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Tokugawa Ieyasu lived from 1543 to 1616, and founded a shogunate which lasted over 260 years. He was the last of the three great shoguns which brought peace to Japan - first Oda Nobunaga consolidated strength, and then Toyotomi Hideyoshi further brought the land together. It was Ieyasu, however, who brought the final peace and who established his base in Edo.
Ieyasu spent much of his childhood as a hostage of the Imagawa clan. When he began to command his own troops, he was quickly recognized even in his younger years by both Nobunaga and Hideyoshi. He adapted easily to new circumstances. He hired an Iga ninja leader, Hanzo Hattori, for protection and was so impressed with the service he got that he hired an entire force of ninja to serve as "gardeners".
When Hideyoshi died, Ieyasu was the guardian for his son, Hideyori. Ieyasu spent the next years eliminating Hideyori’s "enemies" and gathering up the land for "safekeeping." Hideyori did not appreciate this and raised a force against Ieyasu. This was unsuccessful, and after Hideyori’s death, Ieyasu was able to reign in peace.
To maintain this peace, Ieyasu encouraged the nobles to turn their attention to the various arts - tea ceremony, theater, music, and so on. He required their presence in Edo, and developed a stronger form of government. This was a start of a new era in Japan’s history - one of stability and growth, instead of warfare and conflict.
