History UsefulNotes / TokugawaIeyasu

* Tokugawa is the leader of the Japanese civilization in the second, third, and fourth installments of the ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' series of games; he is noted for being particularly isolationist in ''IV''. He gets replaced by Nobunaga in ''V''.

** The manga and anime adaptation of the story, ''Manga/{{Basilisk}}'' takes this UpToEleven and {{Gonk}}s him up.

** '''Sekigahara main battle''': With the Western forces consisting of about 120000 men and the Eastern forces consisting 75000 men, it looked like that Mitsunari had the advantage of numbers and tactic. However, Ieyasu has taken pages from Hideyoshi's tactics... of bribery and manipulation. Before the battle even began, he had contacted some of the Western generals that if he won the conflict, there shall be leniency awaiting them. And chief of them was Kobayakawa Hideaki, a nephew of Hideyoshi. But somehow, he remained indecisive in taking a decision. It was at that point that Ieyasu temporarily lost his most known trait, getting impatient and ordering the arquebuses to fire at Hideaki, finally forcing him to defect and getting his men to strike at Mitsunari... but was intercepted by Mitsunari's best friend Otani Yoshitsugu, who decimated his men. But that left his flank open, leaving him surrounded and defeated afterwards, and Hideaki's defection caused a chain of defection of generals that has been bribed by Ieyasu, turning the tables for his favor and ultimately made him the winner of the Sekigahara conflict and the newest Shogun of Japan, the de facto ruler of Japan.

Tokugawa Ieyasu had been around since the early era of UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga [[note]]Ieyasu was about 8.5 years younger.[[/note]]. Born Matsudaira Takechiyo in January 1543, his first major appearance in history is as the man who stabilized his clan's survival... [[DistressedDude by being a hostage for the Oda Clan, then the Imagawa Clan]]. As a hostage, Takechiyo learned quite a lot, particularly about the arts of war. He later changed his name to Matsudaira Motonobu, and later still, Motoyasu.

* '''William Adams/Miura Anjin''': An Englishman and member of the Dutch East India Company who got shipwrecked into Japan, taken in as an advisor of Ieyasu and then made a Samurai, making him one of Japan's foreign Samurai (he was preceded by Yasuke during the era of Oda Nobunaga). Afterwards, he became an advisor of Ieyasu and the reason why despite barring almost all foreigners from Japan during his isolationist policy, Ieyasu actually made the Dutch as the one exception, as he felt indebted to William's advices.
* '''UsefulNotes/YagyuJubei''': All three famous generations of Yagyus (Muneyoshi, Munenori and Mitsuyoshi) served the Tokugawa at one point, although Ieyasu would be more directly involved with the first two; Muneyoshi being his sword instructor, Munenori serving as his retainer in his latter days and guided his descendants through the world of politics. Mitsuyoshi also served the Tokugawa, but at one point was thought to be unfitting in the world of politics that he had to be kicked out, only to be reinstated back in the office in a latter date.
* '''[[UsefulNotes/MuramasaAndMasamune Sengo Muramasa]]''' lived during Tokugawa's reign and though they never interacted Tokugawa grew to hate Muramasa by proxy because many of his friends were killed by Muramasa's weapons. After severely cutting himself on one by accident, Tokugawa banned the smith's swords in his territories outright, which reinforced the [[EvilWeapon common superstitions]] around Muramasa blades and made Muramasa himself undergo a HistoricalVillainUpgrade. Meanwhile, Ieyasu formed a good relation with Gorō Nyūdō Masamune, who continued to make swords for him and his family, thus inversely becoming the reason why he has a HistoricalHeroUpgrade most of the time.

* '''Okehazama''' (vs. Oda): Technically, Ieyasu, when he was still known as Matsudaira Motoyasu, was not present during Okehazama, but as a vassal of Imagawa back then, he had orders to take the fortress of Marune. With his forces, Motoyasu proved that he wasn't just any boy-hostage, he's a full-fledged battle general. But (un)fortunately for him, while celebrating victory, he heard news about the slaughter at Okehazama that caused the death of UsefulNotes/ImagawaYoshimoto. Motoyasu had to read the situation and chose wisely on who to side with; whether it's to stay loyal with Imagawa or to join up with the Oda, whom he sensed that they might be the winning side, not to mention he's childhood friends with UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga during his times as a hostage. So... Motoyasu chose the second, and hence a lasting alliance was formed. While Nobunaga solidified his rule in Inabayama and eventually marched to the capital at Kyoto, Motoyasu spent his time pacifying the Imagawa clan and absorbing it to the Matsudaira instead.

