Tokugawa Shogunate

State · 1600–1869 CE · at its largest around 1865 CE

The military government of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after the Battle of Sekigahara, ruling from Edo over a long era of peace and restricted foreign contact until the Meiji Restoration.

Its battles, in Battle View

Battle of Sekigahara (1600 CE)

On its lands while it lasted

Joseon (1392–1897 CE): Dynasty founded by Yi Seong-gye with its capital at Hanseong (Seoul); it ruled Korea for five centuries.
Ryukyu Kingdom (1429–1879 CE): Kingdom uniting Okinawa and nearby islands, ruled from Shuri Castle until Japan's annexation.
Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543 CE – 1616 CE): Founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan for over 260 years.
Battle of Sekigahara (1600 CE): Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated a western coalition, securing control of Japan.
Tokaido (1601 CE): The most important of the Edo period’s Five Routes, the Tokaido ran along the Pacific coast from Edo to Kyoto with 53 post stations, famously depicted in prints by Hiroshige.
Tokugawa shogunate (1603–1868 CE): Military government based at Edo that brought over two centuries of peace to Japan.
Edo (c. 1603–1868 CE): Capital of Tokugawa Shogunate (1603–1867).
Sakoku (1639–1853 CE): Tokugawa policy that sharply restricted foreign contact and trade.
Katsushika Hokusai (1760 CE – 1849 CE): Japanese ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period, best known for the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, which includes The Great Wave off Kanagawa.
The Great Wave off Kanagawa (c. 1831 CE): Hokusai's woodblock print of a towering wave, one of the most recognisable works of Japanese art.
Stations of the Tokaido (1833 CE): Utagawa Hiroshige’s woodblock prints follow the highway from Edo to Kyoto through rain, snow and evening light, stop by stop. They made him famous and later inspired Van Gogh and Monet.
Perry Expedition (1853–1854 CE): US Commodore Matthew Perry's "black ships" forced Japan to open to foreign trade.
Vladivostok (1860 CE): Capital of Provisional Priamurye Government (1922–1922).
Meiji Restoration (1868 CE): Imperial rule was restored under Emperor Meiji, launching Japan's rapid modernisation.
Tokyo (1868 CE): Capital of Empire of Japan (1943–1945), Japan (1953–today).