Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu (January 31, 1543 – June 1, 1616) was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but remained in power until his death in 1616.

Originally named Matsudaira Takechiyo, Ieyasu was raised amidst inner strife, his life used as a hostage for the familial squabbling. When the Oda Clan invaded his family's land, Ieyasu's father turned to the Imagawa Clan for help (which they agreed, as long as Ieyasu was their hostage). On the way to the Imagawa Clan, six-year-old Ieyasu was kidnapped by the Oda, who threatened to kill him if his father didn't abandon the Imagawa. Although his father refused to give up his ties, the Oda did not kill him. From there, he managed to survive and the moment he became of age, the wheels of his ambition turned.

Ieyasu frequently allied with those he found useless (and with equal ease abandoned his alliances and threw his lot with others if the tide didn't fall in his favor). Through fortune (a.k.a. stronger generals dying of illness/assassination and sparing Ieyasu the need to battle through them), he began skirting the outsides of all the other conflicts. His wisdom and strategy allowed him to pick his battles.

Then, Toyotomi Hideyoshi came along. Originally, he and Ieyasu were rivals, as Ieyasu allied with an Oda Clan remnant to face off against peasantborn Hideyoshi, who few believed was good enough to rule. Soon, their fruitless stand-offs resulted in negotiation, and for now, he and Hideyoshi were at peace. At this point, he and Ieyasu began working together to conquer the land, bringing it closer to unification. Hideyoshi also worked on Chinese and Korean war campaigns, allowing Ieyasu time to fortify his own positions with Hideyoshi away. Soon, Hideyoshi's health began to fail. He called forth his administrators, a council that would guard the interests of his son (Hideyori). Hideyoshi then died.

Ieyasu began progressively making alliances with daimyo who had no love for Hideyoshi, as Hideyori was only a toddler and posed no threat to him. He led an army to Osaka, and the other administrators became irate and posed war. Opposition to Ieyasu centered around Ishida Mitsunari, a powerful daimyo loyal to the Toyotomi. Soon, support split between the Western Army led by Mitsunari and the Eastern Army led by Ieyasu. At the Battle of Sekigahara, their forces collided, and Ieyasu's proved to be victorious. Although there were more battles yet to come, Sekigahara solidified Ieyasu's might, and he later became Shogun of Japan, the Tokugawa dynasty continuing for 200 years afterward.