* In ''Anime/SaberMarionetteJ'', the Japoness is led by a man named Tokugawa Ieyasu. He looks like a normal old man, but flashback reveals that [[IWasQuiteALooker the man he was cloned from looks just as bishonen as the protagonist Otaru]], in fact, he look like an older version of him.

** The fifth game, which is a SoftReboot, shows him in his younger self as Takechiyo who is a hostage of the Imagawa clan. Compared to his 'old man' usual design and Nobunaga and Hideyoshi's younger selves, Ieyasu's new design [[IWasQuiteALooker has the most stark difference]]: he was kind of a willowy {{Bishonen}}, but still handles himself well in battle using [[DualWielding twin katana]]. His first wife, Sena, also appears as a playable character (and also looking older than him).

* ''VideoGame/{{Nioh}}'' also has Tokugawa Ieyasu in it as the BigGood of the game, though he can veer to a ruthless PragmaticHero and WellIntentionedExtremist, which is actually closer to how it's like in real life. He's a tremendous help to William, which is another touch in with history, where the historical William Adams/Miura Anjin would end up on friendly terms with the Tokugawa clan.

Still, Ieyasu was not without his opposition; the tension accumulated until it reached its climax at Sekigahara, where Ieyasu ultimately won against UsefulNotes/IshidaMitsunari with a bit of luck on his side. Thus, he won the land and set up his own dynasty to rule over the land for 200 years or so. He immediately retired after Sekigahara, but continued as advisor for his son (now ruling as shogun) for the next decade, passing away in June 1616.

* '''[[UsefulNotes/MuramasaAndMasamune Sengo Muramasa]]''' lived during Tokugawa's reign and though they never interacted Tokugawa grew to hate Muramasa by proxy because many of his friends were killed by Muramasa's weapons. After severely cutting himself on one by accident, Tokugawa banned the smith's swords in his territories outright, which reinforced the [[EvilWeapon common superstitions]] around Muramasa blades and made Muramasa himself undergo a HistoricalVillainUpgrade.

Still, Ieyasu was not without his opposition; the tension accumulated until it reached its climax at Sekigahara, where Ieyasu ultimately won against UsefulNotes/IshidaMitsunari with a bit of luck on his side. Thus, he won the land and set up his own dynasty to rule over the land for 200 years or so. He immediately retired after Sekigahara, but continued as advisor for his son (now ruling as shogun) for the next decade.

Tokugawa Ieyasu had been around since the early era of UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga. Born Matsudaira Takechiyo in 1543, his first major appearance in history is as the man who stabilized his clan's survival... [[DistressedDude by being a hostage for the Oda Clan, then the Imagawa Clan]]. As a hostage, Takechiyo learned quite a lot, particularly about the arts of war. He later changed his name to Matsudaira Motonobu, and later still, Motoyasu.

Still, Ieyasu was not without his opposition; the tension accumulated until it reached its climax at Sekigahara, where Ieyasu ultimately won against UsefulNotes/IshidaMitsunari with a bit of luck on his side. Thus, he won the land and set up his own dynasty to rule over the land for 200 years or so. He immediately retired after Sekigahara, but continued to advise for his son ruling as a shogun for the next decade.

Still, Ieyasu was not without his opposition, thus the conflict blew up until it reached its climax at Sekigahara, where Ieyasu ultimately won against UsefulNotes/IshidaMitsunari with a bit of luck on his side, thus he won the land and set up his own dynasty to rule over the land for 200 years or so. He immediately retired after Sekigahara but continued to advise for his son ruling as a shogun for the next decade.

