Tokugawa Iemitsu
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Tokugawa Iemitsu (previously spelled Iyemitsu); 徳川 家光 (August 12, 1604 — June 8, 1651) was the third shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty who reigned from 1623 to 1651. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada, and thus the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
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[edit] Early Life (1604-1617)
Tokugawa Iemitsu was born around 1604 (his exact birthdate is unknown). He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada and grandson of the last great unifier of Japan, the first Tokugawa Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was the first member of the Tokugawa family born after Tokugawa Ieyasu became shogun.
Not much is known of Iemitsu's early life; even his childhood name is unknown. He had two sisters, Senhime and Masako, and a brother, who would become a rival, Tadanaga. Tadanaga was his parents' favorite.
The seeds of Iemitsu's potent xenophobia were perhaps sown by his grandfather and father, Hidetada.
[edit] Heir of the Tokugawa (1617-1623)
Iemitsu came of age in 1617 and dropped his childhood name in favor of Tokugawa Iemitsu. He also was installed officially as the heir to the Tokugawa shogunate. The only person to contest this position was his younger brother Tokugawa Tadanaga. A fierce rivalry began to develop between the brothers.
From an early age Iemitsu practiced the shudo tradition. However, in 1620, he had a falling out with his lover, Sakabe Gozaemon, a childhood friend and retainer, aged twenty one, and murdered him as they shared a bathtub. (Louis Crompton, Homosexuality p.439)
[edit] Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu: The Hidetada Regency (1623-1632)
In 1623, when Iemitsu was nineteen, Hidetada abdicated the post of shogun in his favor. Hidetada continued to rule as Ogosho, or Retired Shogun.
In 1626 Shogun Iemitsu and Retired Shogun Hidetada visited Emperor Go-Mizunoo, Empress Masako (Hidetada's daughter and Iemitsu's sister), and Imperial Princess Meisho in Kyoto. Shogun Iemitsu made lavish grants of gold and money to the court nobles and the court itself. Yet relations with Go-Mizunoo deteriorated after Iemitsu's and Masako's wet nurse, a commoner, visited the court. Go-Mizunoo, embarrassed by this 'defilement,' abdicated, and Meisho became empress. The shogun was now the uncle of the sitting monarch.
In 1632 Hidetada died, whereupon Iemitsu assumed real power. Worried that his brother Tadanaga would assassinate him, however, he ruled carefully until his brother's death in 1633.
[edit] Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu (1632-1651)
Hidetada left his advisors, all veteran daimyo, to act as regents for Iemitsu. In 1633, after his brother's death, he dismissed these men. In place of his father's advisors, Iemitsu appointed his childhood friends. With their help Iemitsu created a strong, centralized administration. This made him unpopular with many daimyo, but Iemitsu simply removed his opponents. Such was the power of the early shoguns.
In 1637 a rebellion arose against Iemitsu's anti-Christian policies in Shimabara; it is known as the Shimabara Rebellion. Thousands were killed in the shogunate's suppression of the revolt and countless more were executed afterwards. This was the last serious threat to the shogunate in the first two and a half centuries of Tokugawa rule.
In 1639 Iemitsu officially closed off Japan from the rest of the world, limiting trade to the Dutch and English merchants ensconced on the island of Deshima in Nagasaki and the proxy trade with China carried out by the Ryukyu Kingdom under the control of the Shimazu.
In 1643 Empress Meisho abdicated the throne. She was succeeded by her younger half-brother (Go-Mizunoo's son by a consort) Emperor Go-Komyo, who disliked the shogunate for its violent and barbaric ways. He repeatedly made insulting comments about Iemitsu and his eldest son and heir, Tokugawa Ietsuna.
In 1651 Shogun Iemitsu died at the age of 47, being the first Tokugawa shogun whose reign ended with death and not abdication. He was succeeded by his eldest son and heir, Tokugawa Ietsuna.
| Preceded by Tokugawa Hidetada |
Tokugawa Shogun 1623-1651 |
Succeeded by Tokugawa Ietsuna |
