Tokugawa Iemitsu ( Japanese 徳 川 家 光 ; August 12, 1604 - June 8, 1651 ) is the third shogun from the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled Japan from 1623 until his death in 1651 .
| Tokugawa Iemitsu | |
|---|---|
| jap. 川 川 家 光 | |
 | |
| Years of life | |
| Period | Edo |
| Date of Birth | August 12, 1604 |
| Place of Birth | Edo Castle |
| Date of death | June 8, 1651 (aged 46) |
| Place of death | |
| Posts | |
| Shogunate | Tokugawa |
| Titles | shogun |
| Years of rule | 1623 - 1651 |
| Family and relatives | |
| Kind | Tokugawa |
| Father | Tokugawa Hidetada |
| Mother | |
| Brothers | Tokugawa Tadanaga |
| Successor | Tokugawa Ietsuna |
| Children | |
| Sons | Tokugawa Ietsuna , Tokugawa Tsunashige , Tokugawa Tsunayoshi |
Tokugawa Iemitsu was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada and grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu . The exact date of his birth and baby name are unknown, it is only known that he was born after his grandfather took the title of shogun and before he passed it to his son Hydetad.
Iemitsu’s childhood passed in an atmosphere of power struggle between the Tokugawa clan and its opponents, who were finally defeated only in 1615 . Widespread suspicion, distrust and a closed lifestyle probably influenced Iemitsu’s personality formation. In his youth, he practiced shudo and at 16, taking a bath with a 21-year-old lover, stabbed him. Until adulthood and being declared the heir to the title, Iemitsu fought for the location of his father with his brother Tadanaga.
Under the shogun Iemitsu, who considered the Confucian harmonious hierarchy to be the ideal of the state system, the social structure of society was preserved. Samurai were forbidden to transfer to the service of the new owner without the consent of the former, all weapons were removed from the peasants up to kitchen knives (they were issued for domestic purposes “on receipt”), all residents were ordered to “register” in a particular Shinto or Buddhist the temple.
Content
Biography
Young years
Tokugawa Iemitsu was born on August 12, 1604 in the Western courtyard of Edo Castle , Musashi Province . He was the second son of Tokugawa Hidetada , the second shogun of the Edo Shogunate . The boy's mother was Azai Go , the main wife of Hidetada. Parents almost did not raise their son and paid all their attention to Tadanaga , the younger brother of Iemits . Deprived of parental love, the future shogun grew up under the care of his nurse Kasuga no-tsubone, the daughter of Inaba Shigemity [1] .
Due to the untimely death of Tokugawa Nagamaru , the older brother of Iemitsu, a problem of the heir, the future shogun, arose in the Tokugawa family of shoguns. By tradition, Iemitsu was to become one. However, his parents sought to transfer this title to their favorite Tadanaga. The problem was solved thanks to the intervention of Kasuga's nurse - she complained to Tokugawa Ieyasu , the patriarch of the clan and the founder of the shogunate. He settled a dynastic dispute in favor of the older grandson Iemitsu, who received the grandfatherly baby name Taketiyo and was proclaimed the official heir [2] . Thanks to this, the youth throughout his life treated Ieyas with reverence and contributed in every way to his exaltation [3] .
In 1620, the future shogun passed the ceremony of coming of age , changed his children's name to Iemitsu, and received the title of temporary senior state adviser from the Imperial Court [1] .
Shogun
On August 23, 1623, Iemitsu arrived in the capital of Kyoto with his father Tokugawa Hidetada . The latter transferred to his son his position as a shogun and the title of head of the Tokugawa clan. Although Iemitsu became the head of the Japanese government , the father of taijno remained the real levers of power. The new shogun performed only the formal functions of the head of martial law and was engaged in solving social issues in the Kanto region [1] .
In 1625, Iemitsu married Takatsukasa Takako, daughter of the Imperial Advisor Takatsukasa Nobufusa . Since the marriage was childless, the shogun had 8 additional concubines. From them he had 5 sons and one daughter [1] .
In 1626, Iemitsu again arrived in the capital and received the title of Left Minister and the 1st junior bureaucratic rank from the Imperial Court [1] .
On March 14, 1632, in connection with the death of the daijo tenno , Iemitsu became the full ruler of Japan. To eliminate the opposition within the Tokugawa clan, Iemitsu confiscated the lands of his younger brother Tokugawa Tadanagi , a former contender for the post of shogun and one of the most influential daimyo, and forced him to commit seppuku [2] . In addition, in order to reduce the influence of the elder ministers who were the backbone of his father’s regime, the ruler introduced in 1634 the post of junior elders , to whom the commanders of the shogunate guard were appointed [1] [2] .
In 1634, at the head of a 300 thousandth army, Iemitsu visited the capital for the third time and received the post of “Minister of High Politics” . He increased the income of the Imperial court and aristocratic houses by providing new lands [1] .