While Ieyasu did all he could to ensure his legacy would last very long and stabilizing the country, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard it was also his actions to do so that eventually caused his shogunate's downfall]]: In order to win Sekigahara, Ieyasu promised those who were loyal to him to be heavily rewarded, and then [[CruelMercy applied heavy punishment without any deaths towards his defeated opponents]], chief amongst these 'losers' were the Western clans, Mōri, Shimazu and Chosokabe. And one of his chief policies after unification of Japan is to close the country from any foreign trades except a few foreign countries, sealing off Japan from outer influences, which worked wonders for Japan's inner growth, but came to bit them in the ass when American fleet under Matthew Perry threatened his descendants to open the borders or else they'll overwhelm Japan with their superior technology. And the Mōri, Shimazu and Chosokabe, unhappy with these changes and still bearing the grudges over their treatment from Ieyasu, [[TheDogBitesBack decided to strike back]], leading to the UsefulNotes/MeijiRestoration and the end of the Ieyasu's legacy after 200+ years of ruling.

* People dissatisfied with Hideyoshi thought that this whole disastrous campaign happened because as someone born commoner, Hideyoshi was not aware of the danger of pointlessly launching campaigns like that, whereas a 'noble' like Ieyasu (the Matsudaira was a clan of nobility, and with the clan name change to Tokugawa, Ieyasu could claim descent from the Minamoto clan) would be aware to not do such thing, it's part of the training given to a noble as they grew up.

Ieyasu proved to be something of a '{{Sidekick}}' or 'rear-guard' for Nobunaga, and key success to his campaign: Since they're allies, Nobunaga could march to the capital with ease when he's assured that Ieyasu would watch his back. Eventually, as Nobunaga was killed by UsefulNotes/AkechiMitsuhide, Ieyasu escaped with his life and planned revenge, but he was beaten to a punch by UsefulNotes/ToyotomiHideyoshi. After a bit of a stalemate, they made peace and Ieyasu once again bid his time, he decided to just demote himself as a vassal of Toyotomi.

* '''UsefulNotes/DateMasamune''': One of his chief allies during the Sekigahara. Ieyasu somehow managed to see through Masamune's rambunctious WildCard nature and won the One-Eyed Dragon's favor so much that he helped with him not only in Sekigahara (where he staved off the Uesugi in Hasedo so Ieyasu could participate in the main battle), but also in the Sieges of Osaka, and even reading him a poem when Ieyasu was about to pass away. See his article for more details and exploits unrelated to Ieyasu.

