Ieyasu was born as the son of the warlord Matsudaira Hirotada in Okazaki Castle in 1542. At that time, the Matsudaira family, head of the small Okazaki clan, was caught in the middle between the feuding warlords Imagawa Yoshimoto (of Sumpu Castle) to the east and Oda Nobuhide, the father of Oda Nobunaga (of Owari Castle) to the west. To maintain a balance between these two big powers, Ieyasu was taken as a hostage to the Imagawa family at the age of six, but while traveling to Sumpu Castle, he was kidnapped by the Oda forces. After two years with the Oda family, he was released to the Imagawa side in a prisoner exchange. In the Battle of Okehazama in 1560 between the two big rivals, Imagawa Yoshimoto was killed and Ieyasu was finally released and returned to Okazaki Castle. He was then 19 years old.
He immediately set out to control the Mikawa region; he broke off from the Imagawa forces, signed a treaty with Nobunaga, pacified the western region, and waged war to the east. However, an uprising of a Buddhist sect began at this time; after six months of fighting, Ieyasu finally quelled the revolt. He also succeeded in defeating the Imagawa allies one by one until he finally controlled the entire Mikawa region. He then joined forces with Oda Nobunaga and expanded his control to other regions. He pledged loyalty under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who appreciated Ieyasu's calmness and patience. He quickly advanced in rank. Ieyasu waited for his chance to rule the nation. That chance finally came as a result of Hideyoshi's death. He defeated the Toyotomi forces at the Battle of Sekigahara and unified the nation under his rule at the age of 66.
