The Tokugawa Shoguns
1. Tokugawa Ieyasu, ruled 1603-1605
2. Tokugawa Hidetada, r. 1605-1623
3. Tokugawa Iemitsu, r. 1623-1651
4. Tokugawa Ietsuna, r. 1651-1680
5. Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, r. 1680-1709
6. Tokugawa Ienobu, r. 1709-1712
7. Tokugawa Ietsugu, r. 1713-1716
8. Tokugawa Yoshimune, r. 1716-1745
9. Tokugawa Ieshige, r. 1745-1760
10. Tokugawa Ieharu, r. 1760-1786
11. Tokugawa Ienari, r. 1787-1837
12. Tokugawa Ieyoshi, r. 1837-1853
13. Tokugawa Iesada, r. 1853-1858
14. Tokugawa Iemochi, r. 1858-1866
15. Tokugawa Yoshinobu, r. 1867-1868
Some of the better known shoguns:
Ieyasu (1543-1616), the first shogun. A great warrior, he defeated his rival warlords at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 and brought all Japan under his rule. Credited with bringing peace, unity and stability, he made Edo his capital, built Edo Castle and developed the city. He employed the British seafarer William Adams to build ships and establish trading links with the west. (Adams's story inspired the novel Shogun.) Had 2 wives and 17 concubines who bore him 11 sons and 5 daughters. Died in his bed of cancer or syphilis aged 75.
Iemitsu (1604-1651), the third shogun. Suspecting (with good reason) the Portuguese missionaries of being troublemakers, Iemitsu threw them out, banned Christianity and closed the country to all foreigners other than a handful of Dutch and Chinese traders. Greatly under the influence of his wet nurse, Lady Kasuga, who established the women's palace and laid out the rules.
Tsunayoshi (1646-1709), the fifth shogun. Nicknamed the Dog Shogun, he was born in the Year of the Dog and passed laws protecting dogs and establishing kennels. Immediately after becoming shogun, Tsunayoshi gave Hotta Masatoshi the title of Tairo, in a way thanking him for ensuring his succession. Almost immediately after he became shogun, he ordered a vassal of the Takata to commit suicide because of misgovernment, showing his strict approach to the samurai code. He then confiscated his fief of 250,000 koku. During his reign, he would confiscate a total of 1,400,000 koku.
In 1682, Shogun Tsunayoshi ordered his censors and police to raise the living standard of the people. Soon, prostitution was banned, waitresses could not be employed in tea houses, and rare and expensive fabrics were banned. Most probably, smuggling began as a practice in Japan soon after Tsunayoshi's authoritarian laws came into effect. In 1684, Tsunayoshi also decreased the power of the tairo after the assassination of Masatoshi by a cousin in that same year.
Nonetheless, due again to maternal advice, Tsunayoshi became very religious, promoting the Neo-Confucianism of Zhu Xi. In 1682, he read to the daimyo an exposition of the "Great Learning," which would become an annual tradition at the shogun's court. He soon began to lecture even more, and in 1690 lectured about Neo-Confucian work to Shinto and Buddhist daimyo, and even to envoys from the court of Emperor Higashiyama in Kyoto. He also was interested in several Chinese works, namely The Great Learning (Da Xue) and The Classic of Filial Piety (Xiao Jing). Tsunayoshi also loved art and the No drama.
In 1691, the Dutch doctor Engelbert Kaempfer visited Edo as part of the annual Dutch embassy from Dejima in Nagasaki. He journeyed from Nagasaki to Osaka, to Kyoto, and there to Edo. Kaempfer gives us information on Japan during the early reign of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. Kaempfer visited Edo Castle in 1691 and glimpsed the face of His Majesty's wife - 'of beautiful shape, with black European eyes, full of fire and vigour'. As the Dutch embassy entered Edo in 1692, they asked to have an audience with Shogun Tsunayoshi. While they were waiting for approval, a fire destroyed six hundred houses in Edo, and the audience was postponed. Tsunayoshi and several of the ladies of the court sat behind reed screens, while the Dutch embassy sat in front of them. Tsunayoshi took an interest in Western matters, and apparently asked them to talk and sing with one another for him to see how Westerners behaved. Tsunayoshi later put on a No drama for them.
Owing to religious fundamentalism, Tsunayoshi sought protection for living things in the later parts of his rule. In the 1690s and 1700s, Tsunayoshi, who was born in the Year of the Dog, thought he should take several measures concerning dogs. A collection of edicts released daily, known as the Edicts on Compassion for Living Things told the populace to protect dogs, since in Edo there were many stray and diseased dogs walking around the city. Therefore, he earned the pejorative title Inu-Kub?
