It was Tokugawa Ieyasu that emerged as the final winner among a number of military
heroes - following Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi - who had aimed at
unifying the country in the Sengoku
period (1467-1598). Born as the first son of a minor feudal lord of the
Province of Mikawa (Okazaki-jô castle)
Ieyasu used his outstanding political talent and strategic ingenuity to
establish - after his victory in the Battle
of Sekigahara (1600) - the foundation of the Tokugawa era
(Edô
period)
which lasted more than 260 years.