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AFTER VICTORY
TIGHTEN THE CORDS
OF YOUR HELMET
THE BATTLE OF SEKIGAHARA (1600)
O
n October 21, 1600 there
was a momentous battle in
Sekigahara, central Japan,
between two warring factions—the
Eastern and Western armies—who
were both fighting for control of the
country. The Eastern Army, under
the leadership of the lord Tokugawa
Ieyasu, won a decisive victory. Three
years later, the Emperor of Japan
awarded Ieyasu the title of shogun,
granting him the power to rule the
country on the emperor’s behalf.Ieyasu brought stability and peace
to Japan and transferred the nation’s
capital to Edo (now Tokyo), creating
a new focus for Japanese culture as
well as a central power base.Factional struggles
Since 1192, the Emperor of Japan
had been little more than a figure-
head. He delegated power to the
shogun: a hereditary, high-ranking
military commander who ruled
with absolute authority. However,IN CONTEXT
FOCUS
The Edo PeriodBEFORE
1467 The Warring States
Period begins, with the
emperor losing power to
conflicting factions led by
daimyos and shoguns.1585 Toyotomi Hideyoshi
is given the title of Imperial
Regent by the emperor.AFTER
1603 Tokugawa Ieyasu is
appointed shogun.1610–1614 Missionaries are
expelled from Japan and
Christian activity is banned.1616 Tokugawa Ieyasu dies.1854 After years of being
closed to the West, Japan
opens its ports to American
shipping and trade.1868 The Tokugawa
shogunate finally ends with
the restoration of imperial
power under Emperor Meiji.Ieyasu emerges triumphant, defeating his rival
Ishida Mitsunari at the Battle of Sekigahara.Unrest is
widespread
throughout
Japan.Powerful
warlords
establish a
feudal
society.Ieyasu
emerges as
a formidable
military
leader.Ieyasu becomes shogun and political power is unified
under the Tokugawa shogunate.US_184-185_Tokugawa.indd 184 15/02/2016 16:42
185
See also: Minamoto Yoritomo becomes Shogun 98–99 ■ The opening of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange 180–83 ■
The Meiji Restoration 252–53 ■ The Second Opium War 254–55EARLY MODERN ERA
by the 1460s the local feudal lords
(daimyos) were so powerful that
few shoguns had control over them,
as they and their armies of samurai
warriors fought to win the right to
appoint the shogun’s successor. By
the time of the Battle of Sekigahara,
Japan had endured bitter factional
struggles between its ruling classes
for over a century.
Ieyasu’s victory at the battle
put an end to this Warring States
Period. His steady rule, followed by
that of the Tokugawa shoguns who
succeeded him, ushered in a 250-
year period of stability.The Tokugawa shoguns
In many respects, the Tokugawa
shoguns modeled themselves on
earlier rulers—particularly Toyotomi
Hideyoshi. Although he was not
sufficiently high-born to become a
shogun, Hideyoshi (who ruled under
the lesser title of imperial regent)
had brought unity to Japan in the
1580s by imposing a military, feudal
style of rule whereby he wielded
great power through the daimyos
and their samurai warriors. TheTokugawa shoguns decided to
govern in the same way, with the
daimyos keeping order in their local
areas. As an extra precaution, Ieyasu
made the daimyos spend alternate
years in Edo to ensure they would
not build up local power bases; he
also suppressed rivals ruthlessly.
The shoguns encouraged an
ethic of loyalty and developed an
elite bureaucracy. They improved
Japan’s road network, promoted
education, and standardized the
currency. The shogunate also tried
to reduce foreign influence in Japan
by expelling foreigners and limiting
contact with the outside world.
Exceptions were made for strictly
controlled trade with the Chinese,
Koreans, and the Dutch East India
Company; all other Europeans were
distrusted, as the shoguns believed
that they had plans to convert the
Japanese to Christianity and gain
political power. Furthermore, the
Japanese people were forbidden to
travel and build ocean-going ships.
This policy of isolation virtually cut
off Japan from Western influence
until the mid-19th century.The “floating world”
The capital Edo became the center
of a thriving urban culture during
the Tokugawa shogunate. Japanese
literary forms, such as the haiku
(a short poem consisting of three
lines and 17 syllables) flourished,
as did the distinctive theatrical
forms of kabuki (which combines
theater and dance) and the bunraku
puppetry theater. It was also a time
of major achievements in the visual
arts, particularly landscape painting
and woodblock printing.
The capital’s elite became
increasingly hedonistic, with their
lifestyle frequently described as the
“floating world” (ukiyo). Originally,
Buddhists had used the term ukiyo
to mean “sorrowful world,” reflecting
their opinion that life on earth was
transitory and expressing a desire
to reach a more permanent place,
free from suffering and all earthly
desires. However, in the Edo Period
the homonym ukiyo (“floating”) was
used to describe the joyful aspect
of the ephemeral material world,
reflecting the pleasure-seeking
mood of the day. ■Tokugawa Ieyasu The samurai leader Tokugawa
Ieyasu (1542–1616) was the son
of a minor Japanese warlord from
Mikawa in central Japan. As a
young man, he received a military
training before becoming an ally
of more powerful warlords, such
as Oda Nobunaga (1534–82)—one
of the most brutal leaders of the
turbulent Warring States Period
in Japan—and his successor,
Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536–98).
Working with Nobunaga and
Hideyoshi, Ieyasu not only built
up large personal landholdings,
but he also learned the key values
of loyalty and military power thatenabled Hideyoshi to bring a
brief period of unity to Japan.
When Hideyoshi died, Ieyasu
rose to the fore. As shogun,
he was able to impose stability
on his country, but he formally
abdicated after only two years
in favor of his son, Hidetada,
to secure a smooth succession
and establish a pattern of
shoguns passing on their office,
helping to ensure that the
Tokugawa shogunate was long
lasting. Although Hidetada had
officially become shogun, Ieyasu
remained the effective ruler of
Japan until his death.US_184-185_Tokugawa.indd 185 15/02/2016 16:42