. 1993)
- 1919 - Jackie Robinson, baseball player (d. 1972)
- 1921 - John Agar, American actor (d. 2002)
- 1921 - Carol Channing, American actress
- 1921 - E. Fay Jones, American architect
- 1921 - Mario Lanza, American singer and actor (d. 1959)
- 1922 - Joanne Dru, American actress (d. 1996)
- 1923 - Norman Mailer, American writer and journalist
- 1925 - Benjamin Hooks, American head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
- 1929 - Rudolf Mössbauer, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1929 - Jean Simmons, English actress
- 1931 - Ernie Banks, baseball player
- 1935 - Kenzaburo Oe, Japanese writer, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937 - Philip Glass, American composer
- 1937 - Suzanne Pleshette, American actress
- 1938 - Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
- 1938 - James G. Watt, American politician
- 1940 - Jessica Walter, American actress
- 1941 - Richard A. "Dick" Gephardt, American politician
- 1942 - Daniela Bianchi, Italian actress
- 1942 - Derek Jarman, American director and writer (d. 1994)
- 1944 - Charlie Musselwhite, American musician
- 1946 - Terry Kath, American musician (d. 1978)
- 1947 - Jonathan Banks, American actor
- 1947 - Nolan Ryan, baseball player
- 1948 - Muneo Suzuki, Japanese politician
- 1949 - Ken Wilber, American philosopher
- 1951 - Dave Benton, Aruban-born singer
- 1952 - Nadya Rusheva, Russian painter (d. 1969)
- 1956 - Johnny Rotten, British singer (Sex Pistols)
- 1959 - Anthony LaPaglia, Australian actor
- 1959 - Kelly Lynch, American actress
- 1961 - Lloyd Cole, British singer and songwriter
- 1964 - Jeff Hanneman, American guitarist (Slayer)
- 1964 - Billey Shamrock, Swedish singer and songwriter
- 1970 - Minnie Driver, British actress
- 1971 - Patrick Kielty, Irish comedian
- 1973 - Portia de Rossi, Australian actress
- 1976 - Buddy Rice, American race car driver
- 1980 - Tiffany Limos, American actress
- 1981 - Justin Timberlake, American singer
- 1982 - Helena Paparizou, Swedish singer

Deaths

- 743 - Muhammad al-Baqir, Shia Imam (b. 676)
- 1398 - Emperor Suko of Japan (b. 1334)
- 1435 - Xuande, Emperor of China (b. 1398)
- 1561 - Menno Simons, Dutch Mennonite leader (b. 1496)
- 1580 - King Henry of Portugal (b. 1512)
- 1606 - Gunpowder Plot conspirators executed:
- Guy Fawkes (b. 1570)
- Ambrose Rokewood
- Thomas Wintour (b. 1571)
- 1615 - Claudio Aquaviva, Italian Jesuit (b. 1543)
- 1632 - Joost Bürgi, Swiss clockmaker and mathematician (b. 1552)
- 1665 - Johannes Clauberg, German theologian and philsopher (b. 1622)
- 1686 - Jean Mairet, French dramatist (b. 1604)
- 1720 - Thomas Grey, 2nd Earl of Stamford, English privy councilor
- 1729 - Jakob Roggeveen, Dutch explorer (b. 1659)
- 1736 - Filippo Juvara, Italian architect (b. 1678)
- 1788 - Charles Edward Stuart, pretender to the British throne (b. 1720)
- 1790 - Thomas Lewis, Irish-born Virginia settler (b. 1718)
- 1794 - Marriott Arbuthnot, British admiral (b. 1711)
- 1851 - David Spangler Kaufman, American politician (b. 1813)
- 1892 - Charles Spurgeon, English preacher and evangelist (b. 1834)
- 1907 - Timothy Eaton, Canadian department store founder (b. 1834)
- 1933 - John Galsworthy, English writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)
- 1944 - Jean Giraudoux, French writer (b. 1882)
- 1945 - Eddie Slovik, American soldier (b. 1920)
- 1955 - John Mott, American YMCA leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1865)
- 1956 - A. A. Milne, English author (b. 1882)
- 1967 - Eddie Tolan, American athlete (b. 1908)
- 1970 - Slim Harpo, American singer (b. 1924)
- 1973 - Ragnar Anton Kittil Frisch, Norwegian economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
- 1974 - Samuel Goldwyn, American film studio executive (b. 1882)
- 1976 - Ernesto Miranda, American litigant (b. 1941)
- 1990 - Rashad Khalifa, Egyptian-born imam (stabbed) (b. 1935)
- 1992 - Willie Dixon, American musician (b. 1915)
- 1995 - George Abbott, American stage director and producer (b. 1887)
- 1997 - John Joseph Scanlan, Irish Catholic prelate (b. 1930)
- 1999 - Norm Zauchin, baseball player (b. 1929)
- 2000 - Gil Kane, Latvian-born comic book writer (b. 1926)
- 2001 - Gordon R. Dickson, Canadian writer (b. 1923)
- 2004 - Eleanor Holm, American swimmer (b. 1913)

