1. 8.4 The three unifiers of Japan Unify – to unite or join as one

2. The Ashikaga shogunate ended in the chaos of the warring states period which lasted over 100 years This ended when powerful daimyo once again took control and united the country

3. Oda Nobunaga His father was daimyo of a small coastal domain At 21 Oda killed a rival lord and made plans to unite and rule Japan In 1565 the Ashikaga shogun was murdered and his brother Yoshiaki asked Oda for help Oda helped the brother gain the throne but Oda and his forces were the real power In 1573 Yoshiaki tried to get rid of Oda and rule on his own but was driven out – he became a Buddhist monk in Kyoto

4. Oda Nobunaga continued Oda did not become shogun himself but he did began to create a centralized government He was cruel but a brilliant military leader He was particularly cruel in crushing Buddhist monasteries, sometimes burning them and the monks inside alive. He used the new technology of muskets which had come from Europe and developed new battle tactics

5. Toyotomi Hideyoshi In 1582 Oda Nobunaga committed seppuku after being surrounded by enemy forces Toyotomi had risen through the ranks in Oda’s army and became the new leader of Oda’s government He expanded control over Shikoku and Kyushu He opposed Christianity and expelled missionaries, even executing 26 Christians on one occasion. Before he died in 1598 he set up a council of 5 to rule and then pass power to his son

6. Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu was a member of the council of 5 but had his own ambition He forced Tomotomi Hideyoshi’s son into battle and the son committed suicide at Osaka Castle In 1600 Tokugawa won a great military victory and declared himself shogun From 1603 to 1868 there were 15 Tokugawa shoguns

7. Tokugawa Shogunate Ieyasu set up his capital in a small fishing village called Edo. Within 100 years people attracted to the new capital made it the largest city in the world Today it is called Tokyo

8. Law and Order The Tokugawa shoguns looked for ways to keep the other daimyo from challenging them. Every second year all daimyo had to travel to Edo to pay respect to the shogun They often were forced to leave family members behind in Edo as hostages The expense of travel and gifts to the shogun also helped stop them becoming too powerful

9. Isolation The Tokugawa shoguns were very suspicious of foreigners who tried to introduce new, non- japanese ideas. Japanese citizens were not allowed to travel Foreigners were limited to the port-city of Nagasaki Japan stayed isolated like this for over 260 years.

10. Review 1. How did Oda Nobunaga come to be the most powerful daimyo in Japan? 2. Explain why Oda, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu have become known as the ‘three great unifiers of Japan’. 3. Identify and explain two ways that the Tokugawa shoguns tried to prevent other daimyo from challenging their power. 9. What do you think is meant by the following famous Japanese saying. ‘Nobunaga pounds the national rice cake, Hideyoshi kneads it, and in the end Ieyasu sits down and eats it.