by fukarming » Tue Nov 30, 2010 7:52 am
I must say I never think of Tokugawa Ieyasu very highly. Sure he is capable but I will not rate him any higher than Takeda Shingen or Uesugi Kenshin. (Oda Nobunaga is far more talented than the rest of the Daimyo, though his personality brings to his downfall) The only thing Ieyasu good at is his long life (he dies at age 73, very long in medieval standard) - When all the capable person in his era died, he won by beating down some idiot (Toyotomi Hideyori - the winter siege is actually winnable - or at least able to show other Daimyo that Tokugawa is not unbeatable, but Hieyori surrender because of the artillery and let Tokugawa clear of Osaka's defence).
Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu are similar in age (they born in 1534, 36, and 42 respectively). While you can say Nobunaga's personality brings to his downfall, Ieyasu succeed simply because he outlived Hideyoshi. If Ieyasu died before Hideyoshi, I am certain that the Tokugawa Shogunate will not appear in history at all. (It would be interesting if Ieyasu died after Segihara but before Tokugawa become Shogun, or the siege of Tokyo)
Actually, all the "second generation" during the Sengoku Jidai (Toyotomi Hideyori, grandson of Mori, son of Uesugi...etc) are not nearly as smart as the first generation, and the late coming smart ones (Masamune Date, the Shimazu clan...etc) rise too late to go against the one controlling the central area.
Even Ieyasu's son is not that smart, as proof by his military blunder during Segihara.
They came first for sharks fin,I didn't speak up because I don't eat sharks fin.
Then they came for foie gras,I didn't speak up because I don't eat foie gras.
Then they came for me and force me to be a vegan by that time no one was left to speak up.