was the second ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

Early life (1579–1593)

Tokugawa Hidetada was born to

and the

Lady Saigō Lady Saigō ( or '; 1552 – 1 July 1589), also known as Oai, was one of the concubines of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the samurai lord who unified Japan at the end of the sixteenth century and then ruled as ''shōgun''. She was also the mother of the se ...

on May 2, 1579. This was shortly before

Lady Tsukiyama Lady Tsukiyama or was a Japanese noble lady and aristocrat from the Sengoku period. She was the chief consort of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the ''daimyō'' who would become the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate. She was the mother ...

, Ieyasu's official wife, and their son Tokugawa Nobuyasu were executed on suspicion of plotting to assassinate

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

, who was Nobuyasu's father-in-law and Ieyasu's ally. By killing his wife and son, Ieyasu declared his loyalty to Nobunaga. In 1589, Hidetada's mother fell ill, her health rapidly deteriorated, and she died at

Sunpu Castle is a Japanese castle in Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan. The sobriquet of this feudal fortress was the "Castle of the Floating Isle".Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)Shizuoka It was also referred to as or . Hist ...

. Later Hidetada with his brother, Matsudaira Tadayoshi, was raised by

Lady Acha Lady Acha or Acha no Tsubone (阿茶局, March 16, 1555 - February 16, 1637) was a Japanese noble woman from the Sengoku period to the early Edo period. She was a concubine of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. Due to her intel ...

, one of Ieyasu's concubines. His childhood name was , later becoming . The traditional power base of the Tokugawa clan was Mikawa. In 1590, the new ruler of Japan,

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

enlisted Tokugawa Ieyasu and others in attacking the domain of the Hōjō in what became known as the

Siege of Odawara (1590) The third occurred in 1590, and was the primary action in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's campaign to eliminate the Hōjō clan as a threat to his power. The months leading up to it saw hasty but major improvements in the defense of the castle, as H ...

. Hideyoshi enlisted Ieyasu for this campaign by promising to exchange the five provinces under Ieyasu's control for the eight Kantō provinces, including the city of

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

. In order to keep Ieyasu from defecting to the Hōjō side (since the Hōjō and the Tokugawa were formerly on friendly terms), Hideyoshi took the eleven-year-old Hidetada as a hostage. In 1592 Hideyoshi presided over Hidetada's coming of age ceremony; it was then that Ieyasu's son dropped his childhood name, Takechiyo (竹千代), and assumed the name Hidetada. He was named the

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

of the Tokugawa family, being the eldest surviving son of Ieyasu, and his favorite (since Ieyasu's eldest son had been previously executed, and his second son was adopted by Hideyoshi while still an infant). In 1593, Hidetada returned to his father's side. In 1590, Hidetada married O-Hime (1585–1591), daughter of

Oda Nobukatsu also known as Kitabatake Tomotoyo was a Japanese samurai of the Azuchi–Momoyama period. He was the second son of Oda Nobunaga. He was adopted as the head of the Kitabatake clan from Ise Province. He survived the decline of the Oda clan ...

and adopted daughter of

. O-Hime died in 1591, and was given the posthumous Buddhist name Shunshoin. In 1595, Hidetada married

Oeyo , , or : 1573 – September 15, 1626) was a noblewoman in Japan's Azuchi–Momoyama period and early Edo period. She was a daughter of Oichi and the sister of Yodo-dono and Ohatsu. When she rose to higher political status during the Tokugawa s ...

, daughter of

Azai Nagamasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period known as the brother-in-law and enemy of Oda Nobunaga. Nagamasa was head of the Azai clan seated at Odani Castle in northern Ōmi Province and married Nobunaga's sister Oichi in 1564, fathering ...

and adopted daughter of

. Their wedding was held in

Fushimi Castle , also known as or Fushimi-Momoyama Castle, is a Japanese castle located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto. Fushimi Castle was constructed from 1592 to 1594 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the end of the Sengoku period as his retirement residen ...

Military achievements (1593–1605)

In 1595, Hidetada married

of the

Oda clan The is a Japanese samurai family who were daimyo and an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they reached the peak of their power under Oda Nobunaga and fell soon after, several branches of the ...

and they had two sons,

Tokugawa Iemitsu was the third ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, who acted as his political adviser and was at the ...

and

Tokugawa Tadanaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. The son of the second ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Hidetada, his elder brother was the third ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Iemitsu. Biography Often called ''Suruga Dainagon'' (the major counsellor of Su ...

. They also had several daughters, one of whom,

Senhime , or Lady Sen, was the eldest daughter of the ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Hidetada and later the wife of Toyotomi Hideyori. She was remarried to Honda Tadatoki after the death of her first husband. Following the death of her second husband, she late ...

, married twice. The other daughter, Kazuko ''hime'', married Emperor Go-Mizunoo (of descent from the

Fujiwara clan The was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since ancient times and dominated the imperial court until th ...

