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Oda Nobunaga was born on the 23rd of June, 1534. He would become one of the great unifiers of Japan.
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Toyotomi Hideyoshi was born on the 2nd of Feburary, 1536 in the Owari Province. He had a peasant father and and unknown mother. He would rise to become one of Japans great unifiers.
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Tokugawa Ieyasu was bon on the 31st of Janurary 1543 in Okazaki Castle, Mikawa.
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The Oda and Imagawa Clans had been warring for decades. When the Oda Clan attacked Mikawa in 1548, Tokugawa Ieyasu's father Hirotada turned to Imagawa Yoshinobu for support. Imagawa agreed, but wanted 6 year old Ieyasu as a hostage as payment. Odu Clan Leader Odu Nobuhide learned of this and abducted Ieyasu and held him hostage for three years in the Manshoji Temple, Nagoya. During this time, Ieyasu's father died of natural causes.
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In 1556, Tokugawa Ieyasu was released from Manshoji Temple as he turned 15 and came of age. He was pushed into several battles by Imagawa Yoshinobu, who was killed in combat soon after. He was married at the age of 16.
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From 1557 to 1560, Hideyoshi carried out simple tasks around the Owari Province, such as kitchen work. It wasn't until the early 1560's when Hideyoshi discovered a secret route into Mt. Inaba that allowed Oda Nobunaga to launch a succsesful attack did he become one of the Oda clans best negotiator and general.
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With Yoshimoto dead, Ieyasu decided to side with the Odo clan. He want on several conquests around the country with Odo Nobunga, capturing land and killing enemy clans. In doing so, he gained favour with Nobunga, but he was also expanding is own territories.
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William Adams is born in Gillingham, Kent, England in 1564.
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In 1570, Ieyasu made an alliance with Takeda Shingen for the purpose of capturing all remaining Imagawa land. This alliance ended later that year, and Ieyasu made another alliance with Uesugi Kenshin, an enemy of the Takeda clan. This started a war between the Oda/Uesugi alliance and the Takeda Clan.
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On the 28th of June, 1575 Takeda was killed when his Army attacked Nagashino Castle. Tokugawa and Nobunaga responded with a massive army of 30,000 men and crushed the attackers.
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The war with the Takeda clan ended in 1582 when a combined Tokugawa and Oda force attacked and killed Takeda Shingen's son, Takeda Katsuyori.
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Oda Nobunaga was assasinated in 1582 by Akechi Mitsuhide. While Ieyasu was planning his revenge, Toyotomi Hideyoshi tracked down and killed Mitsuhide. To get back at Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu offered his support to Oda Nobukatsu, Nobunaga's son, against Hideyoshi.
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Tokugawa troops took the traditional Oda stronghold of Owari; Hideyoshi responded by sending an army into Owari. This campaign was the only time the great unifiers of Japan fought each other. Hideyoshi settled the war through negotiation. First he made peace with Oda Nobukatsu, and then he offered a truce to Ieyasu who accepted, even though they did not fight together as allies for another 5 years.
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Toyotomi Hideyoshi died September 18, 1598 of complications caused by the bubonic plague. The whereabouts of his grave are currently unknown.
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After Hideyoshi's death, the Tokugawa Clan thrived. A man named Ishida Mitsunari saw how powerful Ieyasu was becoming and began opposing him. Eventually all of Japan's Daimyo and Samurai had split into two factions, Mitsunari's side or the Anti-Mitsunari side. Tokugawa sided with the Anti-Mitsunari side and began preparing for war.
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After 19 months of travelling the ocean, only 20 sick and dying men remained of a crew of nearly 100. The ship was brought to anchor in Japan, where they were questioned by Tokogawa Ieyasu.
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In June 1600, Tokugawa travelled around the country recruiting for the final battle against Ishida Mitsunari. The biggest and most important battle in Japanese history took place on the 21st of October, 1600. Both armies had enormous armies of around 160,000 men. Several days later, Mitsunari and his allies were rounded up and killed. The battle was a total Tokugawa victory. Tokugawa Ieyasu was now the undisputed ruler of Japan.
