Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川 家康, Tokugawa Ieyasu) is a character featured in Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan!. 
He is based on the real-life person of the same name, who was the first shogun of Japan under the Tokugawa Bakufu, ruling the country from 1600 until his abdication to his son in 1605.
== Profile ==
=== Appearance ===
Tokugawa is an elderly man in his mid-60's whose hair has gone completely grey. He sports a bushy mustache and keeps his hair in the traditional chonmage style worn by high-born samurai. He is a rather paunchy man, with a thick figure and a notable double chin.
=== Attire ===
While out in the streets, he wears a faded dark green kimono with a full-length beige coat made of thick material on top of it, along with a similarly colored box hat to conceal his chonmage. While in his home, he wears a crimson kimono with a gold-colored silk haori on top. The haori is embroidered with the Tokugawa Bakufu crest in white fabric.
=== Personality ===
Tokugawa was once a fearsome and cunning lord who waged war against many rivals during the turbulent, unstable years of the Sengoku period. However, in his old age he has softened and become a jovial man, who enjoys fine dining and seeing theater performances.
Despite his usually calm and friendly demeanour, when it comes to ensuring the stability of his government and the safety of his family, he can be very fearsome and violent, as shown by how he puts up a bounty of hundreds of ryo for the capture or murder of the two men who assassinated his son, Yuki Hideyasu. However, despite this, he can also be very forgiving and reasonable, as demonstrated by how he forgives Kiryu Kazumanosuke for killing Yuki after he discovers that Kiryu had been tricked into doing so.
== Background ==
Tokugawa was a minor daimyo born towards the end of the Japanese Warring States Period, a 150 year-long period of instability and constant warfare between noble families for control over territory, where no central authority ruled Japan. Tokugawa, alongside his mentors Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi managed to consolidate power over the entire country through a triple alliance which they headed. 
After the assassination of Oda and the death of Toyotomi, Tokugawa was left as the head of a regency council instructed to rule the country until Toyotomi's five year-old son came of age. However, in-fighting amongst the regents led to a re-flaring of warfare, which culminated in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. After Tokugawa's forces won the battle, Ieyasu managed to consolidate power around his clan and he proclaimed himself the new shogun of Japan; re-establishing a central government in the country for the first time since 1467.
== Involvement ==
=== Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan!: 1600-1605 ===
In 1600, the night before the battle of Sekigahara, Tokugawa's second-born son and heir, Yuki Hideyasu, is assassinated by Miyamoto Musashi and Majima Gorohachi. Unbeknownst to the Tokugawa Bakufu at the time, the assassins had been manipulated by two traitors within their ranks, imperial emissary Nankobo Tenkai and army General Marume Nagayoshi. Fearing that the assassins might then target Yuki's young daughter Haruka, Tokugawa had her adopted by a foster family who took her in as their own.
In 1605, Tenkai learns of Haruka and sends Marume to kill her, to ensure Yuki's family line is extinguished. Marume initially complies and kills Haruka's foster parents but, when the time comes to kill the young girl, he cannot bring himself to do it and instead lets her escape. Horrified by Tenkai's ruthlessness, Marume goes to Tokugawa and confesses, telling him of Tenkai's betrayal. Immediately, Tokugawa sends agents all over the area surrounding the place where Haruka's family was attacked to try to track the girl. It takes a few months, but the agents eventually determine that the girl fled to Kyoto, where she had started working as an apprentice at Tsuruya, a brothel in the city's pleasure district of Gion.
In order to covertly recover the girl without alerting Tenkai of their plans, Tokugawa organized for a feast honoring Itakura Katsushige's five years as Governor of Kyoto to be held at Tsuruya and he instructed Itakura to use the feast as an opportunity to find Haruka and then deliver her to Tokugawa agents who would be waiting outside the brothel. Unfortunately for Tokugawa, Tenkai learned of his plan and sent his henchman, Sasaki Kojiro to attack the feast and kill both Haruka and Itakura. While Itakura was killed in the attack on the feast, Haruka managed to survive thanks to the intervention of her protector, Miyamoto Musashi (who was now living in Kyoto under the alias of "Kiryu Kazumanosuke").
A few weeks later, Tokugawa himself traveled to Kyoto in disguise and met with Kiryu, asking him to take him to Tsuruya at night so that he could meet with Haruka. While waiting for nighttime, Tokugawa took advantage of his time in the city by eating some dango, drinking at an izakaya, gambling at a cho-han parlor and seeing a show at a nearby theater with Kiryu. At nightfall, Tokugawa and Kiryu went to Gion, where they ran into an amnesiac Majima, who joined them to go drinking at Tsuruya. Once at the brothel, Tokugawa informed Kiryu and the brothel's Landlady of his intent to buy Haruka's freedom. However, the negotiation for the girl was interrupted when Majima, having regained his memories and mistakenly believing that Kiryu had betrayed him, kidnapped Haruka and took her to Kiyomizu Temple to force Kiryu into a confrontation.
Kiryu goes to Kiyomizu to rescue Haruka and Tokugawa eventually follows him as well. By the time Tokugawa arrives, Kiryu and Majima have resolved their problems, but Sasaki has arrived to try to kill Haruka. Fortunately for the girl, Tokugawa intervenes and stops Sasaki from killing her, since the young samurai had once been his pupil and could not bring himself to kill his granddaughter in front of him. Once Sasaki leaves, Kiryu demands explanations from the old man, which he promises to give the following day.
As Tokugawa promised, the next day Kiryu and Haruka are taken to see Tokugawa by a large retinue of men. Tokugawa meets them dressed in daimyo regalia and reveals his identity and Haruka's true parentage to them. Tokugawa offers Haruka the possibility to come live with him in Edo Castle, but Haruka refuses, saying she wants to stay in Gion with Kiryu and her foster mother, Yoshino. Though hesitant, Tokugawa eventually agrees. Before the pair depart, Tokugawa tells Kiryu that if he wishes to know more about people who plotted against him and Haruka, he must travel to Yagyu village and meet with their local lord, the legendary swordsman Yagyu Sekishusai.
Ultimately, within a few weeks Kiryu would defeat Sasaki and convince him to turn on Tenkai, leading to Tenkai's defeat and death. Tokugawa Ieyasu would die ten years later, in 1616, after his Clan's control over Japan's central government was firmly consolidated.
== Gallery ==
RGGK! - Character Render - Tokugawa Ieyasu.png|Full-body Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan! render of Tokugawa
RGGK! - Character Render - Tokugawa Ieyasu (Old Fox).png|Full-body Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan! render of Tokugawa as a commoner
Ieyasu tokugawa.png
Category:Tokugawa Bakufu
Category:Historical Figures
Category:Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan! Characters