Holidays and observances

- Catholicism - Feast day of St. John Bosco.

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/31 BBC: On This Day] ---- January 30 - February 1 - December 31 - February 28 (February 29) — listing of all days ko:1월 31일 ja:1月31日 simple:January 31 th:31 มกราคม

June 1

June 1 is the 152nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (153rd in leap years), with 213 days remaining.

Events

- 193 - Roman Emperor Marcus Didius is assassinated in his palace.
- 1283 - Treaty of Rheinfelden: Duke Rudolph II of Austria has to waive his right to the Duchies of Austria and Styria.
- 1485 - Matthias of Hungary took Vienna in his conquest of Austria (from Frederick III) and made the city his capital.
- 1495 - Friar John Cor records the first known batch of scotch whisky.
- 1533 - Henry VIII of England's new wife, Anne Boleyn, is crowned as queen.
- 1660 - Mary Dyer is hanged in Boston, Massachusetts, for defying a law banning Quakers from the colony. She is considered to be the last religious martyr in what would become the United States.
- 1779 - American Revolutionary War: Benedict Arnold is court-martialed for malfeasance in his treatment of government property.
- 1792 - Kentucky becomes the 15th state of the United States.
- 1796 - Tennessee becomes the 16th state of the United States.
- 1812 - War of 1812: U.S. President James Madison asks the Congress to declare war on the United Kingdom.
- 1813 - The United States Navy gains its motto as the mortally wounded commander of the frigate Chesapeake, Capt. James Lawrence, said, 'Don't give up the ship'.
- 1815 - Napoleon swears fidelity to the Constitution of France.
- 1831 - James Clark Ross discovers the position of the North Magnetic Pole on the Boothia Peninsula.
- 1855 - American adventurer William Walker conquers Nicaragua and reinstates slavery.
- 1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Fair Oaks ends, with both sides claiming victory.
- 1869 - Thomas Edison of Boston, Massachusetts, receives a patent for his electric voting machine.
- 1879 - Napoleon Eugene, Prince of France, is killed in the Anglo-Zulu War.
- 1890 - The United States Census Bureau begins using Herman Hollerith's tabulating machine to count census returns.
- 1898 - The Trans-Mississippi Exposition world's fair opens in Omaha, Nebraska, United States.
- 1907 - Cricket: Colin Blythe takes 17 wickets for 48 runs against Northamptonshire at Northampton in one day. It is the best analysis ever recorded either for a county cricket match or a single day's bowling, and not bettered in first-class cricket until 1956.
- 1909 - The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition world's fair opens in Seattle, Washington, United States.
- 1910 - Robert Falcon Scott's South Pole expedition leaves England.
- 1918 - World War I: Battle for Belleau Wood begins.
- 1921 - Tulsa Race Riot: A race riot in Tulsa, Oklahoma, kills at least 85 people.
- 1922 - Official founding of the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
- 1925 - Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees plays the first game in his record streak of 2,130 consecutive games, an endurance record in major league baseball that stands till Cal Ripken, Jr. broke it in 1995.
- 1935 - First driving tests introduced in Britain.
- 1938 - Baseball: Protective helmets are worn by batters for the very first time.
- 1941 - World War II: Battle of Crete ends as Crete capitulates to Germany.
- 1943 - A civilian flight from Lisbon to London is shot down by the Germans during World War II, killing all aboard, including actor Leslie Howard.
- 1954 - The Peanuts comic strip character Linus van Pelt is shown with a security blanket for the first time. [http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/peanuts/meet_the_gang/meet_linus.html]
- 1958 - Charles De Gaulle is brought out of retirement to lead France by decree for six months.
- 1967 - The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is released; Don Dunstan becomes Premier of South Australia
- 1971 - Vietnam War: Vietnam Veterans for a Just Peace, claiming to represent the majority of U.S. veterans who served in Southeast Asia, speak against war protests.
- 1974 - Flixborough disaster: An explosion at a chemical plant in Flixborough, UK, kills 28 people.
- 1978 - The first international applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty are filed.
- 1979 - The first black-led government of Rhodesia in 90 years takes power, ousting Ian Smith and changing the country's name to Zimbabwe.
- 1980 - The Cable News Network (CNN) begins broadcasting.
- 1990 - U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev sign a treaty to end chemical weapon production and start destroying each of their nation's stockpiles.
- 2000 - The multilateral Patent Law Treaty (PLT) is signed.
- 2001 - Crown Prince Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev of Nepal slaughters his family during a royal dinner. Diprenda was also shot, and was proclaimed king in his hospital bed, dying three days later.
- 2003 - The People's Republic of China begins filling the reservoir behind the massive Three Gorges Dam, raising the water level near the dam over 100 metres.
- 2005 - The Dutch referendum on the European Constitution results in its rejection.