* The Four Guardians of Tokugawa: Or [[EliteFour Tokugawa Shi-Tennou (Four Heavenly Kings)]]. These are considered [[BadassCrew the cream of the crop and most badass of any of Tokugawa's retainers]].
** Sakai Tadatsugu: The oldest and leader of the Shi-Tennou.
** UsefulNotes/HondaTadakatsu: Arguably the most famous and the most badass, having participated in over 50 battles without major injuries. See his article for more details.
** Sakakibara Yasumasa: Another one of the Shi-Tennou.
** Ii Naomasa: The youngest one and head of the Ii clan after inheriting it from his mother Naotora. Emulated the Takeda general Yamagata Masakage about the psychological combat of wearing red to scare off the enemies, inheriting Masakage's moniker "Red Devil". Scored first blood in Sekigahara.
* UsefulNotes/HattoriHanzo: His most trusted ninja from the Iga clan, when Ieyasu was attacked by UsefulNotes/AkechiMitsuhide, he helped him cross over the Iga village and ensuring his survival. See his article for more details.
* Torii Mototada: A childhood friend of Ieyasu since his days as a hostage in Imagawa, and also serving him. Most famous for making his Last Stand in Fushimi Castle, [[YouShallNotPass stalling the Western Army of 40,000 during the onset of Sekigahara]] with 2,000 troops. Torii's troops fought over ten days until he and ten other men remained, after which the remainders committed {{seppuku}}. [[SmallRoleBigImpact This delayed Mitsunari enough that Ieyasu managed to gather the majority of his troops in time for Sekigahara and eventually coming out as the victor.]]
* Laidy Saigo/Masako: Ieyasu's second wife, primary consort, and admittedly the one he favored more. While Masako and Ieyasu met as teenagers, she was still married to another man, and they only became involved in each other around the 1570s. The drama involving Ieyasu's first wife (how they were separated) eventually cleared the path towards Lady Saigo's ascension as Ieyasu's consort, and she would play a role in developing Ieyasu's political alliances up to his involvement with Hideyoshi. She died pretty young (at the age of 37), but her legacy is solidified in providing Ieyasu with an heir...
* Tokugawa Hidetada: Ieyasu's son with Lady Saigo, he became his favorite son and eventual heir and successor (becoming the second Shogun after Ieyasu). Though their relations were kind of strained when he was late to Sekigahara because he was being stalled by the Sanada clan in Ueda Castle. He's another link between Tokugawa and Oda, as he married the youngest daughter of Oichi (Nobunaga's sister), Oeyo/Go--whose elder sister is Chacha/Lady Yodo, Hideyoshi's second wife and the mother of the Tokugawa's final nemesis, Hideyori... who then got married off to Hidetada and Oeyo's ''daughter'' Senhime, making the whole Osaka Campaign one big awkward family feud.
* Lady Tsukiyama/Sena & Tokugawa Nobuyasu: Ieyasu's first wife from Imagawa and son (though their marriage wasn't that happy), later linked with marriage via Nobunaga's daughter. Unfortunately, Nobunaga accused them of treason and conspiring with the Takeda, and to clear his name, Ieyasu had them executed, with Tadatsugu as the executioner. And that's how Hidetada, being the third son (the second son, Hideyasu, got adopted to the Toyotomi and became Yuki Hideyasu, a daimyo on his own), becomes the heir. However, Ieyasu seemed to be a lot more tolerant with their daughter born from Sena, Kamehime, who went on to help his father in several ways even as a woman.
* Komatsuhime: Actually UsefulNotes/HondaTadakatsu's daughter, but Tadakatsu agreed to make Ieyasu being her second father, so she can be married to Sanada Nobuyuki and eventually binding the two clans together. Kind of intimidating, inheriting her father's martial prowess, but also very loyal.
* Nankobou Tenkai: An influential monk that became Ieyasu's trusted personal advisor in the late stage of the UsefulNotes/SengokuPeriod, bridging communication between the Shogunate and the Imperial Court, restoring several ruined temples and advising Ieyasu's successors too. [[MysteriousPast His past is completely shrouded with mystery]], with some rumors saying that he's actually UsefulNotes/AkechiMitsuhide, having been humbled after his disastrous defeat at Yamazaki (and disregarding the other most popular theory that he was killed by peasants during his escape), deciding to [[ThatManIsDead discard his old identity]] and [[TheAtoner starting anew]], even serving the man he tried to kill before.[[note]]One of the temples Tenkai restored as his project is the Enryaku-ji, which was utterly destroyed during UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga's Siege of Mt. Hiei. As the siege was chiefly considered one of the reasons why Nobunaga got such [[DemonKingNobunaga a bad rap]] and became one of the possible reasons why Mitsuhide decided to betray Nobunaga (he was apparently a devout Buddhist), Tenkai's decision to restore this particular temple is often a strong 'proof' to justify the theory that he's actually a resurfaced Mitsuhide.[[/note]]
* Lady Kasuga/Kasuga no Tsubone: Born Saitou Fuku, the daughter of Saitou Toshimitsu, advisor of UsefulNotes/AkechiMitsuhide, spared from execution because she's a woman and then married off to a daimyo allied with Kobayakawa Hideaki, then after Sekigahara, she got divorced and picked up by Ieyasu because she was apparently a factor of why Hideaki defected and bringing victory for the Eastern army. She's appointed as the wet nurse of Hidetada's son Iemitsu, established the 'women's quarter' in Edo known as Ooku, and generally serving as the shogun family's advisor, gaining influence in the court and occasionally advising the future shoguns.
* William Adams/Miura Anjin: An Englishman and member of the Dutch East India Company who got shipwrecked into Japan, taken in as an advisor of Ieyasu and then made a Samurai, making him one of Japan's foreign Samurai (he was preceded by Yasuke during the era of Oda Nobunaga). Afterwards, he became an advisor of Ieyasu and the reason why despite barring almost all foreigners from Japan during his isolationist policy, Ieyasu actually made the Dutch as the one exception, as he felt indebted to William's advices.
* UsefulNotes/YagyuJubei: All three famous generations of Yagyus (Muneyoshi, Munenori and Mitsuyoshi) served the Tokugawa at one point, although Ieyasu would be more directly involved with the first two; Muneyoshi being his sword instructor, Munenori serving as his retainer in his latter days and guided his descendants through the world of politics. Mitsuyoshi also served the Tokugawa, but at one point was thought to be unfitting in the world of politics that he had to be kicked out, only to be reinstated back in the office in a latter date.
* [[UsefulNotes/MuramasaAndMasamune Sengo Muramasa]] lived during Tokugawa's reign and though they never interacted Tokugawa grew to hate Muramasa by proxy because many of his friends were killed by Muramasa's weapons. After severely cutting himself on one by accident, Tokugawa banned the smith's swords in his territories outright, which reinforced the [[EvilWeapon common superstitions]] around Muramasa blades and made Muramasa himself undergo a HistoricalVillainUpgrade.

