Battle of Sekigahara - Rise of The Tokugawa Shogunate

Rise of The Tokugawa Shogunate

Tokugawa Ieyasu redistributed the lands and fiefs of the participants, generally rewarding those who assisted him and displacing, punishing, or exiling those who fought against him. In doing so, he gained control of many former Toyotomi territories. Following the public execution of Ishida Mitsunari, Konishi Yukinaga and Ankokuji Ekei, the influence and reputation of the Toyotomi clan and its remaining loyalists drastically decreased.

At the time, the battle was considered only an internal conflict between Toyotomi vassals. However, after Ieyasu became Shogun, a position that had been left vacant since the fall of the Ashikaga shogunate 27 years earlier, the battle was perceived as a more important event. In 1664, Hayashi Gahō, Tokugawa historian and rector of Yushima Seido, summarized the consequences of the battle: "Evil-doers and bandits were vanquished and the entire realm submitted to Lord Ieyasu, praising the establishment of peace and extolling his martial virtue. That this glorious era that he founded may continue for ten thousands upon ten thousands of generations, coeval with heaven and earth."

This change in official rankings also reversed the subordinate position of the Tokugawa clan, thus making the Toyotomi clan subordinates of the Tokugawa instead.