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Ieyasu was originally daimyo (大名) of Mikawa (eastern part of present-day Aichi prefecture) but was displaced to the Kanto region during Hideyoshi's rule. Ieyasu's influence made him an important ally of Nobunaga. After Nobunaga died and Hideyoshi became Japan's dominant ruler, Ieyasu was named as one of five regents ( tairo) with the responsibility of looking after Hideyoshi's son, Toyotomi Hideyori.

When Hideyoshi died in 1598Events January 7 Boris Godunov seizes the throne of Russia following the death of his brother-in-law, Tsar Feodor I April 13 Edict of Nantes Henry IV of France grants French Huguenots equal rights with Catholics. Considered the end of the French Wars of R, Hideyori was only five years old. The boy was placed in the care of Toyotomi's closest ally, Ishida MitsunariIshida Mitsunari ( Ishida Mitsunari 1560- 1600) was a samurai who led the West side in the Battle of Sekigahara. Born in what is now Shiga prefecture, he had served Toyotomi Hideyoshi since he was very young. He was known for his knowledge and skill at ca, who attempted to hold the Toyotomi coalition together. Ieyasu, however, saw a chance to usurp power from the Toyotomi loyalists, and assembled an "eastern army" to take on Ishida.

The ensuing Battle of SekigaharaThe Battle of Sekigahara ( Sekigahara-no-tatakai was a decisive battle on September 15, 1600 (on the ancient Chinese calendar, October 21 on the modern calendar) that cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu. Though it would take three more y ( 1600Events January January 1 Scotland adopts January 1st as being New Year's Day February February 17 Giordano Bruno burned in a stake for heresy July July 2 Battle of Nieuwpoort: Dutch forces under Maurice of Nassau defeat Spanish forces under Archduke Alber) ended in a crushing defeat for Ishida's "western army." In 1603Events March 24 Death of Elizabeth I of England her cousin King James VI of Scotland succeeds her uniting the crowns of Scotland and England April 28 Funeral of Elizabeth I of England in Westminster Abbey July 17 or July 19 Sir Walter Raleigh arrested for, Ieyasu became shogun of an almost entirely unified Japan, a concept that had been abandoned by Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He abdicated in 1605Events April 13 Tsar Boris Godunow dies Feodor II accedes to the throne May 16 Paul V becomes Pope June 1 Russian troops in Moscow imprison Feodor II and his mother. They are later executed June 20 Pretender Dmitri and his supporters march to Moscow July in favor of his son Tokugawa HidetadaTokugawa Hidetada ( , 1579 1632) was the 2nd shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate who reigned from 1605 to 1623 during the early Edo period of Japan. He was third son of the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa Ieyasu. His father Ieyas.

The Tokugawa shogunate he founded would endure until the mid- 19th centuryAlternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical ( 18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801- 1900. Events The Little Ice Age ended. While it was a time of strict seclusion from the outside world, it was also blessed with peace and stability.

Ieyasu had many sons. He established three of them as the heads of collateral households that would be the daimyo of major han and would, if necessary, supply future shoguns. The senior house was the Owari Tokugawa, with its castle at Nagoya, a strategically important location on the Tokaido in present-day Aichi Prefecture. Next was the Kii (or Kishu) Tokugawa, at Wakayama. This location, south of Osaka and Kyoto (where the shogunate maintained strongholds) provided a significant presence in Kansai and on the Seto Inland Sea. The eighth shogun, Yoshimune, was born into the Kii line. Third was the Mito Tokugawa, its domain controlling a major part of the Kanto along the Pacific coast. Other sons took the Matsudaira surname (Ieyasu's hereditary surname) and became daimyo of lesser han.

Ieyasu's rise is among the most famous stories in Japanese history. It was adapted by James Clavell for the novel Shogun. In the novel (and subsequent mini-series), Ieyasu was portrayed as a fictional Shogun named Toranaga.

Ieyasu was enshrined in Nikko after his death, and his mausoleum, Nikko Toshogu (日光東照宮), is a popular tourist destination today. Sargent (1894; The Forest Flora of Japan) recorded that a daimyo who was too poor to offer a stone lantern at the funeral requested instead to be allowed to plant an avenue of sugi, 'that future visitors might be protected from the heat of the sun'. The offer was accepted; the avenue, which still exists, is over 65km (40 miles) long, and 'has not its equal in stately grandeur'.