Japan+(1450-1750)

=The Three Unifiers (1560-1598)= After the long period of the "warring states" in Japan; Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu did what few would have thought possible. They successfully united all of Japan, first under Hideyoshi, then under Ieyasu in the Tokugawa shogunate.

Oda Nobunaga
The first of the Unifiers, and initially the commander of the other two, Nobunaga was the most prominent samurai of his time. He began his life relatively low in his family being labeled the "great idiot". He had learned that his brother Nobuyki had plotted to kill him, so he sent for his brother to come by his bed so that he could kill him. By 1559, Nobunaga had gained complete control of the area.

His first significant victory came in 1560 against the Imagawa in the battle of Okehazama. The Oda miraculously defeated the vastly superior Imagawa army, killing Imagawa Yoshimoto, ending the Imagawa. Out of this victory, came the alliance of Ieyasu in 1562. Now he had under his banner the two other unifiers, Hideyoshi, already one of his generals, and Ieyasu, the eventual shogun.

Oda Nobunaga continued his military career, deposing the former shogunate, ending the Buddhist rebellions, and increasing trade by eliminating barriers between daimyo territory and central provinces, and even allowing European traders to come and encouraging Christian missionaries to preach so that the Buddhist rebellion could be silenced.

Unfortunately, Nobunaga's reign would not last long. He sent two of his generals, Akechi Mitsuhide as well as the aforementioned Hideyoshi to secure the west. Upon returning, Mitsuhide, who had been jealous of Hideyoshi, murdered Nobunaga, inciting the anger of Hideyoshi. The loyal Hideyoshi took those troops loyal to Nobunaga and avenged the late daimyo by crushing Mitsuhide and those forces that dissented with him.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Hideyoshi was Nobunaga's most trusted general and one of the best, if not the best. He arose from humble conditions, his father a farmer low enough in class to lack a surname. At age 15, Hideyoshi joined the army of Imagawa Yoshimoto, but later switched allegiances to Oda Nobunaga. Hideyoshi continued to serve and while mocked for his not-so-flattering appearance by Nobunaga, Nobunaga recognized the value of his service and made him a main assisstant in the Oda campaign across Japan. Eventually, though, Nobunaga was killed. After avenging his death, Hideyoshi took control of Nobunaga's forces.

During the next eight years, Hideyoshi's tactical prowess shined. His army numbered over 200,000 and put all of Japan under his control with his incredible strategies such as forced marches, and diverting streams from besieged towns.Hideyoshi eventually conquered all of Japan and initiated a federal government divided into 200 regions that were controlled by daimyo who were each supposed to collect taxes. Hideyoshi also initiated a series of reforms disarming and banning the use of weapons and armor among all but the samurai, who he moved to castle towns of the various daimyo lords. He banned social and geographic mobility, ironically making it impossible for anyone to rise to power as he did.

To create a sense of peace and prosperity, he would invite commoners to attend vast tea parties, as well as hold parades, cherry-blossom viewing expeditions, and receptions. He had an enormous Buddha statue erected and surrounded himself with various luxuries in his three castles.

Later, he officially received the name Toyotomi which means "Bountifuls Minister". This not only boosted his own power and authority by giving him position with the imperial court, but increased that of the emperor as well.

Eventually, his ambition grew, and he decided to invade China. Because Korea would not let his army through, he attacked and was beaten. After some unsuccessful negotiations with acts of duress on his part to obtain a daughter of the Ming Emperor as a consort for the Japanese emperor. He launched another attack and was again defeated. His reputation marred and his health declining, he called for five of his closest followers to ensure that his son Hideyori would come to power when he was of age. Later that year (September 1598), he died. A few years later, that council of regents was disbanded, neutralizing any hope of Hideyoshi's dream coming to fruition.

Tokugawa Ieyasu
Born in 1543 and placed in the hands of Imagawa at the age of seven, Ieyasu (at the time named Matsudaira Takechiyo) learned leadership and military skills in his captivity. He even led some of the Imagawa troops. When the Oda defeated the Imagawa, he seized the oppurtunity and joined Nobunaga, changing his name to Tokugawa Ieyasu. Though he had to prove his loyalty by killing his wife and ordering his son to commit suicide, the alliance proved very beneficial on his part.

After Nobunaga's death, he briefly clashed with Hideyoshi, but then made peace with Hideyoshi and married his sister. Ieyasu became one of Hideyoshi's most loyal retainers, until when Hideyoshi died, Ieyasu was foremost of the regents and after emerging victorious from the Battle of Sekigahara, he controlled all of Japan and was named shogun, initiating the Tokugawa Bakufu in 1603. =Tokugawa Shogunate (1603-1867)= Ieyasu enacted a series of policies to ensure that his Bakufu was stable and indomitable. First, he increase the size and concentration of his army and placed loyal daimyos in strategic position to ensure that those daimyos that were disloyal would not even think of opposing the Ieyasu. Next, Ieyasu increased the his wealth in a myriad of ways. He first organized the growing of rice on the lands he had obtained and by the end of the of the 17th century, the Tokugawa family owned about 85 million bushels of rice. Ieyasu also supported national trade with a mercantile economy controlled by the Bakufu, which granted great economic power to the Bakufu and Japan. Ieyasu also confiscated the gold and silver mines which he ordered to be stimulated to increase output. Other influences on economy included control of commerce centers, a monopoly on silk imports, and support of foreign trade with the English and Dutch.

Ieyasu also enacted a series of laws. He saw Christianity as a threat and thus it was banned. He also laid down a code by which daimyo must swear to. They were to: 1) Obey the laws set down since the Shogun Yoritomo. 2) Never harbor anyone who breaks the law or disobeys the Shogun's wishes. 3) Take action against any samurai or person of lower rank in their fief who was guilty of rebellious conduct or murder. In 1615 Ieyasu laid rules down for anyone in the military. These were: 1) Literature should be studied alongside military arts. 2) Drunkenness and gambling were forbidden. 3) Law-breakers were never to be harbored. 4) Any feudatory or landowner was to expel any soldier under their service guilty of treason or murder. 5) Rebellious men were never to be harbored and all that reside in a fief must have been born there. 6) Building work on the castle was to be reported immediately, and new construction was forbidden. 7) If it is learned that people in a neighboring fief are plotting change, they must immediately be reported to the Bakufu. 8) Marriages could not be privately contracted. 9) All daimyos at the Shogun's court must follow specific rules of conduct as well as be limited to a certain number of men. 10) Costumes and ornaments must reflect a wearer's rank. 11) Common people were not to ride in palanquins. 12) All samurai in the fiefs were to live frugally. 13) All Daimyos were to choose someone to advise them in governing their fiefs.

Sansom, George Bailey. //A History of Japan, 1615-1867: [volume 3]//. Stanford, CA.: Stanford UP, 1993. Print.

"Toyotomi Hideyoshi." //World History: The Modern Era//.ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.

"Tokugawa Ieyasu." //World History: The Modern Era//.ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.

"Oda Nobunaga." //World History: The Modern Era//.ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.