Unification of Japan and How It Came To Be
By: Victor Rincin
Unification of Japan
Tokugawa Influence in Japan's Movement
After the great Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, one man took control of all Japan. He was Tokugawa Ieyasu, who became shogun in 1603. While the Tokugawa period is well known as a long era of peace, perhaps we'd better understand these 250 years by focusing on two themes: order and change. Both sides of the Tokugawa years were crucial to the later making of modern Japan. The Tokugawa period in itself, if I were to sum it up, would be characterized first by the word "order," stability. The Tokugawa system had a penchant for order.
The central thought in the minds of the Tokugawa rulers was to prevent the country from lapsing into the kind of conflict that had existed. There was more fighting in Japan during the sixteenth century than anywhere else in the world. And the rulers of the Tokugawa were determined that that would not happen again.
The central thought in the minds of the Tokugawa rulers was to prevent the country from lapsing into the kind of conflict that had existed. There was more fighting in Japan during the sixteenth century than anywhere else in the world. And the rulers of the Tokugawa were determined that that would not happen again.
Tokugawa's Influence On Japan
Tokugawa Shogun was Tokugawa Ieyasu. Ieyasu unified Japan after hundreds of years of war and strife during which rival lords fought for power. Ieyasu eventually succeeded in gaining absolute power in 1600 and established his capital in the city of Edo. Prior to this Japan's capital city had been Kyoto where the Emporer had his palace. However the Shoguns were now the real power in Japan. Besides being a great military leader, Ieyasu was a shrewd and calculating politician who changed the social structure of Japan, enabling him and his heirs to control the various factions. He established a dynasty to ensure that the Tokugawa clan continued to rule long after his death. He also supervised early diplomatic relations with Europeans and passed an edict banning Christianity from Japanese shores.