Births

- 1076 - Prince Mstislav of Kiev (d. 1132)
- 1265 - Dante Alighieri, Italian poet (d. 1321)
- 1300 - Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk, son of Edward I of England (d. 1338)
- 1480 - Tiedemann Giese, Polish Catholic bishop (d. 1550)
- 1503 - Wilhelm von Grumbach, German adventurer (d. 1567)
- 1563 - Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, English statesman and spymaster (d. 1612)
- 1633 - Geminiano Montanari, Italian astronomer (d. 1687)
- 1653 - Georg Muffat, French composer (d. 1704)
- 1675 - Francesco Scipione, marchese di Maffei, Italian archaeologist (d. 1755)
- 1771 - Ferdinando Paer, Italian composer (d. 1839)
- 1780 - Carl von Clausewitz, Prussian general (d. 1831)
- 1790 - Ferdinand Raimund, Austrian playwright (d. 1836)
- 1796 - Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, French mathematician (d. 1832)
- 1801 - Brigham Young, Mormon church leader and American western settler (d. 1877)
- 1804 - Mikhail Glinka, Russian composer (d. 1857)
- 1815 - Philip Kearny, American general (d. 1862)
- 1815 - King Otto of Greece (d. 1862)
- 1831 - John Bell Hood, American Confederate general (d. 1879)
- 1843 - Dr. Henry Faulds, Scottish fingerprinting pioneer (d. 1930)
- 1878 - John Masefield, English novelist and poet (d. 1967)
- 1881 - Charles Kay Ogden, English writer and linguist (d. 1957)
- 1890 - Frank Morgan, American actor (d. 1949)
- 1898 - Molly Picon, American actress (d. 1992)
- 1899 - Edward Charles Titchmarsh, English mathematician (d. 1963)
- 1901 - John Van Druten, English screen writer (d. 1957)
- 1915 - John Randolph, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1917 - William S. Knowles, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1921 - Nelson Riddle, American orchestra leader and arranger (d. 1985)
- 1922 - Povel Ramel , Swedish musician
- 1924 - Dr. William Sloane Coffin, Jr., American clergyman
- 1926 - Andy Griffith, American actor
- 1926 - Marilyn Monroe, American actress (d. 1962)
- 1928 - Georgi Dobrovolski, cosmonaut
- 1928 - Bob Monkhouse, English comedian and game show host (d. 2003)
- 1930 - Edward Woodward, English actor
- 1933 - Charles Wilson, American politician
- 1934 - Pat Boone (Charles Eugene Boone), American singer
- 1936 - Gerald Scarfe, British cartoonist and illustrator
- 1937 - Morgan Freeman, American actor
- 1939 - Cleavon Little, American actor (d. 1992)
- 1939 - Jackie Stewart, British race car driver
- 1940 - René Auberjonois, American actor
- 1940 - Kip Thorne, American physicist
- 1945 - Frederica von Stade, American mezzo-soprano
- 1946 - Brian Cox, Scottish actor
- 1947 - Jonathan Pryce, British actor
- 1947 - Ron Wood, English guitarist, (Jeff Beck Group, The Faces, and The Rolling Stones)
- 1956 - Lisa Hartman American actress
- 1959 - Martin Brundle, British race car driver
- 1960 - Simon Gallup, English Bass guitarist, (The Cure)
- 1961 - Paul Coffey, Canadian hockey player
- 1964 - Mark Curry, American comedian and actor
- 1965 - Nigel Short, English chess player
- 1968 - Jason Donovan, Australian actor
- 1970 - Alexi Lalas, American football player
- 1973 - Adam Garcia, Australian actor
- 1973 - Heidi Klum, German model
- 1973 - Derek Lowe, American baseball player
- 1974 - Alanis Morissette, Canadian singer
- 1977 - Danielle Harris, American voice actress
- 1980 - Oliver James, British actor
- 1981 - Carlos Zambrano, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player
- 1982 - Justine Henin-Hardenne, Belgian tennis player

