Shogun Iemitsu (1632-1651)
Hidetada left his advisors, all veteran daimyo, to act as regents for Iemitsu. In 1633, after his brother's death, he dismissed these men. In place of his father's advisors, Iemitsu appointed his childhood friends. With their help Iemitsu created a strong, centralized administration. This made him unpopular with many daimyo, but Iemitsu simply removed his opponents.
He is credited with establishing the sankin kōtai system which forced daimyo to reside in Edo in alternating sequence, spending a certain amount of time in Edo, and a certain amount of time in their home provinces. It is often said that one of the key goals of this policy was to prevent the daimyo from amassing too much wealth or power by separating them from their home provinces, and by forcing them to regularly devote a sizable sum to funding the immense travel expenses associated with the journey (along with a large entourage) to and from Edo. The system also involved the daimyo's wives and heirs remaining in Edo, disconnected from their lord and from their home province, serving essentially as hostages who might be harmed or killed if the daimyo were to plot rebellion against the shogunate.
In 1637, an armed revolt arose against Iemitsu's anti-Christian policies in Shimabara. This period domestic unrest is known as the Shimabara Rebellion. Thousands were killed in the shogunate's suppression of the revolt and countless more were executed afterwards.
Over the course of the 1630s, Iemitsu issued a series of edicts restricting Japan's interactions with the outside world. Japanese, who had since the 1590s traveled extensively in East and Southeast Asia (and, in rare instances, much farther afield), were now forbidden from leaving the country, or returning, under pain of death. Europeans were expelled from the country, with the exception of those associated with the Dutch East India Company, who were restricted to the manmade island of Dejima, in Nagasaki harbor. Japan remained very much connected to international commerce, information, and cultural exchange, though only through four avenues. Nagasaki was the center of trade and interaction with the Dutch East India Company, and with independent Chinese merchants. Satsuma Domain controlled interactions with the Ryūkyū Kingdom (and through Ryūkyū, had access to Chinese goods and information), while Tsushima Domain handled diplomatic and trade relations with Joseon Dynasty Korea, and Matsumae Domain managed interactions with the Ainu, the indigenous people of Hokkaido. Japan in this period has often been described as "closed," or under sakoku (鎖国, lit. "chained country"), but since the 1980s, if not earlier, scholars have argued for the use of terms such as "maritime restrictions" or kaikin (海禁, lit. "maritime restrictions"), emphasizing the fact that Japan was not "closed" to the outside world, but was in fact very actively engaged in interactions with the outside world, albeit through a limited set of avenues.
In 1643 Empress Meisho abdicated the throne. She was succeeded by her younger half-brother (Go-Mizunoo's son by a consort) Emperor Go-Komyo, who disliked the shogunate for its violent and barbaric ways. He repeatedly made insulting comments about Iemitsu and his eldest son and heir, Tokugawa Ietsuna.
In 1651 Shogun Iemitsu died at the age of 47, being the first Tokugawa shogun whose reign ended with death and not abdication. He was accorded a posthumous name of Taiyūin, also known as Daiyūin. He was succeeded by his eldest son and heir, Tokugawa Ietsuna.
Read more about this topic: Tokugawa Iemitsu