* Nankobou Tenkai: An influential monk that became Ieyasu's trusted personal advisor in the late stage of the UsefulNotes/SengokuPeriod, bridging communication between the Shogunate and the Imperial Court, restoring several ruined temples and advising Ieyasu's successors too. [[MysteriousPast His past is completely shrouded with mystery]], with some rumors saying that he's actually UsefulNotes/AkechiMitsuhide, having been humbled after his disastrous defeat at Yamazaki, deciding to [[ThatManIsDead discard his old identity]] and [[TheAtoner starting anew]], even serving the man he tried to kill before.[[note]]One of the temples Tenkai restored as his project is the Enryaku-ji, which was utterly destroyed during UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga's Siege of Mt. Hiei. As the siege was chiefly considered one of the reasons why Nobunaga got such [[DemonKingNobunaga a bad rap]] and became one of the possible reasons why Mitsuhide decided to betray Nobunaga (he was apparently a devout Buddhist), Tenkai's decision to restore this particular temple is often a strong 'proof' to justify the theory that he's actually a resurfaced Mitsuhide.[[/note]]

* William Adams/Miura Anjin: An Englishman and member of the Dutch East India Company who got shipwrecked into Japan, taken in as an advisor of Ieyasu and then made a Samurai, making him one of Japan's foreign Samurai (he was preceded by Yasuke during the era of Oda Nobunaga). Afterwards, he became an advisor of Ieyasu.

* Tokugawa Hidetada: Ieyasu's son with Lady Saigo, he became his favorite son and eventual heir and successor (becoming the second Shogun after Ieyasu). Though their relations were kind of strained when he was late to Sekigahara because he was being stalled by the Sanada clan in Ueda Castle. He's another link between Tokugawa and Oda, as he married the youngest daughter of Oichi (Nobunaga's sister), Oeyo/Go--whose elder sister is Chacha/Lady Yodo, Hideyoshi's second wife and the mother of the Tokugawa's final nemesis, Hideyori... who then got married off to Hidetada and Oeyo's ''daughter'' Senhime, making the whole Osaka Campaign one big awkward family issue.

* Tokugawa Hidetada: Ieyasu's son with Lady Saigo, he became his favorite son and eventual heir and successor (becoming the second Shogun after Ieyasu). Though their relations were kind of strained when he was late to Sekigahara because he was being stalled by the Sanada clan in Ueda Castle. He's another link between Tokugawa and Oda, as he married the youngest daughter of Oichi (Nobunaga's sister), Oeyo/Go--whose elder sister is Chacha/Lady Yodo, Hideyoshi's second wife and the mother of the Tokugawa's final nemesis, Hideyori.

When compared to Oda and Toyotomi, Tokugawa is less commonly a victim of HistoricalVillainUpgrade. However, he ''is'' more likely to be upgraded to villainy in works more sympathetic toward either Sanada Yukimura or Ishida Mitsunari. Said villainous upgrade was actually a fairly common practice around the decline of the Tokugawa shogunate, some 200 years after its founding. Present-day opinion on Tokugawa generally portrays him as an honorable if boring [[CoolOldGuy (old)]] man, far more willing to play the long game and concede small losses than either of his predecessors. "Slow and steady" is a common theme among Ieyasu portrayals.

Credited as the third and final unifier of UsefulNotes/{{Japan}} during the UsefulNotes/SengokuPeriod, Tokugawa Ieyasu is (naturally) the man who founded the Tokugawa shogunate, a dynasty that would control Japan for over 200 years. The Tokugawa line's control remained firm throughout this period, and was not broken until the Meiji restoration in the latter half of the 19th century, and the downfall and abolition of the samurai class altogether.