). Knowing his death would come before his son

Toyotomi Hideyori was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who united all of Japan toward the end of the Sengoku period. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga. Early life Born in 1593, he was Hideyoshi's sec ...

came of age, Hideyoshi named five regents—one of whom was Hidetada's father, Ieyasu—to rule in his son's place. Hideyoshi hoped that the bitter rivalry among the regents would prevent any one of them from seizing power. But after Hideyoshi died in 1598 and Hideyori became nominal ruler, the regents forgot all vows of eternal loyalty and were soon vying for control of the nation. Tokugawa Ieyasu was one of the strongest of the five regents, and began to rally around himself an Eastern faction. A Western faction rallied around

Ishida Mitsunari was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the Azuchi–Momoyama period of the 16th century. He ...

. The two factions clashed at the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, ...

in 1600. Ieyasu won decisively, which set the stage for Tokugawa rule. Hidetada had led 16,000 of his father's men in a campaign to contain the Western-aligned

Uesugi Uesugi (jap. 上杉, sometimes written ''Uyesugi'') is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: People *Uesugi clan, a Japanese samurai clan **Uesugi Akisada, (1454–1510), a samurai of the Uesugi clan ** Uesugi Harunori (1751� ...

clan in Shinano. Ieyasu then ordered Hidetada to march to Sekigahara in anticipation of the decisive battle against the Western faction. But the

Sanada clan The is a Japanese clan.Edmond Papinot, Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)("Sanada," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 52 DF 56 of 80/nowiki> retrieved 2013-5-3. The Sana ...

managed to tie down Hidetada's force, so he arrived too late to assist in his father's narrow but decisive victory. Ieyasu was incensed with Hidetada and was only convinced by his advisors not to punish his son. On 3 December 1601, Hidetada's first son, , was born to a young maiden from Kyoto named Onatsu. In September 1602, Chōmaru fell ill and died; his funeral was held at

Zōjō-ji is a Jōdo-shū Buddhist temple in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It is the main temple of the Jōdo-shū ("Pure Land") Chinzei sect of Buddhism in the Kantō region. Its mountain name is San'en-zan (三縁山). Zōjō-ji is notable for its relations ...

temple in Shibe. In 1603 Emperor Go-Yōzei granted Ieyasu the title of ''

''. Thus Hidetada became the heir to the shogunate.

''Shōgun'' (1605–1623)

To avoid his predecessor's fate, Ieyasu established a dynastic pattern soon after becoming shogun by abdicating in favor of Hidetada in 1605. Ieyasu retained significant power until his death in 1616; but Hidetada nevertheless assumed a role as formal head of the

bakufu , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

bureaucracy. Much to the dismay of Ieyasu, in 1612, Hidetada engineered a marriage between Sen, Ieyasu's favorite granddaughter, and

, who was living as a commoner in Osaka Castle with his mother. When this failed to quell Hideyori's intrigues, Ōgosho Ieyasu and Shogun Hidetada brought an army to Osaka.Titsingh, p. 410. In 1614-1615, at

Siege of Osaka A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

, father and son once again disagreed on how to conduct this campaign against the recalcitrant Toyotomi forces in Osaka. In the ensuing siege Hideyori and his mother were forced to commit suicide. Even Hideyori's infant son ( Kunimatsu), that he had with a concubine, was not spared. Only Sen was spared; she later remarried and had a new family. After Ieyasu's death in 1616, Hidetada took control of the ''bakufu''. He strengthened the Tokugawa hold on power by improving relations with the Imperial court. To this end he married his daughter Kazuko to

Emperor Go-Mizunoo , posthumously honored as , was the 108th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional List of Emperors of Japan, order of succession. Go-Mizunoo's reign spanned the years from 1611 through 1629, and he was the first emperor to reign entirely d ...

. The product of that marriage, a girl, eventually succeeded to the throne of Japan to become

Empress Meishō , posthumously honored as , was the 109th monarch of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')明正天皇 (108)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 115. ...

. The city of

was also heavily developed under his reign. Historian Michifumi Isoda opined that the total isolationism policy implemented by Hidetada has gradually weaken the military of Japan under Tokugawa shogunate in the long run.

''Ogosho'' (1623–1632)

In ''

Genna was a coming after ''Keichō'' and before ''Kan'ei.'' This period spanned the years from July 1615 to February 1624. The reigning emperor was . It is also known as ''Genwa''. Change of era * 1615 : The era name was changed to mark the enthr ...

'' 9 (1623), Hidetada resigned the government to his eldest son and heir,

.Screech, T. ''Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822''. p.85. Like his father before him, Hidetada became ''Ōgosho'' or retired ''shōgun'', and retained effective power. He enacted anti-Christian measures, which Ieyasu had only considered: he banned Christian books, forced Christian ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

s'' to commit suicide, ordered other Christians to apostatize under penalty of death; and executed fifty-five Christians (both Japanese and foreign) who refused to renounce Christianity or to go into hiding, by burning them along with their children, in

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

in 1628. ''Ōgosho'' Hidetada died in ''

Kan'ei was a after '' Genna'' and before ''Shōhō.'' This period spanned the years from February 1624 through December 1644. The reigning emperors and single empress were , and .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834) ''Annales des empereurs du japon'', p. 411./re ...