Deaths

- 195 BC - Gaozu of Han of China
- 193 - Marcus Severus Didius Julianus, Roman Emperor (b.133)
- 1434 - King Wladislaus II of Poland
- 1571 - John Story, English Catholic (martyred)
- 1625 - Honoré d'Urfé, French writer (b. 1568)
- 1639 - Melchior Franck, German composer
- 1660 - Mary Dyer, English Quaker (hanged)
- 1710 - David Mitchell, British admiral (b. 1642)
- 1740 - Samuel Werenfels, Swiss theologian (b. 1657)
- 1769 - Edward Holyoke, American President of Harvard University (b. 1689)
- 1795 - Pierre-Joseph Desault, French anatomist and surgeon (b. 1744)
- 1815 - Louis Alexandre Berthier, French marshal (b. 1853)
- 1823 - Louis Nicolas Davout, French marshal (b. 1770)
- 1826 - Jean Frédéric Oberlin, Alsatian pastor and philantropist (b. 1740)
- 1841 - David Wilkie, Scottish artist (b. 1785)
- 1846 - Pope Gregory XVI (b. 1765)
- 1868 - James Buchanan, 15th President of the United States (b. 1791)
- 1873 - Joseph Howe, Canadian politican (b. 1804)
- 1876 - Hristo Botev, Bulgarian revolutionary (b. 1848)
- 1927 - J. B. Bury, Irish historian (b. 1861)
- 1941 - Hans Berger, German neuroscientist (b. 1873)
- 1943 - Leslie Howard, English actor (b. 1893)
- 1946 - Ion Antonescu, Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1882)
- 1948 - Sonny Boy Williamson I, American musician (b. 1914)
- 1954 - Martin Andersen Nexø, Danish writer (b. 1869)
- 1959 - Sax Rohmer, English author (b. 1883)
- 1960 - Lester Patrick, hockey star (b. 1883)
- 1966 - Papa Jack Laine, American musician (b. 1873)
- 1968 - Helen Keller, American humanitarian (b. 1880)
- 1969 - Ivar Ballangrud, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1904)
- 1971 - Reinhold Niebuhr, American theologist (b. 1892)
- 1979 - Werner Forssmann, German physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1904)
- 1980 - Rube Marquard, baseball player (b. 1886)
- 1981 - Carl Vinson, U.S. Congressman (b. 1883)
- 1994 - Frances Heflin, American actress (b. 1923)
- 1998 - Darwin Joston, American actor (b. 1937)
- 1999 - Christopher Sydney Cockerell, British engineer and inventor (b. 1910)
- 2001 - Queen Aiswarya of Nepal (shot) (b. 1949)
- 2001 - King Birendra of Nepal (assassinated) (b. 1945)
- 2001 - Hank Ketcham, American cartoonist (b. 1920)
- 2002 - Hansie Cronje, South African cricketer (b. 1969)
- 2004 - William Manchester, American writer (b. 1922)
- 2005 - George Mikan, American basketball player (b. 1924)

