Before the Tokugawa shogun was thesengoku era. During this time, many people controlled small land areas.Oda Nobunaga began to join these small areas. After he died in 1582,Toyotomi Hideyoshi took over for him.[7] Hideyoshi died in 1598.[7] When he died, the people under him fought for control. The last battle in this was theBattle of Sekigahara whereTokugawa Ieyasu won.
Tokugawa Ieyasu needed permission from theEmperor of Japan to take control. The emperor gave him this permission, making him theShogun, in 1603. He established a military government inEdo, nowTokyo.[2] He won against his last enemies in 1615 at theBattle of Osaka Castle.[8]
The Tokugawa ruled in peace until the middle of the 1800s.[8] During this time period, much of commonJapanese culture was created. This includes highliteracy rates,kabuki theater, theJapanese tea ceremony,sumo wrestling,woodblock printing, andsushi.[8]
The Tokugawa shogunate ended with theBoshin civil war. Instead of choosing a new shogun, EmperorMeiji ruled directly. The changes he made are named theMeiji Restoration.[9]