Takechiyo Matsudaira / Ieyasu Tokugawa

> *"Peace may have returned here, but unrest continues elsewhere. I fear that it will only spread further"*
> - Ieyasu Tokugawa
>
>

Takechiyo (later Ieyasu) is one of the Daimyō featured in Demon Chaos. He appears in the game first as the heir of the Matsudaira Clan and then as the head of the Tokugawa Clan.

## Description

Takechiyo first appears as a young child and heir to Matsudaira Clan, and a hostage of the Oda Clan. Later, after coming of age and changing his name to Ieyasu Tokugawa, he is seen as the Daimyō of Mikawa Province. He is the ally of Nobunaga Oda.

## Personality

As a Daimyō, Ieyasu appears to be very passionate about his province of Mikawa, and is quick to aid Aoi and Inugami against the threat of the Demons. He is a decisive commander of his men in battle. He is quick to understand Aoi’s task of ridding the land from Demons and places great faith in Nobunaga’s theory of defeating them by amassing a greater power.

## Plot

### Mikawa (November, 1549)

Takechiyo is being transported to Imagawa territory by a convoy of the Matsudaira Clan as part of a hostage exchange with the Oda Clan. The convoy is attacked by Demons, but are saved by Aoi and Inugami. They are joined by an Oda force led by Nobunaga Oda, and Takechiyo is safely escorted through Chiryu Gate.

### Okazaki (December, 1566)

Takechiyo, now going by the name Ieyasu, finds his city of Okazaki overrun by Demons. With the help of Aoi and Inugami, his forces are able to repel the Demon forces. After the battle, Ieyasu tells Aoi that although Okazaki may be at peace, unrest still continues elsewhere, and that he fears the unrest will spread further. He explains that Nobunaga has a theory; a greater power than all others is needed to quiet this chaos. Ieyasu states that Nobunaga is the human closest to achieving this “greater power” and that he will do whatever it takes to attain it.

## True History

Ieyasu Tokugawa, born Takechiyo Matsudaira, was the son of Hirotada Matsudaira, head of the Matsudaira Clan. When the Oda Clan threatened Matsudaira territories in 1548, Takechiyo’s father sought help from the Imagawa Clan. In exchange for aid, the Imagawa Clan demanded Takechiyo as a hostage. While on route to Imagawa territory, the head of the Oda Clan, Nobuhide Oda, had Takechiyo abducted. He was five years old at the time.

When Nobuhide died, he was succeeded by his son, Nobuhiro Oda. The Imagawa Clan laid siege to Nobuhiro’s castle, and made a deal with his brother, Nobunaga, to break off the siege if Takechiyo was given to them. Nobunaga agreed and, at age nine, Takechiyo was finally a hostage of the Imagawa.

In 1560, when Yoshimoto Imagawa was killed by Nobunaga Oda’s army at the Battle of Okehazama, Takechiyo decided to ally with the Oda Clan. A secret deal was needed because Takechiyo's wife, Lady Tsukiyama and infant son, Nobuyasu, were still held hostage by the Imagawa. In 1561, Takechiyo openly broke ties with the Imagawa and captured the fortress of Kaminojo. He was then able to exchange his wife and son for the hostages thus gained. In 1563 Takechiyo’s son Nobuyasu was married to Nobunaga's daughter Tokuhime.

For the next few years Takechiyo set to reform the Matsudaira Clan and pacify Mikawa which involved overpowering both the Takeda and Imagawa clans. In 1567 he changed his name to Ieyasu Tokugawa.
In October 1571, Ieyasu’s army was decimated by Shingen Takeda at the Battle of Mikatagahara. Later, after Shingen’s death, Katsuyori Takeda led the Takeda army against Ieyasu. With aid from Nobunaga, Ieyasu’s forces were able to utterly defeat Katsuyori in June of 1575 at the Battle of Nagashino.

For the next seven years, Ieyasu and Katsuyori fought a series of small battles. Ieyasu's troops managed to wrest control of Suruga Province away from the Takeda Clan.

In 1579, Ieyasu's wife, and his eldest son, Nobuyasu, were accused by Nobunaga of conspiring with Katsuyori to assassinate Nobunaga. Ieyasu's wife was executed and Nobuyasu was forced to commit seppuku.

In late 1582, Ieyasu was near Osaka and far from his own territory when he learned that Nobunaga had been assassinated by Mitsuhide Akechi. Ieyasu managed the dangerous journey back to Mikawa, avoiding Mitsuhide's troops along the way, as they were trying to find and kill him. One week after he arrived in Mikawa, Ieyasu's army marched out to take revenge on Mitsuhide. But they were too late, as Hideyoshi Toyotomi defeated Akechi Mitsuhide at the Battle of Yamazaki.

In 1584, Ieyasu decided to support Nobukatsu Oda, the eldest surviving son and heir of Oda Nobunaga, against Hideyoshi, who had become the single most powerful daimyo in Japan. Eventually, the three negotiated and made peace, and Hideyoshi allied with Ieyasu to defeat the Hojo Clan, whose leader was the last independent daimyo in Japan.

Ieyasu prospered as Hideyoshi’s vassal, and was able to maintain a unique level of autonomy from Hideyoshi's rule, making him the second most powerful daimyo in Japan.

In 1598, with his health clearly failing, Hideyoshi declared Ieyasu as one of the five regents responsible for ruling on behalf of his heir, Hideyori, until he had come of age. After Hideyoshi’s death, and the death of one of the other regents, Ieyasu’s army took Osaka Castle, the residence of Hideyori, angering the other remaining regents.

Opposition to Ieyasu centered on Mitsunari Ishida, a powerful daimyo who was not one of the regents. Nearly all of Japan's daimyo and samurai now split into two factions: The Western Army, which included Mitsunari and the remaining regents, and The Eastern Army, which included Ieyasu.

The two sides met at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, and was won by the Eastern Army, essentially making Ieyasu the ruler of Japan.

On March 24, 1603, Ieyasu received the official title of Shogun from Emperor, establishing the Tokugawa Shogunate who would rule Japan for the next 250 years. Ieyasu abdicated his official position as shogun in 1605 to his son and heir, Hidetada, but remained the effective ruler of Japan until his death.

In late 1615, Ieyasu successfully sieged Osaka Castle, killing Hideyori Toyotomi and his family. This finally wiped out the Toyotomi Clan, the last threat to Ieyasu’s rule.

In 1616, Ieyasu died at age 73. The cause of death is thought to have been cancer or syphilis.