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On March 24, 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu received the title of shogun from Emperor Go-Yōzei at 60 years old. He spent his final years creating and strengthening the Tokugawa Shogunate. In 1615, he created the Buke Shohatto, outlining the rules for his future heirs. During this time, he also crushed all remaining threats to the Tokogawa Shogunate's rule, including Hideyoshi's son, Toyomoti Hideyori.
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Tokogawa Ieyasu took a liking to Adams and forced him to live in Japan, away from his wife and children in England. He then told Adams to assist Mukai Shogen in re-creating the Liefde on the harbour of Ito. The 120 ton ship was "borrowed" by shipwrecked Spanish sailors in 1610.
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After living in Japan for 13 years, Adams is now Tokogawa's official translator and expert on Western ideas. He was also described as an engineer and mathmatician. In 1613, Adams was given dual samurai swords, a symbol of the rank. Tokogawa declared that "William Adams the English sailor is dead. Samurai Miura Anjin is now born". Adams was given a plot of land and was granted acess to Ieyasu's palace at any time.
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In 1614, Adams was granted the "Red Seal License", allowing him to trade with other countries on Japan's behalf. Adams ventured on several expiditions to Siam and Cochinchina.
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Tokugawa Ieyasu died on the 1st of June, 1616 from cancer at 73 years old. He remains one of the most influential people in Japanese history to this day. His grave is at a shrine in Tōshō-gū, Japan.
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William Adams died at Hirodo, Nagasaki in 1620, aged 55 years. His grave marker can still be seen today at the location of his previously owned land.
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Matthew C. Perry was born in 1794 in Newport, Rhode Island.
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In 1852, Matthew Perry set sail from Norfolk, Virginia for Japan in command of the United States East India Squadron to secure a trade treaty between America and Japan.
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Emporer Meiji was born on the 3rd of November, 1852 in Kyoto, Japan.
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When Matthew Perry finally arrived in Japan in 1853, he stormed through the ships at Nagasaki and demanded permission to present a treaty from President Millard Filmore. He threatened to destroy small coastal town of Uraga if refused. Natually, the Japanese accepted to see the treaty. Perry then left Japan, promising to return for a reply.
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Matthew Perry returned to Japan in 1854 to find that the Japanese had prepared a defense for his return. What the Japanese didn't know was that when Perry returned, he had more than twice as many ships.
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When the Japanese saw the size of Perry's fleet, they quickly disbanded their defenses and agreed to sign the treaty. The treaty was signed by both countries on the 31st of March 1854.
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After returning to the United States in 1855, Matthew Perry published three books on his journeys to Japan. He died expecting orders from the US Navy in 1858 from Rheumatic fever, Gout and heart damage from alchoholism. He is buried in The Island Cemetary at Rhode Island.
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Emporer Meiji ascended to the throne at just 14 years old, after Emperor Kōmei was poisoned. Because he was so young, he comtinued his education while the shogun made many descisions for him.
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Before 1868, the shoguns handled all foreign affairs. Many countries were trying to increase their influence in Japan at the time, so many spoke out, requesting the Emperor have a greater say in things. In Janurary 1868, Emperor Meiji read out a document to the shoguns, restating imperial rule. This was Meiji's first major act as Emperor.
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In 1868, Emporer Meiji was presented with the Charter Oath, a 5-point document designed to abolish feudalism in Japan and began a democratic government for Japan.
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On the 19th of September 1868, Emperor Meiji declared the begin of the Meiji Era. It was one month later that the Emperor officailly re-named the city of Edo to Tokyo.
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Soon after his ascension, the Emperor's officials helped find him a suitable bride. On the 11th of Janurary 1869, Emperor Meiji was married to Empress Shōken, who didn't bear him any children.
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In 1885, many political changes began to take place following the beginning of a democratic government. Prime Ministers were established, the samurai were diminishing, and the daimyo sold their land to the Emperor and became govenors. This continued up to the point where the daimyo's had more power than the Emperor.
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Emperor Meiji died on the 29th of July 1912 from uremia, aged 59. He was succeded by Emperor Taishō.
