Tokugawa Iemitsu

Tokugawa Iemitsu (徳 川 家 光Japanese, born August 12, 1604 Edo, now Tokyo as Takechiyo Tokugawa (徳 川 竹 千代); † June 8, 1651 ibid ) was the third shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty. He reigned from 1623 to 1651.

Iemitsu was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada of the shogun in 1623, his successor. Although Hidetada resigned as shogun, retained, however, as has been the first of the Tokugawa shoguns, Tokugawa Ieyasu, the real power as Ōgosho (大 御所) until his death in 1632 in his hands.

After the death of his firstborn Iemitsus Tokugawa, Tokugawa Ietsuna, Shogun was.

Tokugawa Iemitsu has set in the time of its political sovereignty, after the death of his father, the two main political pillar of the Tokugawa Shogunate for the next 200 years:

Control of the daimyo

Iemitsu tightened the shogunate, by destroying a large number of daimyo and the central government in Edo established, which should keep the next 200 years until the Meiji Restoration. He also established in 1635 the system of sankin Kótai, which severely limited the power of the daimyo, by forced them to constantly switch between their provinces and Edo and they undertook to military services.

Foreclosure Japan

Oda Nobunaga had the Christianization of Japan seen through foreign missionaries as a means to break the power of the Buddhist monasteries and also supports according, Iemitsu was soon clear that the foreign religion and the ever-increasing influence of the Christian missionaries would threaten the power of the shoguns.

The result of these considerations was the policy of isolation to the outside, Japanese Sakoku, which should begin 1633-1639: No Japanese was allowed to leave the islands, foreign trade was operated only with Chinese and Dutch ( this had no missionaries on their ships ), and also the only of the for this purpose artificial and well foreclosed island Dejima in Nagasaki harbor. All other foreigners entry was forbidden on pain of death. In this context, and Christianity was banned. Christian missionaries were persecuted and murdered in a cruel manner or banned from Japan.

The massive retaliation, the Japanese Christian faith have been imposed had 1637/1638 the Shimabara Rebellion result, however, was bloodily suppressed. In total, about 37,000 insurgents (men, women and children), who had sought refuge in the castle of Hara, murdered by their case. As a result of this revolt, the anti - Christian policy Iemitsus intensified dramatically: Just the exercise of the Christian faith was punished from now on with death.