During the years 1632-1636, Iemitsu pursued a centralized force course aimed at suppressing the political and economic freedoms of regional rulers. He confiscated the possessions of unreliable tojama daimyo , who in the past had connections with the Toyotomi clan , which was dangerous for the shogunate. The most high-profile confiscation was the case of Kato Tadahiro , the son of the regional ruler Kato Kiyomasa , who was expelled from Kumamoto Castle for "mismanagement." In 1633, Iemitsu amended the decree on military service, and in 1635 tightened the " Law on military houses ." He also introduced a system of periodic business trips for regional rulers who were supposed to spend a year at the shogun’s headquarters. Since 1634, most of the provincials were engaged in construction work in Edo Castle , draining the treasury of their regional allotments [2] .
At the same time, in 1634-1635, Iemitsu distributed the powers and responsibilities of shogunate managers who had a status below the elders of the roju . A monthly rotation system has been introduced for some senior and middle managers. All decisions in the central government must be taken collectively. Rules were created for filing lawsuits and rules for the Shogun meetings [1] .
During the reign of Iemitsu, the final form of isolation took Japan from the West. The practice of Christianity was forbidden under pain of death. Since 1633, the Japanese living abroad were deprived of the opportunity to return to their homeland. Two years later, all the inhabitants of Japan were under the Iron Curtain, without the right to go abroad. In 1639, after breaking off diplomatic relations with Portugal , Iemitsu forbade Europeans to come to Japan; the exception was made only by the Dutch , who since 1641 had their own trading post on the artificial island-reservation of Dejima . Trade was minimized and carried out at a strictly set time, and the prices of some exported goods (for example, silk ) were fixed. For the management of religious affairs and the persecution of clandestine Christians, an office of temple administrator was created [1] .
Recent years
Iemitsu’s centralized reforms turned the Edo Shogunate into a powerful administrative apparatus, but the forceful methods of reform implementation caused widespread discontent. The duties imposed by the central government on regional rulers were a heavy burden for the population of destinies, especially peasants and the military. In 1637, a powerful Shimabar rebellion broke out in western Japan , after which natural disasters and a great famine of 1641-1642 occurred. In this regard, Iemitsu gradually turned to moderate reforms in order to stabilize relations with regional authorities. The government stopped confiscating land and reduced taxes. To restore the life of the village, the shogun issued a Decree of 1649, which prescribed the cultivation of industriousness, perseverance, economy and large families in the village. Squandering and bad habits, such as smoking, were prohibited [2] .
Tokugawa Iemitsu died on June 8, 1651 in the Main Courtyard of Edo Castle at the age of 46. According to his will, he was buried in the territory of the Shinto Shrine of Futarasan in the city of Nikko , Simotsuke province near the Temple of the Heavenly Sea, next to his grandfather's mausoleum. The deceased was named after His Highness Mr. Tayu, and his grave was named the Mausoleum of Tayu in Nikko [1] .
With the reign of Iemitsu, the final formation of the political and social system of Japan of the 17th-19th centuries is connected. However, the shogun himself did not play a leading role in its development. He was often ill, and during the years 1637-1638 did not appear at meetings and public events at all. In the absence of the shogun, the country was led by a Council of three elders - Matsudaira Nobutsuna, Hotti Masanori and Abe Tadaaki. The Council was able to lead the country out of the domestic political and economic crisis of 1637–1642, and was also effective after the death of Iemitsu, when he managed state affairs on behalf of the 11-year-old Shogun Tokugawa Ietsuna [1] .
Iemitsu was an active person, he loved falconry and martial arts. But as a shogun, he did not have the managerial qualities that his grandfather and father owned. Iemitsu was at the top of the state pyramid, but did not completely control it. Evidence of this is the many ancient legends of the "outstanding ruler" Iemitsu who constantly restrains his desires and aspirations, listens to the comments of subordinates and leads the country in accordance with their advice. It is believed that the soreness and didactic pressure of the environment had a negative effect on the psyche of Iemitsu. The only consolation of the ruler was his nurse Kasuga no-tsubone, the trusted servant of Sakai Tadakatsu and the freed monk Takuan Soho [1] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Tsuji Tatsuya . Tokugawa Iemitsu // Big Dictionary of Japanese History: 15 vol. - Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 1979-1997. - T. 10. - S.280 - 281
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Tokugawa Iemitsu // Nipponika Encyclopedia : [ jap. ] = Nippon Daihyakka Zenso: 26 巻 . - 2nd ed. - Tokyo: Shogakukan , 1994-1997.
- ↑ An example of such an attitude was the restructuring in 1634 - 1636 of the large Shinto Tosho-gu in Nikko , the pompous mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu. 568 thousand gold coins from the shogunate treasury were spent on its construction. Iemitsu personally visited the shrine 10 times. In 1646, he established a system by which the shogunate sent annually an envoy to the shrine to honor Ieyasu.
Links
- Tokugawa // Japan from A to Z. Popular Illustrated Encyclopedia. (CD-ROM). - M .: Directmedia Publishing, "Japan Today", 2008. - ISBN 978-5-94865-190-3
- Mausoleum Taiyu-in