Tokugawa Ieyasu

## Image Gallery

**Tokugawa Ieyasu** (徳川 (とくがわ)  家康 (いえやす) , *Tokugawa Ieyasu*) is one of the lords participating in the Tenkaichi tournament. His representative warrior was Honda Tadakatsu.

## Appearance

Ieyasu is a short man with a generally serious facial expression, black hair set in a chonmage, a thick black moustache and goatee, and noticeably large earlobes. He wears the traditional kimono with a haori emblazoned with his clan clan mon over the top; he fastens a Japanese sword to his left hip.

## Personality

He tends to carry a cautious air about him, but holds a quiet confidence about him. He values his friendship with Honda Tadakatsu greatly, shown by his extreme emotion and despair when Tadakatsu received the fatal blow during the first match of the Tenkaichi tournament. Ieyasu went as far as to defy Oda Nobunaga's whims because he felt his duty and friendship far outweighed the words of the Shogun. In Ieyasu's own words, Honda Tadakatsu was more than a warrior to him.

## Plot

Walking to a summons from the Shogun with Yagyu Munenori, he mentioned how unpredictable Nobunaga had become and to be wary of it. Entering into the hall and bowing, Oda Nobunaga was introduced before he announced his desire to name his successor via a tournament. Watching Shibata Katsuie be killed for voicing his concerns over having such a tournament, Ieyasu was somewhat unnerved by Yagyu's response to the tournament. Wondering what to do in this situation, Ieyasu thought he could only rely on one man...

102 days later, on the day of the tournament, Honda Tadakatsu arrived and the two had a touching reunion before setting off for Edo Castle. Once there, they were greeted by the sight of the other competing Tenkaichi warriors. Yagyu suddenly appeared, greeting Ieyasu before sizing up Honda (which the latter reciprocated) with Ieyasu telling them both to calm down. Just then, the gong was sounded and the tournament brackets were revealed.

Bracketed into the first match, Ieyasu walked out with Tadakatsu as he went to fight against Miyamoto Musashi. He then watched and noted the two's battle. Left surprised on multiple occasions by Musashi's prodigious ability to pressure Honda, Ieyasu was joined by Hattori Hanzo during the fight, with the latter mentioning that Musashi was giving Tadakatsu a hard time, which Ieyasu agreed with. With Hanzo realising why Musashi was pressuring Honda so much, he then explained to Ieyasu that it should be about time for Honda's body to reach maximum output. After reminding Ieyasu of the last time Tadakatsu went all-out, Hanzo assured him that Tadakatsu would win the fight from here-on as his strongest warrior. With Tadakatsu going on to overwhelm and then land a critical hit to Musashi's side, Ieyasu watched as the young swordsman took on a strange stance, mentally warning for Honda to keep his guard up, win at any cost and come back to him alive. After the two warriors clashed for the final time, Ieyasu was left in absolute shock and horror as Musashi landed the finishing blow across Tadakatsu's chest.

As the dying Tadakatsu apologised, an emotional Ieyasu ran over to his side saying his own apologies. Just then, Oda Nobunaga mercilessly told Tokugawa not to ruin the fun as *anyone* who interfered in the death matches would not be forgiven. Oda's gunmen then appeared, but Ieyasu proudly exclaimed that he would not leave Tadakatsu's side as it was the duty of a lord to take care of their warriors. With the gunmen aiming at him, Oda told them to shoot... but Tadakatsu stood to his feet and protected Ieyasu from the hail of bullets. As Ieyasu shouted at him to move aside, Tadakatsu explained that he couldn't adapt to life without war and that he was glad Ieyasu put his faith in him. After the gunmen stopped shooting, leaving Honda riddled with holes, Ieyasu continued apologising, but Tadakatsu hoisted Ieyasu on to his right shoulder and told him he was happy to fight for him with a smile on his face. Ieyasu tearfully replied that he was more than a warrior to him, just as the upper half of Tadakatsu's body dissected from the rest of his body and fell to the ground.

As Ieyasu clung to the top half of Tadakatsu's body, Hanzo came over and advised Tokugawa to keep his composure before realising that Honda Heihachiro Tadakatsu had died with a smile on his face.

## Notes & Trivia

* This character is based on the real life Tokugawa Ieyasu.
* Oda Nobunaga refers to him by the nickname **Takechiyo** (竹 (たけ) 千代 (ちよ) ).

## References

1. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 1 (page 50).
2. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 6 (pages 18 & 21).
3. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 6 (page 27).
4. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 6 (page 37).
5. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 7 (page 3).
6. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 6 (page 22).