Tokugawa Ieyasue By Nobunaga Od The Unification Of Japan

The death of emperor Hideyoshi and subsequent ascension to the throne of Hideyori in 1598 set into motion events that would alter the political landscape in Japan for the next two hundred and fifty years. Tokugawa Ieyasu, in his quest to become absolute ruler of Japan defeated Hideyori loyalists in the battle of Sekigahara and was appointed Shogun by Hideyori in 1603. This military “coup d’état” effectively gave Tokugawa complete control of Japan and reduced the emperor to little more than a figurehead in the governing of Japan. As history would show, the feudal system of government that Tokugawa created ultimately led to

The Japanese empire was in great power by this time period, and they thought themselves as the king of the East Asian race. Japan, the “old order”, also believed that some day Europe and America would take over their power and become the “new orders”(Doc A). Japan was one

From 1450 to 1750, both Russia and Tokugawa Japan faced incoming influence from western Europe. They handled this in both similar and different ways in the aspects of culture, government, and global interaction.

Japan’s decision to isolate themselves from the world created the conflict. Their decision however, was greatly influenced by the Europeans, who constantly tried to take advantage of the

The Feudal Period in Japan ended in a decline of central power, which led to the centralized feudal system of government in the Tokugawa Period in late 1500. There were three main leaders who helped reunite Japan including Oda Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Oda Nobunaga was successful to an extent, but was not successful in uniting the entire country. After the country once again became reunited from Tokugawa Ieyasu, a second wave of cultural diffusion occurred from the Europeans. They introduced guns and Christianity in early 1600.

With this law in place no one could come in, including missionaries with a goal to spread Christianity. The law also worked the other way, no one out. If someone left Japan, under almost no circumstance would that person be able to come back, for fear of bringing back new technology, cultures, and ideas. The Shogun also decided to put in place a law that no big ships were to dock at the Island. Ships that had tried to dock, were destroyed and the people on it were lucky they were kept hostages, to say the least.

At the beginning of the 1600's power was switched to the Tokugawa clan when Ieyasu Tokugawa succeeded Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1603. Ieyasu Tokugawa promoted foreign trade and the education of the Samurai in areas other than martial arts such as literature, philosophy, and arts (tea ceremony). From 1614 Ieyasu persecuted and enforced the suppression of Christianity. He continued to display his military dominance by destroying the Toyotomi clan and capturing Osaka castle in 1615.

Japan had to deal with many issues during its period of reunification. The major issue for Japan was the constant fighting between daimyo. From 1500-1603, Japan went through a devastating civil war, in which Toyotomi Hideyoshi eventually won. After Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu created a Shogunate that had imperial rule, so the daimyo could no longer fight for control. Japan also struggled with its changing economy in that merchants had low status but higher wealth than the daimyo and samurai. The lords did not seem as powerful when they needed to borrow money from low class merchants. In concern to external pressures, Japan had tried to take Korea under the reign of Hideyoshi but they were quickly overpowered. When the Tokugawa took control,

The resulting Tokugawa period “saw Japan move from a country divided by civil war to a unified, stable, and mature state” (Earns, Lane). This was accomplished through Ieyasu’s establishment of a central authority through a new shogunate in Edo, or present-day Tokyo. A more organized government, the Tokugawa shogunate introduced regional authority by daimyo, brought social classes to working order, and resulted in a more flourishing economy through urbanization (Earns, Lane). This was the first step towards a more modernized Japan as it decreased conflict and created an increased orderly

To analyze the reason why Tokugawa shogunate could united Japan, we can research from three parts to do it: the process of the unification of Japan, the character of Tokugawa Ieyasu and other Daimyou in that period, and the economic and labour background of Japan during late phase of shogunate Japan. First main category:

The Tokugawa period signified the beginning of an eventual shift from Fascism in Japan. This  was possible through the growing supremacy of the ruling class that brought about this change.   The country went through many serious transitions during this period. Peace was enforced by a Shogun that demanded absolute loyalty from his daimyos.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, power is the ability or right to control people or things. This definition is apparent throughout the history of China and through historical figures. Confucius is one of the most influential historical figures of Chinese history. In Confucius’s mind, the government should retain power, however, not to the extent that they do today. According to The Confucian Ethic and More About Confucius, “the government’s most important job was to inspire people [...] to feed and protect the people and gain their admiration” (The Confucian Ethic 13) . Confucius’ beliefs differ from what is going on now because he is calling for the government to treat the people with respect and take care of them. This may exist somewhat in China today, but China is known for killing political prisoners and silencing people who disagree with them. Mao Zedong, another historical

The Sengoku period from 1463 to 1567 was a time of social upheaval, political chicanery, and constant military conflict. Though feudal lords swore loyalty to the Emperor, he was largely a figurehead who held little political power of his own. More influential was the military Shogun, however the years leading up to the Sengoku period saw a breakdown of central authority and the rise of powerful, largely independent local lords called daimyo. These daimyo were in frequent conflict amongst each other, fighting for control of different regions in Japan. Conquering weaker daimyo, Japan’s “three unifiers” would slowly pave the path towards Japanese unification.

In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, successfully created a unified Japanese state by bringing to an end the civil wars. The most ingenious man of those three ‘unifiers’ was Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Although primarily this examination will focus on Hideyoshi as a “conquering hero”, the efforts and influence that the other unifiers had on Hideyoshi’s life and society in the latter half of sixteenth century Japan will not go entirely unnoticed. I examine the important events and changes that occurred in medieval Japan at a time when Nobunaga and Hideyoshi successively were establishing the early modern Japanese state.

Japan has an extensive history, beginning with the first humans arriving around 35,000 B.C.E. The location of Japan has played an important role in the country’s development. Although the archipelago is situated near the mainland, there is still a significant amount of open sea, which divides the two landmasses. Throughout most of Japan's history, it has been shut off from the outside world, neglecting to open its borders to foreigners. The sakoku policy, Sakoku meaning "locked country", was established in 1633 by the Tokugawa Shogunate, it prevented outsiders from entering Japan on a punishment of death. The policy also prevented Japanese from leaving Japan.