"Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康, January 31, 1543 – June 1, 1616) was the founder and first shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.
He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Son of a minor daimyo, Tokugawa once lived as a hostage, on behalf of his father, under another Daimyo. He later succeeded as daimyo after his father's death, serving as vassal and general under Oda Nobunaga, building up his strength. After Oda's death, Tokugawa was briefly a rival of fellow Oda subordinate Toyotomi Hideyoshi, before declaring allegiance to Toyotomi and fighting on his behalf. Under Toyotomi, Tokugawa was relocated to the Kanto plains in eastern Japan, away from the Toyotomi power base in Osaka. He built his castle in the fishing village of Edo (now Tokyo). He became the most powerful daimyo and the most senior officer under the Toyotomi regime." - (en.wikipedia.org 28.12.2020)
