Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) was the last of the three unifiers who put Japan together again after the Warring States Period. Ieyasu was the ally and retainer of the other two unifiers, Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi moved Ieyasu to a large domain with a dilapidated castle at the fishing village of Edo (which lent its name to the 250 years of peace which followed the Warring States period). Ieyasu’s move to Edo was a reward for his loyal service, a means to increase Hideyoshi’s control over eastern Japan, and a safely remote location for Ieyasu, a powerful, and therefore potentially dangerous, retainer of Hideyoshi. After Hideyoshi’s death, Ieyasu quickly took control of the country. In 1603, he accepted the title shogun from the emperor. With the aid of excellent advisors, Ieyasu put together a system of stable government on the feudal model, using elements perfected by his two predecessors.