Holidays and observances

- Children's Day in some countries
- Commemoration of Justin Martyr (Anglican)
- Kenya Madaraka Day 1963
- Nirvana of Buddhists
- Roman Empire - Festival in honour of Carna
- Samoa - Independence Day 1962
- Tunisia - Constitution Day / Victory Day 1959
- Hannah Day (Ethiopia)

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/1 BBC: On This Day] ---- May 31 - June 2 - May 1 - July 1 – listing of all days ko:6월 1일 ms:1 Jun ja:6月1日 simple:June 1 th:1 มิถุนายน

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate or Tokugawa bakufu (徳川幕府) (also known as the Edo bakufu) was a feudal military dictatorship of Japan established in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family until 1868. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city of Edo, now Tokyo. The Tokugawa shogunate ruled from Edo castle until the Meiji Restoration. Following the Sengoku Period of "warring states", central government had been largely re-established by Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi during the Azuchi-Momoyama period. After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, central authority fell to Tokugawa Ieyasu who completed this process and received the title of shogun in 1603. His descendants were to hold the position, and the central authority that came with it, until the 19th century. The Tokugawa period, unlike the shogunates before it, was based on the strict class hierarchy originally established by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The warrior-caste of samurai were at the top, followed by farmers, artisans, and traders. Ironically, the very strictness of the caste system was to undermine these classes in the long run. Taxes on the peasantry were set to fixed amounts which did not account for inflation or other changes in monetary value. As a result, the tax revenues collected by the samurai landowners were worth less and less over time. This often led to confrontations between noble but impoverished samurai and well-to-do peasants. Toward the end of the 19th century, an alliance of several of the more powerful daimyo with the titular Emperor finally succeeded in the overthrow of the shogunate after the Boshin War, culminating in the Meiji Restoration. The Tokugawa Shogunate came to an official end in 1868, with the resignation of the 15th Tokugawa Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu and the "restoration" ('Taisei Hōkan') of imperial rule. See Late Tokugawa shogunate for details.

Government

Shogunate and Han

Late Tokugawa shogunate The bakuhan taisei (幕藩体制) was the feudal political system in the Edo period of Japan. Baku, or "tent," is an abbreviation of bakufu, meaning "military government" — that is, the shogunate. The han were the domains headed by daimyo. The system was feudal. Vassals held inherited lands and provided military service and homage to their lords. The Bakuhan Taisei split feudal power between the shogunate in Edo and provincial domains throughout Japan. Provinces had a degree of sovereignty and were allowed an independent administration of the han in exchange for loyalty towards the Shogun, who was responsible for foreign relations and national security. The shogun and lords were both daimyo, feudal lords with their own bureaucracies, policies, and territories. The Shogun also administrated the most powerful daimyo, the hereditary fief of House Tokugawa. Each level of government administrated its own system of taxation. The shogunate had the power to discard, annex and transform domains. The sankin-kotai system of alternative residence required each daimyo to send a family representative that would alternate years between the han and attendance in Edo. The huge expenditure sankin-kotai imposed on each han helped centralize aristocratic alliances and ensured loyalty to the Shogun as each representative doubled as a potential hostage. Tokugawa's descendants further ensured the loyalty by maintaining a dogmatic insistence on loyalty to the Shogun. Fudai daimyo were hereditary vassals of Ieyasu, as well as of his descendants. Tozama, or "outsiders," became vassals of Ieyasu after the battle of Sekigahara. Shimpan, or "relatives," were collaterals of Tokugawa Hidetada. Early in the Edo period, the shogunate viewed the tozama as the least likely to be loyal; over time, strategic marriages and the entrenchment of the system made the tozama less likely to rebel. In the end, it was the great tozama of Satsuma, Choshu and Tosa and to a lesser extent Hizen that brought down the shogunate. These four states are called the Four Western Clans or Satchotohi for short. The number of han (roughly 250) fluctuated throughout the Edo period. They were ranked by size, which was measured as the number of koku, or bales of rice, that the domain produced each year(?). The minimum number for a daimyo was ten thousand koku; the largest, apart from the shogun, was a million.

