Japan in the Tokugawa Period – A Time of Peace

By the end of the century, unity had been gradually restored through the efforts of three warlords known as the “Great Unifiers”: Oda Nobunaga (1534 – 1582), Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536 – 1598), and Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543 – 1616). Each of these obtained the prized title of Shogun (supreme general) from the emperor. The Battle of Sekigahara (1600) brought the Sungoku period to an end. The 17th Century began a long spell of peace and stability known as the Tokugawa period (named after the ruling family) or Edo period (named after their home city, which is modern-day Tokyo). The Edo period was characterized by peace, economic growth, social stability and popular enjoyment of arts and culture. It set the stage for Japan’s modernization in the subsequent Meiji Period (1868 – 1912).