As Motoyasu, he began his military career in 1558, winning a minor victory over Oda Nobunaga at Terabe. In 1560, UsefulNotes/ImagawaYoshimoto began marching towards Kyoto, but fell victim to a surprise attack by Nobunaga at Okehazama. Motoyasu declared independence from the Imagawa clan soon after, allied himself with Nobunaga, and proceeded to strengthen his home base of Mikawa. He acquired a number of powerful and famous generals, including [[UsefulNotes/HattoriHanzo Hattori Hanzou]] and UsefulNotes/HondaTadakatsu, then in 1566 changed his name to ''Tokugawa Ieyasu''.

Ieyasu proved to be something of a '{{Sidekick}}' or 'rear-guard' for Nobunaga, and a key success to his campaign: Since they're allies, Nobunaga could march to the capital with ease when he's assured that Ieyasu would watch his back. Eventually, as Nobunaga was killed by UsefulNotes/AkechiMitsuhide, Ieyasu escaped with his life and planned revenge, but he was beaten to a punch by UsefulNotes/ToyotomiHideyoshi. After a bit of a stalemate, they made peace and Ieyasu once again bid his time, he decided to just demote himself as a vassal of Toyotomi.

When Hideyoshi passed away and his reputation broke due to the ill-fated Korean Campaign, Ieyasu rose as one of the main people in position to rule Japan for several reasons:
* He abstained from the Korean Campaign and continuously bolstered his forces and wealth in Kanto plain, now renamed Edo. So he's considered to possess wisdom to not send his men to pointlessly die.

Still, Ieyasu was not without his opposition, thus the conflict blew up until it reached its climax at Sekigahara, where Ieyasu ultimately scored victory against UsefulNotes/IshidaMitsunari with a bit of luck on his side, thus he won the land and set up his own dynasty to rule over the land for 200 years or so. He immediately retired after Sekigahara, but continued to advise for his son ruling as a shogun for the next decade.

While Ieyasu did all he could to ensure his legacy would last very long and stabilizing the country, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard it was also his actions to do so that eventually caused his shogunate's downfall]]: In order to win Sekigahara, Ieyasu promised those who were loyal to him to be heavily rewarded, and then [[CruelMercy applied heavy punishment without any deaths towards his defeated opponents]], chief amongst these 'losers' were the Western clans, Mouri, Shimazu and Chosokabe. And one of his chief policies after unification of Japan is to close the country from any foreign trades except a few foreign countries, sealing off Japan from outer influences, which worked wonders for Japan's inner growth, but came to bit them in the ass when American fleet under Matthew Perry threatened his descendants to open the borders or else they'll overwhelm Japan with their superior technology. And the Mouri, Shimazu and Chosokabe, unhappy with these changes and still bearing the grudges over their treatment from Ieyasu, [[TheDogBitesBack decided to strike back]], leading to the UsefulNotes/MeijiRestoration and the end of the Ieyasu's legacy after 200+ years of ruling.

* [[UsefulNotes/HattoriHanzo Hattori Hanzou]]: His most trusted ninja from the Iga clan, when Ieyasu was attacked by UsefulNotes/AkechiMitsuhide, he helped him cross over the Iga village and ensuring his survival. See his article for more details.