Shogun and Emperor

Despite the establishment of the shogunate, the emperor in Kyoto was still the legitimate ruler of Japan. The administration (taisei, 体制) of Japan was a task given by the imperial Court in Kyoto to the Tokugawa family, which they returned to the court in the Meiji Restoration. The shogunate appointed a liaison, the Kyōto Shoshidai, to deal with the emperor, court and nobility.

Shogun and Foreign Trade

Kyōto Shoshidai Kyōto Shoshidai The foreign affairs and trade were monopolized by the shogunate, yielding a huge profit. Foreign trade was also permitted to the Satsuma and the Tsushima domain. The visits of the Nanban ships from Portugal were at first the main vector of trade exchanges, followed by the addition of Dutch, English and sometimes Spanish ships. From 1600 onward, Japan started to participate actively in foreign trade. In 1615, an embassy and trade mission under Hasekura Tsunenaga was sent across the Pacific to Nueva Espana on a Japanese-built galleon San Juan Bautista. Until 1635, the Shogun issued numerous permits for Red seal ships, destined to Asian trade. After 1635 and the introduction of Seclusion laws, only inbound ships were allowed, from China and the Netherlands.

Institutions of the Shogunate

Rōjū and Wakadoshiyori

The rōjū (老中) were the senior members of the shogunate. They supervised the ōmetsuke, machibugyō, ongokubugyō and other officials, oversaw relations with the Imperial Court in Kyoto, kuge (members of the nobility), daimyo, temples and shrines, and attended to matters like divisions of fiefs. Normally, four or five men held the office, and one was on duty for a month at a time on a rotating basis. They conferred on especially important matters. In the administrative reforms of 1867, the office was eliminated in favor of a bureaucratic system with ministers for the interior, finance, foreign relations, army, and navy. In principle, the requirements for appointment to the office of rōjū were to be a fudai (hereditary) daimyo and to have a fief assessed at 50 000 koku or more. However, there were exceptions to both criteria. Many appointees came from the offices close to the shogun, such as soba yōnin, Kyoto shoshidai, and Osaka jōdai. Irregularly, the shoguns appointed a rōjū to the position of tairō (great elder). The office was limited to members of the Ii, Sakai, Doi, and Hotta clans, but Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu was given the status of tairō as well. Among the most famous was Ii Naosuke, who was assassinated in 1860 outside the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle. The wakadoshiyori were next in status below the rōjū. An outgrowth of the early six-man rokuninshū (1633–1649), the office took its name and final form in 1662, but with four members. Their primary responsibility was management of the affairs of the hatamoto and gokenin, the direct vassals of the shogun. Some shoguns appointed a soba yōnin. This person acted as a liaison between the shogun and the rōjū. The soba yōnin increased in importance during the time of the fifth shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, when a wakadoshiyori, Inaba Masayasu, assassinated Hotta Masatoshi, the tairō. Fearing for his personal safety, Tsunayoshi moved the rōjō to a more distant part of the castle. Some of the most famous soba yōnin were Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu and Tanuma Okitsugu.

Ōmetsuke and Metsuke

The ōmetsuke and metsuke were officials who reported to the rōjū and wakadoshiyori. The five ōmetsuke were in charge of monitoring the affairs of the daimyo, kuge and imperial court. They were in charge of discovering any threat of rebellion. Early in the Edo period, daimyo such as Yagyū Munefuyu held the office. Soon, however, it fell to hatamoto with rankings of 5000 koku or more. To give them authority in their dealings with daimyo, they were often ranked at 10 000 koku and given the title of kami (an ancient title, typically signifying the governor of a province) such as Bizen-no-kami. As time progressed, the function of the ōmetsuke evolved into one of passing orders from the shogunate to the daimyo, and of administering to ceremonies within Edo Castle. They also took on additional responsibilities such as supervising religious affairs and controlling firearms. The metsuke, reporting to the wakadoshiyori, oversaw the affairs of the vassals of the shogun. They were the police force for the thousands of hatamoto and gokenin who were concentrated in Edo. Individual han had their own metsuke who similarly policed their samurai.