'' 9, on the 24th day of the 1st month (March 14, 1632). His

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. ...

is . His ashes were ceremoniously laid to rest in the Taitoku-in Mausoleum in Edo. Taitokuin Mausoleum Gate

Honours

Senior First Rank The court ranks of Japan, also known in Japanese language, Japanese as ''ikai'' (位階), are indications of an individual's court rank in Japan based on the system of the Nation, state. ''Ikai'' as a system was the indication of the rank of burea ...

(March 30, 1632; posthumous)

Eras

The years in which Hidetada was ''shōgun'' are more specifically identified by more than one

era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of rule, a t ...

or ''

nengō The or , is the first of the two elements that identify years in the Japanese era calendar scheme. The second element is a number which indicates the year number within the era (with the first year being "", meaning "origin, basis"), followed b ...

''. * ''

Keichō was a after '' Bunroku'' and before '' Genna''. This period spanned from October 1596 to July 1615. The reigning emperors were and . Change of era * 1596 : The era name was changed to ''Keichō'' to mark the passing of various natural disaste ...

'' (1596–1615) * ''

'' (1615–1624)

Family

Parents

Siblings (Mother side)

Wives and concubines

Children

Adopted Daughters

Toyotomi Sadako Toyotomi Sadako (豊臣完子,1592 – 1658) was a Japanese noble woman from the Sengoku period and Edo period. She was a daughter of Toyotomi Hidekatsu (Toyotomi Hideyoshi's nephew) and Oeyo ( Oichi's daughter, Oda Nobunaga's niece). In 1609, ...

(1593–1658) daughter of Toyotomi Hidekatsu with

, later married

Kujō Yukiie , son of regent Kanetaka, was a ''kugyō'' or Japanese court noble of the Edo period (1603–1868). His given name was initially. He held a regent position kampaku from 1608 to 1612 and from 1619 to 1623. He married Toyotomi Sadako (1592–1658), ...

and had 2 Sons:

Nijō Yasumichi , son of Kujō Yukiie and Toyotomi Sadako. He was also the adopted son of Nijō Akizane, was a Japanese ''kugyō'' (court noble) of the early Edo period. He held a regent position sesshō from 1635 to 1647. He married a daughter of Emperor Go-Yō ...

and

Kujō Michifusa , son of regent Yukiie, was a ''kugyō'' or Japanese court noble of the Edo period (1603–1868). He held a regent position sesshō in 1647. He married a daughter of second head of Echizen Domain Matsudaira Tadanao. One of the couple's daughte ...

.(Hidekatsu was Oeyo's former husband who died in

Japanese Invasions of Korea Japanese invasions of Korea may refer to: *Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) *Donghak Peasant Revolution ** Japanese occupation of Gyeongbokgung *Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fou ...

) * Chiyohime (1597–1649), daughter of Ogasawara Hidemasa and Toku-hime (Tokuhime was daughter of

Matsudaira Nobuyasu was the eldest son of Matsudaira Ieyasu. His ''tsūshō'' ("common name") was . He was also called , because he had become the lord of in 1570. Because he was a son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, he is often referred to, retroactively, as . Biography ...

) and married

Hosokawa Tadatoshi was a Japanese samurai ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Hosokawa Tadatoshi"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 359 細川忠利at ''Nihon jinmei daijiten''; retrieved 2013-5-29. He was the head of Kumamoto Domai ...

had 1 son:

Hosokawa Mitsunao was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. He was the grandson of the famous Christian convert (Kirishitan), Hosokawa Gracia. His great-grandfather was Hosokawa Fujitaka. His childhood name was Rokumaru (六丸). Mitsunao was born in ...

Kumamoto Domain The , which was in existence from 1600 to 1871, had a significant influence in the region. Initially, it controlled its vast territory of 520,000 koku, which later expanded to 540,000 koku after the division of the 8th generation territory and the e ...

* Katsuhime (1618–1678), daughter of

with

Honda Tadatoshi file:Honnda Tadatoshi.jpg, Honda Tadatoshi of Izumi Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in southern Mutsu Province in what is now part of the modern-day city of Iwaki, Fukushima. Hi ...

and married

Ikeda Mitsumasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)">DF 18 of 80">"Ikeda" at ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 14 DF 18 of 80/nowiki> r ...

, had 1 son and 1 daughter: Ikeda Tsunamasa, Torihime * Kamehime (1617–1681), daughter of Katsuhime with Matsudaira Tadanao">Ikeda Tsunamasa">DF 18 of 80/nowiki> r ...