Tokugawa (徳川) is a surname in Japan. It originated with Tokugawa Ieyasu, who took the surname in 1567. He and his fourteen successors were shoguns during the Edo period of Japanese history. Some of his sons also bore the Tokugawa surname, and three cadet branches of his line, the Owari, Kii, and Mito Tokugawa, continued as daimyo through the Edo period. Descendants of Ieyasu who were not permitted to take the Tokugawa name normally bore the Matsudaira surname. Yamada Tarō, a typical Japanese name (male), equivalent to John Smith in English. ... Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (previously spelled Iyeyasu); 徳川 家康 (January 31, 1543 – June 1, 1616) was the founder of the Tokugawa bakufu of Japan which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. ... Events The Duke of Alva arrives in the Netherlands with Spanish forces to suppress unrest there. ... In Japanese history, a shogun (将軍 shōgun) was the practical ruler of Japan for most of the time from 1192 to the Meiji Era beginning in 1868. ... The Edo period (江戸時代, Edo-jidai) is a division of Japanese history running from 1600 to 1867. ... The history of Japan probably started around 500,000 BC, date when the earliest stone tool implements have been found. ... The article incorporates text from OpenHistory. ... Mito (水戸市; -shi) is the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. ... Daimyo Matsudaira Katamori visits the residence of a retainer. ... The Edo period (江戸時代, Edo-jidai) is a division of Japanese history running from 1600 to 1867. ...

Summary

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the most powerful man in Japan after Hideyoshi had died in 1598. Against his promises he did not respect Hideyoshi's successor Hideyori because he wanted to become the absolute ruler of Japan. Hideyoshi at his old age. ...

In the battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Ieyasu defeated the Hideyori loyalists and other Western rivals. Hence, he achieved almost unlimited power and wealth. In 1603, Ieyasu was appointed Shogun by the emperor and established his government in Edo (Tokyo). The Tokugawa shoguns continued to rule Japan for a remarkable 250 years.

Ieyasu brought the whole country under tight control. He cleverly redistributed the gained land among the daimyo: more loyal vassals (the ones who supported him already before Sekigahara) received strategically more important domains accordingly. Every daimyo was also required to spend every second year in Edo. This meant a huge financial burden for the daimyo and moderated his power at home. Daimyo Matsudaira Katamori visits the residence of a retainer. ... The Battle of Sekigahara was a decisive battle on September 15, 1600 (on the ancient Chinese calendar, October 21 on the modern calendar) that cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu. ...

Ieyasu continued to promote foreign trade. He established relations with the English and the Dutch. On the other hand, he enforced the suppression and persecution of Christianity from 1614 on.

After the destruction of the Toyotomi clan in 1615 when Ieyasu captured Osaka Castle, he and his successors had practically no rivals anymore, and peace prevailed throughout the Edo period. Therefore, the samurai, or gentle-men warriors, were educating themselves not only in the martial arts but also in literature, philosophy and the arts, e.g. the tea ceremony. Osaka Castle Osaka Castle (大坂城; Ōsaka-jō) is a castle in Chuo-ku, Osaka, Japan. ... Japanese samurai in armour, 1860 photograph. ...

In 1633, shogun Iemitsu forbade travelling abroad and almost completely isolated Japan in 1639 by reducing the contacts to the outside world to very limited trade relations with China and the Netherlands in the port of Nagasaki. In addition, all foreign books were banned. In Japanese history, a shogun (将軍 shōgun) was the practical ruler of Japan for most of the time from 1192 to the Meiji Era beginning in 1868. ...

Despite the isolation, domestic trade and agricultural production continued to improve. During the Edo period and especially during the Genroku era (1688 - 1703), popular culture flourished. New art forms like kabuki and ukiyo-e became very popular especially among the townspeople.

The most important philosophy of Tokugawa Japan was Neo-Confucianism, stressing the importance of morals, education and hierarchical order in the government and society: A strict four class system existed during the Edo period: at the top of the social hierarchy stood the samurai, followed by the peasants, artisans and merchants. The members of the four classes were not allowed to change their social status. Outcasts (eta), people with professions that were considered impure, formed a fifth class. Neo-Confucianism (理學 Pinyin: Lǐxué) is a term for a form of Confucianism that was primarily developed during the Song dynasty, but which can be traced back to Han Yu and Li Ao in the Tang dynasty. ...

In 1720, the ban of Western literature was cancelled, and several new teachings entered Japan from China and Europe ("Dutch Learning"). New nationalist schools that combined Shinto and Confucianist elements also developed. Confucianism (儒家 Pinyin: rújiā The School of the Scholars), sometimes translated as the School of Literati, is an East Asian ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of Confucius. ...

Even though the Tokugawa government remained quite stable over several centuries, its position was steadily declining for several reasons: A steady worsening of the financial situation of the government led to higher taxes and riots among the farm population. In addition, Japan regularly experienced natural disasters and years of famine that caused riots and further financial problems for the central government and the daimyo. The social hierarchy began to break down as the merchant class grew increasingly powerful while some samurai became financially dependent of them. In the second half of the era, corruption, incompetence and a decline of morals within the government caused further problems.

In the end of the 18th century, external pressure started to be an increasingly important issue, when the Russians first tried to establish trade contacts with Japan without success. They were followed by other European nations and the Americans in the 19th century. It was eventually Commodore Perry in 1853 and again in 1854 who forced the Tokugawa government to open a limited number of ports for international trade. However, the trade remained very limited until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. The Meiji Restoration (Japanese: 明治維新, Meiji-ishin), also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution or Renewal, was a chain of events that led to a change in Japans political and social structure. ...

All factors combined, the anti-government feelings were growing and caused other movements such as the demand for the restoration of imperial power and anti western feelings, especially among ultra-conservative samurai in increasingly independently acting domains such as Choshu and Satsuma. Many people, however, soon recognized the big advantages of the Western nations in science and military, and favoured a complete opening to the world. Finally, also the conservatives recognized this fact after being confronted with Western warships in several incidents.

In 1867-68, the Tokugawa government fell because of heavy political pressure, and the power of Emperor Meiji was restored.

See also

Tokugawa Tadanaga Tokugawa Tadanaga (徳川忠長: 1606–1633) was a grandson of Ieyasu (the first), son of Hidetada (the second) and younger brother of Iemitsu (the third Tokugawa shogun of Japan). ...