Tokugawa Ieyasu

Matsudaira Motoyasu (later Tokugawa Ieyasu) returns to Mikawa’s Okazaki, advancing independence from Imagawa.

Matsudaira Motoyasu and Oda Nobunaga met at Kiyosu Castle and formed an alliance, allowing Motoyasu to focus on Mikawa and Nobunaga on Mino.

After pacifying Mikawa, Matsudaira Ieyasu received court approval to adopt the Tokugawa name and was appointed governor of Mikawa, strengthening the legitimacy of his rule.

Capitalizing on victory at Anegawa, Ieyasu strengthens control in Mikawa and Tōtōmi, subduing rivals and building new castles.

In Ōmi, Oda–Tokugawa allied forces defeat the Azai–Asakura alliance, expanding their influence by securing northern Ōmi castles.

Takeda Shingen launched a full-scale advance toward Totomi and Mikawa, putting strong pressure on Tokugawa Ieyasu's territory and drawing attention as the coalition's most formidable military action.

Takeda forces captured Futamata Castle in Totomi, breaking through part of the Tokugawa defensive line. Ieyasu was driven into a situation where he had to endure from Hamamatsu and wait for a chance to counterattack.

Takeda forces clashed with the Tokugawa-Oda allied army at Mikatagahara in Totomi, and Ieyasu suffered a devastating defeat. Takeda Shingen's military prestige was displayed to the whole country and gave the anti-Nobunaga side a major psychological boost.

The allied forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu, marching to relieve Nagashino Castle, defeated Takeda Katsuyori at Shitaragahara, where the Takeda lost many senior commanders.

Ieyasu intensifies operations on Takeda borders, swaying local lords and tightening the encirclement of Takeda Katsuyori.

After the fall of the Takeda, Oda Nobunaga granted Suruga Province to Tokugawa Ieyasu, making him lord of Suruga as well as Mikawa and Tōtōmi.

While touring the Kinai after visiting Azuchi, Tokugawa Ieyasu learned at Sakai of the deaths of Nobunaga and Nobutada and hurried to return to his domains with a small retinue.

Assisted by people in Kōka and Iga and by the merchant Chaya Shirōjirō, Tokugawa Ieyasu escaped through Iga and reached Okazaki Castle on June 4.

As the former Takeda territories fell into disorder after the Honnōji Incident, Tokugawa Ieyasu entered Kai, confronted the Later Hōjō near Shinpu, and recruited former Takeda retainers.

The Tokugawa and Later Hōjō ended their confrontation over the former Takeda lands after mediation encouraged by Oda Nobukatsu and Nobutaka. Ieyasu secured Kai and southern Shinano, becoming lord of five provinces together with Mikawa, Tōtōmi, and Suruga.

After the Honnōji Incident created a power vacuum in the former Takeda territories, forces led by the Tokugawa and Later Hōjō fought across Kai, Shinano, and Kōzuke.

Hashiba Hideyoshi's army and the allied forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobukatsu confronted one another mainly in Owari Province, beginning a campaign that lasted about eight months.

Tokugawa Ieyasu's army defeated a detached Hashiba force at Nagakute, where Ikeda Tsuneoki and Mori Nagayoshi were killed.

Oda Nobukatsu and Hashiba Hideyoshi made a separate peace while confronting one another near Nagashima. Tokugawa Ieyasu then withdrew, ending the Komaki-Nagakute campaign.

Tokugawa Ieyasu entered Osaka Castle and met Toyotomi Hideyoshi, entering the daimyō order under the Toyotomi government.

The Toyotomi army attacked Yamanaka Castle, a Later Hōjō stronghold guarding the route to Odawara, and captured it within half a day.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi arrived at Odawara and his assembled armies began the siege of the Later Hōjō stronghold.

After being transferred to the Kantō region, Tokugawa Ieyasu entered Edo Castle and made Edo the center of his domain.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi died at Fushimi Castle, destabilizing the council system established to support the young Hideyori.

