How Tokugawa Ieyasu Becomes Shogun: From Hostage to Ruler of Japan

Patience and Strategy: The Path to Power

The rise of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616, 徳川家康) to power was not the result of military strength, but of patience and strategy. From a childhood spent as a hostage, through a demanding alliance with Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582, 織田信長) and reluctant submission to Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598, 豊臣秀吉), Ieyasu endured decades of patience. Only after Hideyoshi’s death did his long-awaited opportunity arrive—leading to his appointment as shogun and, ultimately, the fall of the Toyotomi clan in 1615, when Ieyasu was 74 years old.

With the declaration of Genna Enbu, he laid the foundation for peace that would endure for more than 260 years. The following year, at the age of 75, he died—yet even in death, his spirit was enshrined at Nikkō Tōshōgū, where it was believed to continue to watch over the Tokugawa shogunate and the nation.

Early Life as a Hostage

Tokugawa Ieyasu was born in 1534 at Okazaki Castle as the heir to the small Matsudaira clan in Okazaki, between the territories of two powerful warlords: Owari (Aichi prefecture), ruled by Oda Nobunaga, and Tōtōmi (Shizuoka prefecture), ruled by Imagawa Yoshimoto. He was held as a hostage until age 19.

Alliance with Nobunaga

After his hostage life ended when Nobunaga defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto at the Battle of Okehazama, he allied with Nobunaga. In 1570, Ieyasu and Nobunaga won a victory against the allied forces of the Asai and Asakura clans, and he moved into Hamamatsu Castle, leaving Okazaki Castle to his heir at the age of 29. Two years later, in 1572, at the Battle of Mikatagahara against the powerful lord Takeda Shingen (1521-1573, 武田信玄), he nearly died and lost many of his retainers. Ieyasu took this great defeat to heart. The conflict with Takeda Katsuyori, who succeeded Takeda Shingen, continued for a decade. The battles at Takatenjin Castle and the Battle of Nagashino & Shitaragahara were particularly fierce.

Rivalry with Hideyoshi

No sooner had Ieyasu heard of Nobunaga's sudden death in a rebellion at Honnoji Temple in 1582 than he barely returned to Okazaki via a pathless route, where his life was in imminent danger. At that time, Ieyasu was Nobunaga's allied partner at age 41, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598, 豊臣秀吉) was Nobunaga's retainer at age 45. The two were becoming rivals for the succession to Nobunaga. They eventually fought in the fierce Battle of Komaki and Nagakute, which ended in a truce without a winner. Without the victory, Hideyoshi begged Ieyasu to be his retainer by sending his mother to Ieyasu as a hostage. Ieyasu accepted it to avoid further turmoil in the nation. Ieyasu’s patience would be tested for many years to come.

Strategy Rise to Shogun

Hideyoshi ordered Ieyasu to move to the undeveloped province of Edo (Tokyo) at the age of 49. Edo was a reedy morass with very few villages, and it was far from the political center in Kyoto and the economic center in Osaka. Despite this situation, he initiated major development in Edo, including flood control of the Tone River, the cultivation of new fields, the construction of Edo Castle, and other measures. Ieyasu employed a clever strategy and perseverance to regain the position that Hideyoshi had seized. After Hideyoshi's death, Ieyasu secured victory at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 and was then appointed shogun, launching the Edo shogunate in 1603.

Ieyasu Laid the Foundation for a 260-Year Peaceful Era

After defeating the Toyotomi family at the Siege of Osaka in 1615, Ieyasu implemented a range of policies to ensure a peaceful era without a return to turmoil. Tokugawa's commander flag is described as onriedo-gongujodo. This is the fundamental teaching of the Jodo Sect of Buddhism, founded by Honen. These measures and policies contributed to the Pax Tokugawa lasting 260 years.

Ieyasu's Spirit Watch Over the Tokugawa Shogunate

After he died in 1616 at the age of 75, Ieyasu's body was initially interred at Kunozan Toshogu Shrine in Shizuoka. According to Ieyasu's last will, his spirit was ceremonially transferred to Nikko Toshogu Shrine after the first anniversary of his death, marking the final stage of his enshrinement.

Map of Places Associated with Tokugawa Ieyasu

Key Locations in Tokugawa Ieyasu’s Life and Campaigns

Timeline of Tokugawa Ieyasu’s Life and Major Events

1336	Ashikaga Takauji estabilished Muromachi shogunate	-	Muromachi Period
1467	Onin War started (- 1477)	-	Warring States Period
1534	Nobunaga was born in Owari province	-
1537	Hideyoshi was born in Nagoya	-
1542	Ieyasu was born in Okazaki province	Age=1
1547	Ieyasu was sent to Imagawa’s Sunpu castle as a hostage by his father	6
1560	Nobunaga defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto at the battle of Okehazama	19
1561	Ieyasu made an alliance with Nobunaga	20
1569	Ieyasu conquered Imagawa's terittory	28
1570	Nobunaga & Ieyasu defeated the Asai and Asakura clans	29
1570	Ieyasu moved to Hamamatsu Castle from Okazaki Castle	29
1572	Ieyasu returned to Hamamatsu Castle from his life escaping from Shingen's assault	31
1573	Muromachi shogunate ended by the 15th shogun, Yoshiaki was ousted by Nobunaga	31	Azuchi Momoyama Period
1575	Oda-Tokugawa allied completely defeated the Takeda clan at the battle of Nagashino	34
1582	Nobunaga invited Ieyasu at Azuchi Castle and then enjoyed sight-seeing in Kyoto & Sakai	41
1582	Nobunaga was killed at Honnoji by Akechi Mitsuhide	41
1582	Ieyasu returned to Okazaki Castle through crossing the pathless route	41
1582	Hideyoshi defeated Akechi Mitsuhide	41
1584	Komaki-Nagakute battle between Hideyoshi and Ieyasu	43
1585	Hideyoshi became Kanpaku (chief advisor to the Emperor)	44
1586	Hideyoshi built the huge Osaka castle	45
1590	Hideyoshi spearhead army to attack Hojo clan	49
1590	Hideyoshi unified the nation	49
1590	Ieyasu moved to Edo according to Hideyoshi's order	49
1598	Hideyoshi passed away	57
1600	Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated Ishida Mitsunari, Hideyoshi's right arm at the battle of Sekigahara	59
1603	Tokugawa Ieyasu established Tokugawa shogunate at Edo	62	Edo Period
1603	Ieyasu built Nijo-jo Caslte	62
1607	The first Korean envoy came to Edo	66
1612	Ieyasu built Nagoyajo Caslte	71
1614	The Winter Siege of Osaka	73
1615	Toyotomi's Osaka Castle burnt down to the ground at the Summer Siege of Osaka	74
1615	Tokugawa Issued a set of regulations that applied to the emperor and the court nobles	74
1616	Ieyasu passed away at the age of 75	75
1617	The spirit of Ieyasu was enshrined at Nikko Toshogu Shrine	-
1620	Tokugawa Masako married Emperor Gpmizunoo	-
1623	Tokugawa Iemistu became the 3rd shogun of Tokugawa shogunate	-