Tokugawa Iemitsu

• Born: 1604/8/12
• Died: 1651/4/20
• Japanese: 徳川 家光 (Tokugawa Iemitsu)

Tokugawa Iemitsu was the third Tokugawa shogun. His reign (1623-1651?) saw many of the key features of Tokugawa rule develop into their mature forms, as sankin kôtai was made regular and mandatory for all daimyô, and the various policies of maritime restrictions were put into place. He also oversaw a notable expansion and solidification of Tokugawa authority, through acts such as the expansion of Nijô castle and Nikkô Tôshôgû.

Born in 1604, Iemitsu was the eldest son of Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada and Lady Oeyo (aka Gô). His wet nurse, Kasuga no Tsubone, is said to have played an influential role in ensuring he, and not his brother Tokugawa Tadanaga, was named shogun. Tadanaga became lord of Kôfu castle. Their sister Senhime was married to Toyotomi Hideyori and later to Honda Tadatoki, while their other sister married Emperor Go-Mizunoo and later came to be known as Tôfukumon-in.

Iemitsu was named shogun on 1623/9/27 as his father retired in his favor. Though said to have been "sickly and withdrawn" as a child, as shogun Iemitsu is described as a rather able and active administrator.

Following his renovation of Nijô castle, Iemitsu had a grand mausoleum erected for his father in 1632. This mausoleum, called the Taitokuin Mausoleum, stood within the grounds of the Tokugawa clan temple of Zôjô-ji in Edo, and served a similar purpose to Nijô - as a demonstration of Tokugawa power, wealth, and prestige. Iemitsu's expansion of Nikkô Tôshôgû in 1634-1636 continued this discursive project. He also commissioned or otherwise was involved in expansion or renovation efforts at Tôji, Ninna-ji, Chion-in, and a number of other notable temples.

Wakadoshiyori were appointed for the first time in 1633. That same year, Iemitsu issued further bans on Christianity; implemented changes to the red seal ships system requiring captains to now carry a hôsho license from the rôjû; and issued regulations regarding inheritance/succession practices among merchants and artisans. This might be taken as representative of many other years of Iemitsu's reign, as various policies were shifted, or first implemented, setting precedents and standards that would in many cases be followed for the remainder of the Edo period.

Iemitsu visited Kyoto in 1634, for the occasion of the accession of his niece to the Imperial throne as Empress Meishô. This was not Iemitsu's first trip to Kyoto; he went there in 1623 with his father and received a Siamese diplomatic mission at Fushimi castle, and traveled to Kyoto with his father again in 1626. In total, it was the ninth time a Tokugawa shogun had gone to Kyoto to meet with the Emperor. This 1634 visit, however, would be the last shogunal journey to the Imperial capital until Tokugawa Iemochi in 1863, nearly 230 years later. While there, he enjoyed audiences with Empress Meishô and Retired Emperor Go-Mizunoo, and received ambassadors from the Ryûkyû Kingdom. Sometime later, Iemitsu dispersed many of the secondary buildings of the Nijô castle complex as gifts to Buddhist temples across the realm, reducing the impression of shogunal presence in the city.

The following year, in 1635, Iemitsu oversaw the limiting of Chinese ships to Nagasaki, the issuing of bans on Japanese overseas travel, a further fixing of the responsibilities of various Magistrates (bugyô) in the service of the shogunate, the repromulgation of the buke shohatto (Various Laws for Warrior Households), and the implementation of the use of the term Nihon-koku taikun instead of Nihon kokuô ("King of Japan") in diplomatic exchanges. That year also saw Iemitsu judge allegations regarding falsified diplomatic documents in the Yanagawa Affair.

Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu died on 1651/4/20 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Tokugawa Ietsuna. Ietsuna would later be succeeded in turn by his brother (Iemitsu's second son), Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (born to the Ôoku concubine Keishôin). The third son, Tokugawa Tsunashige, ruled as lord of Fuchû han in Kai province. Iemitsu's daughters included Chiyohime (by his concubine Ofuri-no-kata), who went on to marry the second lord of Owari han.

Preceded by: Tokugawa Hidetada

Tokugawa Shogun 1623-1651

Succeeded by: Tokugawa Ietsuna

References

• Morgan Pitelka, Spectacular Accumulation, University of Hawaii Press (2016), 148-