* '''Okehazama''' (vs. Oda): Technically, Ieyasu, that time being Matsudaira Motoyasu, was not present during Okehazama, but as a vassal of Imagawa back then, he had orders to take the fortress of Marune. With his forces, Motoyasu proved that he wasn't just any boy-hostage, he's a full fledged battle general. But (un)fortunately for him, while celebrating victory, he heard news about the slaughter at Okehazama that caused the death of UsefulNotes/ImagawaYoshimoto. Motoyasu had to read the situation and chose wisely on who to side with; whether it's to stay loyal with Imagawa or to join up with the Oda, whom he sensed that they might be the winning side, not to mention he's childhood friends with UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga during his times as a hostage. So... Motoyasu chose the second, and hence a lasting alliance was formed. While Nobunaga solidified his rule in Inabayama and eventually marched to the capital at Kyoto, Motoyasu spent his time pacifying the Imagawa clan and absorbing it to the Matsudaira instead.
* '''Anegawa''' (vs. Azai-Asakura): Motoyasu, now named Ieyasu, received a call for help when Nobunaga was having trouble against the Azai-Asakura alliance. They were to face off at the river of Anegawa. At first, it looked like Ieyasu would be facing off the Azai, but Nobunaga was goddamn pissed at the betrayal of Azai after all the trouble he married his sister to that clan that he proposed an overnight formation shift: The Tokugawa would face the Asakura instead, while he march off against the Azai. It worked in their favor tremendously, the Azai-Asakura never saw it coming, and the Tokugawa basically streamrolled the Asakura that they managed to assist the Oda and trapped the Azai in a pincer attack. The Azai managed to retreat to their home base Odani, but Ieyasu's 'contract' was over, he didn't get involved against the last stand at Odani.
* '''Mikatagahara-Nagashino''' (vs. Takeda): Nobunaga and Ieyasu's partnership proved effective as Ieyasu became the one who staved off the advance of the great UsefulNotes/TakedaShingen who planned to march to the capital as well. And by that we mean that [[CurbStompBattle the famed Takeda Cavalry completely stomped through Ieyasu's forces so brutally when their forces met at Mikatagahara]], leaving Ieyasu alone with just ''five'' soldiers. Retreating to Hamamatsu Castle, Ieyasu decided to bet on one last life-and-death gambit. He ordered one of his men (mostly believed to be Sakai Tadatsugu, one of his Four Generals) to lit the castle's torches and ''then'' opening the gate open, as if beckoning the Takeda to just BringIt. Shingen got paranoid as a result and decided to hold off his forces, thinking that there was a trap inside. He was further convinced when Ieyasu had some of his men (some believe that he entrusted the task to his SamuraiShinobi UsefulNotes/HattoriHanzo) to cause ruckus in the Takeda camp and retreated. Surviving for another day, Ieyasu informed Nobunaga about the threat of Takeda, and they faced off the Takeda again, now led by Shingen's son Katsuyori (Shingen died in the interim), in Nagashino. Nobunaga's new musket tactic obliterated the Takeda Cavalry, and he collaborated with Ieyasu to hunt down the remnants of the Takeda after resolving one particular drama-filled incident[[note]]Ieyasu had a son from his wife Tsukiyama Sena, the niece of UsefulNotes/ImagawaYoshimoto, named Nobuyasu, who married with Nobunaga's daughter Tokuhime. Sena and Tokuhime did not get along, so at one point, Tokuhime wrote a letter to Nobunaga accusing Sena to be colluding with Takeda Katsuyori, Shingen's son. The truth of the accusation was not that clear, but Nobunaga saw this as a threat and thought [[EtTuBrute Ieyasu was trying to backstab him after all the time they allied, and he does not take betrayal kindly, like the Azai.]] Choosing BrosBeforeHoes (and that his marriage with Sena was purely political so they're not that HappilyMarried in the first place), Ieyasu ordered the execution of Sena. And just to make sure that his son Nobuyasu won't seek revenge, he exiled him too, although generally, it's not clear who got executed and who got exiled, but by that, Ieyasu still secured the alliance with the Oda.[[/note]], culminating in the battle at Temmokuzan where the Takeda was destroyed for good.
* '''Iga''' (vs. UsefulNotes/AkechiMitsuhide): After helping Nobunaga clean up central Japan, he decided to go on a vacation with Ieyasu in the Iga area. Nobunaga got a call for help from UsefulNotes/ToyotomiHideyoshi, so he decided to help him out, leaving Ieyasu alone. Then suddenly, Ieyasu heard incredibly bad news: Nobunaga was betrayed and killed by UsefulNotes/AkechiMitsuhide, and now Mitsuhide wanted Ieyasu's head to ensure his succession of Nobunaga's power... all while Ieyasu was far away from his home province of Mikawa, surrounded with soldiers wanting to kill him. Luckily for Ieyasu, he also brought along UsefulNotes/HattoriHanzo with him. Hanzo proceeded to show him a secret path to escape the Iga area unnoticed by Akechi army, all while convincing other nearby ninja clans to give Ieyasu the safe passage. And so Ieyasu escaped death. Returning home to Mikawa, he prepared his army for revenge on both him and Nobunaga... but then he heard that UsefulNotes/ToyotomiHideyoshi beat him to a punch in that department.

