Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu (January 31, 1543 – June 1, 1616; born Matsudaira Takechiyo and later taking other names) was the founder and first shōgun of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three “Great Unifiers” of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow Oda subordinate Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The son of a minor daimyo, Ieyasu once lived as a hostage under daimyo Imagawa Yoshimoto on behalf of his father. He later succeeded as daimyo after his father’s death, serving as vassal and general under Oda Nobunaga, building up his strength.