San-bugyō

The san-bugyō ("three administrators") were the jisha, kanjō, and machi bugyō. The jisha bugyō had the highest status of the three. They oversaw the administration of Buddhist temples (ji) and Shinto shrines (sha), many of which held fiefs. Also, they heard suits from several land holdings outside the eight Kanto provinces. The appointments normally went to daimyo; Ōoka Tadasuke was an exception. The kanjō bugyō were next in status. The four holders of this office reported to the rōjū. They were responsibile for the finances of the shogunate. The machi bugyō were the chief city administrators of Edo. Their roles included mayor, chief of the police (and later also the fire) department, and judge in criminal and civil matters not involving samurai. Two (briefly, three) men, normally hatamoto, held the office, and alternated by month. Three machi bugyō have become famous through the jidaigeki, Ōoka Tadasuke and Tōyama Kinshirō as heroes, Torii Yōzō as a villain. The san-bugyō together sat on a council called the hyōjōsho. In this capacity, they were responsible for administering the tenryō, supervising the gundai, the daikan and the kura bugyō, as well as hearing cases involving samurai.

Tenryō, Gundai and Daikan

The shogun directly held lands in various parts of Japan. These were known as bakufu chokkatsuchi; since the Meiji period, the term tenryō has become synonymous. In addition to the territory that Ieyasu held prior to the Battle of Sekigahara, this included lands he gained in that battle, and as a result of the Summer and Winter Sieges of Osaka, and by the end of the seventeenth century had reached four million koku. Such major cities as Nagasaki and Osaka, and mines, including the Sado gold mine, also fell into this category. Rather than appointing a daimyo to head the holding, the shogunate placed administrators in charge. The titles of these administrators included gundai, daikan, and ongoku bugyō. This last category included the Osaka, Kyoto and Sumpu machibugyō, and the Nagasaki bugyō. The appointees were hatamoto.

List of the Shoguns

# Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) (r. 1603-1605) # Tokugawa Hidetada (1579-1632) (r. 1605-1623) # Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-1651) (r. 1623-1651) # Tokugawa Ietsuna (1641-1680) (r. 1651-1680) # Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (1646-1709) (r. 1680-1709) # Tokugawa Ienobu (1662-1712) (r. 1709-1712) # Tokugawa Ietsugu (1709-1716) (r. 1713-1716) # Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684-1751) (r. 1716-1745) # Tokugawa Ieshige (1711-1761) (r. 1745-1760) # Tokugawa Ieharu (1737-1786) (r. 1760-1786) # Tokugawa Ienari (1773-1841) (r. 1787-1837) # Tokugawa Ieyoshi (1793-1853) (r. 1837-1853) # Tokugawa Iesada (1824-1858) (r. 1853-1858) # Tokugawa Iemochi (1846-1866) (r. 1858-1866) # Tokugawa Yoshinobu (1837-1913) (r. 1867-1868) Other influential figures in the shogunate include:
- Tokugawa Mitsukuni - Mito domain
- Tokugawa Nariaki - Mito domain

Reference

- - [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/jptoc.html Japan]
- http://hkuhist2.hku.hk/nakasendo/tokupols.htm
- Category:Edo period ko:에도 막부 ja:江戸幕府

1600

:See also 1600 (number), 1600s

Events

January

- January 1 - Scotland adopts January 1st as being New Year's Day

February

- February 17 - Giordano Bruno burned at the stake for heresy in Rome

July

- July 2 - Battle of Nieuwpoort: Dutch forces under Maurice of Nassau defeat Spanish forces under Archduke Albert in a battle on the coastal dunes.

October

- October 6 - Jacopo Peri's Euridice, the earliest surviving Opera, is premiered in Florence.
- October 8 - San Marino gains its written constitution.
- October 21 - Battle of Sekigahara in Japan, in which Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated Ishida Mitsunari, setting the stage for the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate. End of the Azuchi-Momoyama period and beginning of the Edo period.

December

- December 31 -