After Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s death, Tokugawa Ieyasu consolidated his power with the Kantō region as his base. In 1600, he confronted the Western Army led by Ishida Mitsunari and achieved victory at the Battle of Sekigahara. Through this decisive battle, Ieyasu gained effective control over the entire country and established a dominant position over the daimyō.
In 1603, Ieyasu was appointed Seii Taishōgun by the imperial court and established his shogunate in Edo (present-day Tokyo). This marked the beginning of the Edo Shogunate and is generally regarded as the start of the Edo period. Ieyasu strengthened the foundations of his regime by appointing hereditary vassals (fudai daimyō) and trusted retainers to key government posts. At the same time, he gradually developed mechanisms to control the daimyō, including their classification into shinpan (relatives of the Tokugawa), fudai, and tozama (outside lords), as well as the policy of assigning tozama daimyō primarily to distant domains.
Wary of the remaining power of the Toyotomi clan, Ieyasu destroyed them in the Osaka Campaigns of 1614 and 1615. This brought an end to the warfare among daimyō that had continued since the Sengoku period and further solidified Tokugawa rule. In the following year, 1615, under the second shogun Tokugawa Hidetada and in accordance with Ieyasu’s intentions, the Laws for the Military Houses (Buke Shohatto) and the One Castle per Province Ordinance (Ikkoku Ichijōrei) were promulgated. With the institutionalization of daimyō control, the foundations were laid for the peace of the Edo period, which would last for approximately 260 years.
The defining features of the period of the Edo Shogunate’s establishment lie in Ieyasu’s cautious and systematic consolidation of political power and the creation of mechanisms for daimyō control. Through these measures, the Tokugawa family constructed a governing system that enabled them to rule Japan over the long term.
Tokugawa Hidetada, the son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, succeeded to the position of shogun in 1605 as the second shogun. While Ieyasu retained strong influence as the retired shogun (ōgosho) in Sunpu, Hidetada administered shogunal affairs from Edo Castle. During this period, the bakufu exhibited a dual structure: Ieyasu took the lead on major national matters such as daimyō policy and foreign relations, while Hidetada handled day-to-day administration and the governance of shogunal lands.
Following his father’s policies, Hidetada worked mainly during the Genna era (1615–1624) to institutionalize bakufu rule by implementing the Laws for the Military Houses (Buke Shohatto) and regulations governing relations with the imperial court. He also strengthened ties with the imperial family by marrying his daughter Kazuko (Tōfukumon’in) to Emperor Go-Mizunoo. At the same time, he tightened control over Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, incorporating both the court and religious institutions into the bakufu’s governing order. Through these measures, the foundations of the Edo Shogunate became more firmly established.
Hidetada’s son Tokugawa Iemitsu became the third shogun, and under his rule the political structure of the bakufu was further strengthened. The system of officials—including rōjū (senior councillors), wakadoshiyori (junior councillors), bugyō (magistrates), and ōmetsuke (chief inspectors)—was formalized, clarifying mechanisms for decision-making and supervision at the center of government. In 1635, the system of sankin-kōtai, which required daimyō to reside in Edo for fixed periods, was explicitly incorporated into the Buke Shohatto, further tightening control over the domains. Through these developments, the bakuhan system, composed of the shogun and the various domains, was firmly established.
Iemitsu also promoted policies that strictly limited contact with foreign countries, including the prohibition of Portuguese ships and the banning of Christianity. In 1637–1638, the Shimabara-Amakusa Rebellion (also known as the Shimabara Rebellion), led mainly by Christian peasants, broke out, but the bakufu suppressed it by force, thereafter intensifying both anti-Christian measures and control over the peasantry. Furthermore, through incidents such as the Purple Robe Incident of 1627, the bakufu made clear its stance of intervening in appointments and privileges of temples, shrines, and the imperial court.
Thus, the eras of Tokugawa Hidetada and Tokugawa Iemitsu marked a period in which the governing system of the Edo Shogunate was organized and strengthened, culminating in the establishment of firm shogunal authority and the bakuhan system.
The fourth shogun of the Edo Shogunate was Tokugawa Ietsuna. His reign is regarded as a period of transition toward bunji seiji (civil governance), in which rule based on military force and intimidation (budan seiji) gave way to a more stable system of government grounded in Confucian morality, laws, and ritual propriety.
In 1651, the Keian Incident occurred, in which Yui Shōsetsu and others plotted to overthrow the bakufu, reflecting widespread discontent, particularly among rōnin. In response to this event, the bakufu shifted its policies toward moderate and stabilizing governance in order to prevent unrest among daimyō and samurai. Among Ietsuna’s major reforms were the relaxation of restrictions on deathbed adoption (matsugo yōshi) and the prohibition of junshi (ritual suicide following one’s lord in death). The easing of deathbed adoption helped prevent the extinction of daimyō houses and made succession more flexible, thereby contributing to the stability of bakufu rule. The ban on junshi required retainers to continue serving a new lord rather than taking their own lives upon their master’s death, helping to stabilize lord–vassal relationships.
During Ietsuna’s reign, a set of proclamations concerning peasant control and village discipline—later known as the Keian no Ofuregaki—was also reportedly compiled, outlining policies aimed at regulating peasant life and maintaining order in rural communities. With the assistance of capable retainers such as Hoshina Masayuki, Ietsuna pursued a flexible and moderate style of governance, incorporating their advice and steering the bakufu away from coercive military rule toward a more considerate form of administration.
Thus, Ietsuna’s reign marked a crucial transition from budan to bunji governance and laid the groundwork for the full development of civil administration in the subsequent era of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi.
| 1600 | Battle of Sekigahara |
| 1603 | Tokugawa Ieyasu appointed Seii Taishōgun; establishment of the Edo Shogunate |
| 1605 | Tokugawa Hidetada becomes the second shogun |
| 1614 | Winter Siege of Osaka |
| 1615 | Summer Siege of Osaka (destruction of the Toyotomi clan); promulgation of the Laws for the Military Houses (Genna Code) and the Laws for the Imperial Court and Court Nobility |
| 1623 | Tokugawa Iemitsu becomes the third shogun (Hidetada retires) |
| 1629 | Purple Robe Incident |
| 1635 | Revision of the Laws for the Military Houses (Kan’ei Code) |
| 1651 | Tokugawa Ietsuna becomes the fourth shogun; Keian Incident (Revolt of Yui Shōsetsu) |
Special Historic Site: Edo Castle（as listed by the Ministry of the Environment）
https://www.env.go.jp/garden/kokyogaien/1_intro/his_01.html
Sunpu Castle Park
http://sumpu-castlepark.com/
Daitoku-ji Temple
http://www.rinnou.net/cont_03/07daitoku/
Myōshin-ji Temple
https://www.myoshinji.or.jp/
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