Early Life and Rise to Power
– Tokugawa Iemitsu was born on 12 August 1604, the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada and grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
– His childhood name was Takechiyo and he had two sisters and a brother.
– In 1617, he came of age and changed his name to Tokugawa Iemitsu.
– In 1623, Iemitsu’s father abdicated the post of shōgun in favor of Iemitsu, making him the formal head of the bakufu bureaucracy.
– He ruled carefully until his brother’s death in 1633, allowing him to assume real power.
Shogunal Regency and Rule
– Iemitsu dismissed his father’s advisors and appointed his childhood friends.
– He created a strong, centralized administration.
– He implemented the sankin-kōtai system, which forced daimyōs to reside in Edo and separated them from their home provinces.
– The Shimabara Rebellion in 1637 arose against Iemitsu’s anti-Christian policies.
– He issued edicts restricting Japan’s dealings with the outside world.
Anti-Europeanization of Japan and the Maritime Restrictions Edict of 1639
– Half a million Japanese people converted to Christianity in the early 17th century, driven by the desire to preserve European trade in Japan.
– Toyotomi Hideyoshi began to doubt the Europeans’ good intentions and issued anti-Christian edicts.
– Tokugawa Iemitsu expanded and enforced anti-Christian policies, leading to the expulsion of Catholic traders and missionaries.
– He issued the Sakoku Edict of 1635, which restricted Japan’s interactions with the outside world.
– European access to trade with Japan was restricted to one Dutch ship per year, and Japanese ports remained closed until the 1850s.
Impact of Iemitsu’s Policies
– Foreign ships were thoroughly examined for Catholic priests and followers.
– Westerners were not allowed to settle and travel freely within Japan.
– Japanese people were restricted from traveling overseas.
– Execution of two Portuguese men reinforced Iemitsu’s policies.
– Japanese ports opened to a wider range of trading partners in the 1850s, and Japanese people regained the freedom to travel overseas.
Legacy
– Tokugawa Iemitsu died in 1651 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Tokugawa Ietsuna.
– He was accorded a posthumous name of Taiyūin and buried in Taiyu-in Temple, Nikko.
– He expanded Nikkō Tōshō-gū prior to his death.
– His reign marked a period of centralization and isolation in Japan.
– Some scholars argue against the notion that Japan was completely closed during the sakoku period, emphasizing that Japan aimed to control and limit international interactions. Source URL:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokugawa_Iemitsu