Maeda Toshiie, a senior regent who had counterbalanced Tokugawa Ieyasu, died in Osaka, weakening the balance within the Toyotomi government.

Amid growing tension with Tokugawa Ieyasu, Maeda Toshinaga ordered construction of the inner defensive enclosure around Kanazawa Castle and its town.

After Toyotomi Hideyoshi's death, senior regent Tokugawa Ieyasu entered Fushimi Castle and used it as a base for governing within the Toyotomi administration.

After Tokugawa Ieyasu marched toward Aizu, the Western Army surrounded Fushimi Castle, defended by Torii Mototada and his garrison.

Tokugawa Ieyasu, on the march against Uesugi Kagekatsu at Aizu, received a messenger from Fushimi while encamped at Oyama and learned that Ishida Mitsunari had risen. At the council he called, the Aizu campaign was called off and the assembled lords are said to have turned west toward Sekigahara.

The decisive battle in Mino: Tokugawa Ieyasu’s Eastern Army defeats the Western Army.

After Sekigahara, Uesugi Kagekatsu was reduced from 1.2 million koku in Aizu to 300,000 koku at Yonezawa and shifted the center of his domain there.

Tokugawa Ieyasu ordered western daimyō to build Nijō Castle as a guard for the Kyoto Imperial Palace and a residence for shogunal visits.

Full construction of Nijō Castle began under commissioner Murakoshi Mosuke, with its main buildings prepared ahead of the following year's shogunal appointment.

Fushimi Castle, burned during the Sekigahara campaign, was rebuilt as Tokugawa Ieyasu's residence and a center for governing the Kinai region.

Tokugawa Ieyasu received appointment as seii taishōgun at Fushimi Castle, marking the establishment of the Edo shogunate.

The principal buildings of Nijō Castle were completed, and Tokugawa Ieyasu entered the castle during his visit to Kyoto for his appointment as shogun.

The shogunate designated Nihonbashi as the starting point for national distances and developed a transport system centered on the five highways.

At Fushimi Castle, Tokugawa Ieyasu transferred the shogunate to Hidetada, demonstrating that the office would be inherited within the Tokugawa family.

The large-scale expansion of Edo Castle proceeded with western daimyo assigned construction duties, and the Honmaru was developed.

A major reconstruction of Sunpu Castle began with daimyo mobilized from across Japan to create the base of Tokugawa Ieyasu's retired-shogun government.

Korean envoys visited Japan and exchanged state letters with the Tokugawa government in Edo as relations severed by the invasions of Korea were restored.

During the reconstruction of Sunpu Castle after the previous year's fire, the Honmaru palace was rebuilt and the castle keep was topped out.

The Dutch East India Company established a trading post at Hirado with shogunate permission, creating a base for Dutch-Japanese trade.

Tokugawa Ieyasu mobilized twenty western and northern daimyo to begin building Nagoya Castle as a defense against Osaka and the seat of the Owari Tokugawa house.

Tokugawa Ieyasu summoned nineteen-year-old Toyotomi Hideyori to Nijō Castle. Hideyori paid respects to Ieyasu, displaying the political relationship between the Tokugawa government and the Toyotomi house.

The shogunate banned Christianity in territories under its direct control, advancing a religious policy that led to nationwide prohibition.

The main and smaller keeps of Nagoya Castle were completed through public construction, and golden shachi were placed atop the main keep as symbols of the Owari Tokugawa house.

A large Tokugawa army surrounded Osaka Castle, while the Toyotomi side conducted a defensive siege centered on positions including Sanada Nobushige's Sanada-maru.

A truce was agreed between the Tokugawa and Toyotomi sides, followed by an exchange of pledges, but the conflict remained unresolved and resumed the following year.

Tokugawa and Toyotomi forces fought a decisive battle south of Osaka Castle, where Sanada Nobushige and other Toyotomi commanders pressed toward the Tokugawa headquarters.

Osaka Castle fell, and Toyotomi Hideyori and Yodo-dono died by suicide, bringing the main Toyotomi house to an end.