In 1695, there were so many dogs that Edo began to smell horribly. An apprentice was even executed because he wounded a dog. Finally, the trouble was taken to a distance, as over 50,000 dogs were deported to kennels in the suburbs of the city where they would be housed. They were apparently fed rice and fish which were at the expense of the taxpaying citizens of Edo.
For the latter part of Tsunayoshi's reign, he was advised by Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu. It was a golden era of classic Japanese art, known as the Genroku era.
In 1701, Asano Naganori, the daimyo of Ako han, having been allegedly insulted by Kira Yoshinaka in Edo Castle, attempted to kill him. Asano was executed, but Kira went unpunished. Asano's Forty-seven Ronin avenged his death by killing Kira and became a legend that influenced many plays and stories of the era. The most successful of them was a bunraku play called Kanadehon Chushingura (now simply called Chushingura, or "Treasury of Loyal Retainers"), written in 1748 by Takeda Izumo and two associates; it was later adapted into a kabuki play, which is still one of Japan's most popular. The earliest known account of the Ako Incident in the West was published in 1822 in Isaac Titsingh's book, Illustrations of Japan.[3]
In 1706, Edo was hit by a typhoon, and Mt. Fuji erupted the following year. Shogun Tsunayoshi was already ill, and on February 19, 1709, he died at the age of 62, three days short of his 63rd birthday. He was succeeded by his nephew, Tokugawa Ienobu, who was the son of his other brother, Tokugawa Tsunashige, the former Lord of Kofu, which was a title Ienobu held before becoming shogun.
Died in his bed aged 62.
Ienobu (1662-1712), the sixth shogun. Adopted from the Kofu cadet or collateral line. Had at least five concubines, including Gekko'in, deadly rival of his wife Hiroko. Gekko'in's favourite was Ejima. Died in his bed aged 51.
Ietsugu (1709-1716), the seventh shogun. Came to power aged 4, died aged 7.
Yoshimune (1684-1751), the eighth shogun. From the Kii cadet orcollateral line. Great grandson of Ieyasu. 3rd son of Daimyo of Kii domain one of the "Go-sanke" or Three Collateral Houses. One of the greatest rulers of Japan, he carried out sweeping financial reforms. Relaxed the ban on foreign books, resulting in the development of Western Studies. Famous for mixing incognito with commoners.
Ienari (1773-1841), the eleventh shogun. Presided over a period of pleasure, excess and corruption. His women's palace was home to 53 children. His wife, 27 concubines and the many other women who lived there enjoyed lives of enormous luxury. Was said to be riddled with syphilis. Died in his bed aged 68.
Ieyoshi (1793-1853), the twelfth shogun. His wife, Princess Sachi, died aged 26 after several miscarriages. Had 15 concubines who bore him 27 children. In 1853, the American Commodore Matthew Perry arrived with his Black Ships, ordering Japan to open to trade and commerce with the west. Two weeks later, Ieyoshi died, cut down in the palace by his aides who considered him incapable of dealing with the foreign threat, according to Rutherford Alcock, head of the British Legation in Japan from 1859.
Iesada (1824-1858), the thirteenth shogun. An epileptic and mentally feeble, his first two wives died before he became shogun. His third wife, Princess Sumiko, outlived him and, as his widow, became Princess Kazu's nemesis, Lady Tensho'in. Met the first American consul, Townsend Harris, and signed a treaty of friendship. Two weeks later, suddenly died suspiciously, aged 34. Three concubines but no children.
Iemochi (1846-1866), the fourteenth shogun. Came to the throne aged 12 adopted from the Kii or Wakayama cadet or collateral line. Had an arranged marriage with Princess Kazu to try and bring together the shogun's and emperor's supporters. The first shogun for many generations to leave Edo, he made three visits to the emperor to try to make peace. Died under suspicious circumstances while away at war, aged 19. One concubine and no children.
Yoshinobu (1837-1913), the fifteenth and last shogunYoshinobu (1837-1913), adopted from the Mito or Hitotsubashi cadet or collateral line. The British diplomat Ernest Satow described him as 'one of the most aristocratic-looking Japanese I have ever seen, of high forehead and with a well-cut nose - such a gentleman.' Famously brilliant and wily, he suspected that if Japan was swept into all-out civil war the foreign powers, having colonised India and China, would do the same to Japan. In 1867 made the decision to end the fighting by abdicating as shogun, thus ending the line of shoguns. Spent his last 45 years practicing photography and producing children. Ten boys and eleven girls survived to maturity. Died in his bed.