* Tokugawa Hidetada: His favorite son and eventual successor in Shogun line. Though their relations were kind of strained when he was late to Sekigahara because he was being stalled by the Sanada clan in Ueda Castle. He's another link between Tokugawa and Oda, as he married the youngest daughter of Oichi (Nobunaga's sister), Oeyo.

* '''Okehazama''' (vs. Oda): Technically, Ieyasu, that time being Matsudaira Motoyasu, was not present during Okehazama, but as a vassal of Imagawa back then, he had orders to take the fortress of Marune. With his forces, Motoyasu proved that he wasn't just any boy-hostage, he's a full fledged battle general. But (un)fortunately for him, while celebrating victory, he heard news about the slaughter at Okehazama that caused the death of UsefulNotes/ImagawaYoshimoto. Motoyasu had to read the situation and chose wisely on who to side with; whether it's to stay loyal with Imagawa or to join up with the Oda, whom he sensed that they might be the winning side, not to mention he's childhood friends with UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga during his times as a hostage. So... Motoyasu chose the second, and hence a lasting alliance was formed.

* People dissatisfied with Hideyoshi thought that this whole disastrous campaign happened because as someone born commoner, Hideyoshi was not aware of the danger of pointlessly launching campaigns like that, whereas a 'noble' like Ieyasu (the Matsudaira was a clan of nobility, and with the clan name change to Tokugawa, Ieyasu could claim descent from the Minamoto clan) would be aware to not do such thing, it's part of a training given to a noble.

* People dissatisfied with Hideyoshi thought that this whole disastrous campaign happened because as someone born commoner, Hideyoshi was not aware of the danger of pointlessly launching campaigns like that, whereas a 'noble' like Ieyasu (the Matsudaira was a clan of nobility, and with the clan name change to Tokugawa, Ieyasu could claim descent from the Minamoto clan) would be aware to not do such thing.

* Lady Tsukiyama/Sena & Tokugawa Nobuyasu: Ieyasu's first wife from Imagawa and son (though their marriage wasn't that happy), later linked with marriage via Nobunaga's daughter. Unfortunately, Nobunaga accused them of treason and conspiring with the Takeda, and to clear his name, Ieyasu had them executed, with Tadatsugu as the executioner. And that's how Hidetada, being the third son (the second son, Hideyasu, got adopted to the Toyotomi and became Yuki Hideyasu, a daimyo on his own), becomes the heir.

* Tokugawa Hidetada: His favorite son and eventual successor in Shogun line. Though their relations were kind of strained when he was late to Sekigahara because he was being stalled by the Sanada clan in Ueda Castle.

* '''Osaka''' (vs. Toyotomi & Sanada): Ieyasu has retired and let Hidetada rule Japan while just advising him. But then, the Toyotomi clan, led by the more matured Hideyori and supported with his mother Lady Yodo/Chacha, has been doing suspicious activities as if insulting the Tokugawa, and contacted several anti-Tokugawa factions, such as the Sanada clan under [[UsefulNotes/SanadaYukimura Yukimura]] (who was formerly exiled instead of executed after Sekigahara thanks to Nobuyuki's interference). After several slights one too many, Ieyasu came out of retirement and declared that the Toyotomi must go down for good, even if Hideyori was married to his granddaughter Senhime. After gathering his men, they cornered the Toyotomi in Osaka castle, drawing them out in a long, painful siege. It bore fruit, Hideyori along with Chacha were defeated and either killed or forced to commit seppuku, while Senhime was sent back to safety (and became a nun afterwards). As Ieyasu was about to celebrate his victory, however, he saw Yukimura and several of his personal guards making a mad dash right onto his camp, killing off his personal guards one by one, until only Yukimura remained and he was that close to chop off Ieyasu's head... But due to certain reasons, most commonly fatigue, Yukimura just stopped there, declared that despite being a most WorthyOpponent, he's just too tired to fight anymore, and either died in exhaustion, or the remaining Tokugawa men came just in time to kill Yukimura, saving their lord's life. Inspired with his tenacity even when he knew he's not gonna win anything out of it, Ieyasu praised Yukimura's burning spirit, giving him the epithet "Japan's #1 Soldier" as a post-mortem reward. And that was the last activity of the third unifier of Japan before he passed away naturally due to sickness in Sunpu Castle, 1616.