Tokugawa Iemitsu (previously spelled Iyemitsu); 徳川 家光 (August 12, 1604 — June 8, 1651) was the third shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty who reigned from 1623 to 1651. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada, and thus the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Early Life (1604-1617)

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Tokugawa Iemitsu was born, it is speculated, in 1604 (his exact birthdate is unknown). He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada, and grandson of the last great unifier of Japan, and first Tokugawa Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was the first member of the Tokugawa family born after Tokugawa Ieyasu became shogun.

Not much is known of Iemitsu's early life, even his childhood name is unknown. He had two sisters, Senhime , Masako, and a brother who would become a rival, Tadanaga. Iemitsu was his father's favorite.

In 1605, in an act of pretense, Shogun Ieyasu abdicated, and his chosen heir, Hidetada, assumed the title of Shogun (Ieyasu was granted the title of Ogosho, or Retired Shogun, but effectively retained control of political power). Though little more than a figure head, Hidetada's accession all but secured Iemitsu's destiny to become shogun.

The track of Iemitsu's potent xenophobia was perhaps laid in his youth by his grandfather and father. Hidetada, in 1614, under pressure from Ieyasu, announced the Christian Expulsion edict, in which the practice of Christianity was banned, and all Christians were expelled from Japan. Some historians feel reverberations of this edict, can be found in Iemitsu's policies against Christians later in his life.

In 1615, the main body of the Tokugawa and their allies assaulted Osaka Castle, where Toyotomi Hideyoshi's heir, Toyotomi Hideyori, was living quietly with his mother, his wife (Senhime, Iemitsu's older sister), and their son. Iemitsu's father and grandfather disagreed about the best way to fight the enemy. Ieyasu favored a cautious, slow assault, while Hidetada favored a direct assault. Hidetada got his way. The assault was successful. Iemitsu's sister, Sen-hime, was spared, but Hideyori, his mother, and infant son - grandson to Tokugawa Ieyasu, were executed. Iemitsu was eleven years old. In 1616, Ieyasu, died, and Iemitsu's father was invested with the full political power of the freshly secured shogunate.

Heir of the Tokugawa (1617-1623)

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In 1617, Iemitsu had his manhood rite and officially took the name Tokugawa Iemitsu. He also was installed officially as the heir to the Tokugawa shogunate. The only person to contest this position was his brother, Tokugawa Tadanaga, who thought he was better suited for the position himself. A fierce rivalry began to develop between the brothers.

Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu: The Hidetada Regency (1623-1632)

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In 1623, when Iemitsu was just nineteen, his father Hidetada abdicated from the post of shogun. Iemitsu thus, unexpectedly, succeeded as the third shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate with Hidetada still being effective ruler.

Before Hidetada had abdicated in favor of Iemitsu, his daughter and Iemitsu's sister, Tokugawa Masako married the Emperor Go-Mizunoo. In 1624 Masako and Go-Mizunoo had a child, a girl who would become the Empress Meisho. In 1626, Shogun Iemitsu and Retired Shogun Hidetada visited Kyoto, visiting the Emperor Go-Mizunoo, Empress Masako (Iemitsu's sister), and Imperial Princess Meisho. Shogun Iemitsu made lavish grants of gold and money to the court nobles and the court itself. Relations with Go-Mizunoo deteriorated after Iemitsu's and Masako's wet nurse, a commoner, visited the court. Go-Mizunoo, embarrassed, abdicated, and Meisho became empress. The shogun now became the uncle of the Empress.

In 1632, Retired Shogun Hidetada died, giving Iemitsu effective power. Anxious that his brother Tadanaga would try to have him assassinated, he was finally able to govern assuredly after Tadanaga died in 1633.

Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu (1632-1651)

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Shogun Iemitsu still had his late father's advisors and veteran daimyo advising him and being "regents" for him. In 1633, after his brother's death, he dismissed his father's advisors and eliminated a number of daimyo who were a thorn in his side. The new advisors to the shogun were all friends Iemitsu had made since childhood, and instead of giving daimyo major autonomy, Iemitsu created a strong, central, administration. This made him unpopular with the daimyo, but he visited villages alone to meet with the common people, informality which would be unheard of years later in the times of later shoguns.

Nonetheless, Iemitsu was still brutal. In 1633, he officially isolated Japan from the rest of the world, banned Christianity and ordered the entire Japanese population to register at a shrine or temple. Christians were then persecuted, and many fled to the Spanish Philippines or went underground. In 1635, Shogun Iemitsu set up the (Sankin Kotai) or Hostage System, where the families of daimyo would live as hostages in Edo for half the year to assure loyalty.

In 1637, a rebellion arose in Shimabara, known as the Shimabara Rebellion, organized mainly because of Iemitsu's anti-Christian policies. Thousands were killed in the revolt and countless more executed after. In 1639, Iemitsu officially closed off Japan from the rest of the world.

In 1643, Empress Meisho abdicated the throne. She was succeeded by her younger half-brother (Go-Mizunoo's son, but his mother was not Tokugawa Masako) Emperor Go-Komyo, who heavily disliked the shogunate due to its violent and barbaric ways, at many times making degrading comments to Shogun Iemitsu and his eldest and favorite son and heir, Tokugawa Ietsuna.

In 1651, Shogun Iemitsu died at the age of 47, being the first Tokugawa shogun whose reign ended with death, and not abdication. He was succeeded by his eldest son and heir, Tokugawa Ietsuna.

Tokugawa shoguns

Tokugawa Iemitsu | Iemitsu Tokugawa | 徳川家光 | 도쿠가와 이에미츠 | 德川家光