Tokugawa Ieyasu

Born Matsudaira Takechiyo in 1543, the son of a minor daimyo, he lived as a hostage under daimyo Imagawa Yoshimoto before inheriting his father's position. He built his strength serving Oda Nobunaga, then — after Oda's death — briefly opposed Toyotomi Hideyoshi before pledging loyalty and fighting under him. Toyotomi relocated him east to the Kanto plains, away from the power center in Osaka, where Ieyasu built a castle in a fishing village called Edo. He became the most powerful daimyo under the Toyotomi regime, conserving his forces while Hideyoshi's armies bled out in Korea. After Hideyoshi…