Japan
Tokugawa
Uniques and adjacency effects read from the game data.
Victory focusScienceCulture
Kit at a glance
Tokugawa closes the country to open it richer: domestic trade routes pour out extra yields, making an internally-wired Japan whose cities feed each other. The isolation economy matures into tourism and science once the network is complete.
Opening: the first 60 turns
Tokugawa's Japan settles close and settles fast. The first four cities should sit within a few tiles of each other so their districts touch for the adjacency bonus and so short domestic trade routes stay safe from pillage. Open Scout, Slinger, Settler, Settler, then a Trader as soon as Foreign Trade lands, and send it between your own cities rather than abroad. Research Pottery, Writing and Currency early so a Campus and Commercial Hub exist as trade-route targets, and take Early Empire before Political Philosophy. Unlike Hojo Tokimune's build, the Holy Site can wait; the capital wants a Commercial Hub touching a Campus so both the route capacity and the science adjacency come online by turn fifty.
Unique to this civilization
Unit
Samurai
Replaces Man-At-Arms
Civic: Feudalism
Building
Electronics Factory
Replaces Factory
Technology: Industrialization
Adjacency effects
- CampusAdjacent districts+1 Science
- Commercial HubAdjacent districts+1 Gold
- HarborAdjacent districts+1 Gold
- Holy SiteAdjacent districts+1 Faith
- Industrial ZoneAdjacent districts+1 Production
- Theater SquareAdjacent districts+1 Culture
How to play it
Run every trade route internally between your own cities and build the district clusters Japan always wants. You lose little by skipping foreign trade — the kit repays inward focus — then flip the mature economy toward your chosen victory late.
Victory paths
The domestic trade network is a science and culture engine at once, so Tokugawa can commit late. Every internal route adds science, culture and gold on top of the food and production a normal domestic route gives, and cities that hold several specialty districts make the best route targets. Through the Medieval and Renaissance eras the empire simply builds districts and traders; by the Industrial era the science lead is usually large enough to aim for a spaceport finish, with the Electronics Factory's culture keeping the civics tree in step. Culture is the alternative when a neighbor is already racing to space: Theater Squares slot into the same clusters and the tourism from a dense, wonder-rich core is substantial. Domination is not what this leader is for.
Synergies: city-states, wonders, policies
Anything that adds trade route capacity is doubly valuable here, starting with the Colossus if coastal, while Caravansary followed by Triangular Trade fill the economic slot. Magnus with Surplus Logistics makes routes ending in his city send extra food back to their origin, and Pingala amplifies the science and culture the routes deliver to the capital. For city-states, Kumasi turns the culture side of the network into something real. God of Craftsmen or Divine Spark suit the tight clusters, and Kilwa Kisiwani remains the wonder that turns Japan's suzerainty count into yield bonuses — in its own city, and in every city once two city-states of the same type are held.
Weaknesses and counters
Inward-facing trade means Tokugawa forgoes the gold and the diplomatic visibility that international routes provide, so his treasury is thinner than the yields suggest and he learns about distant rivals late. Domestic routes also require destination cities worth trading with; an empire that sprawls, or one whose outer cities lack districts, wastes most of the ability. The plan is slow to ramp and offers no military edge, which makes the Classical and early Medieval eras the moment a neighbor can end the game outright. A common error is stacking every route on the capital and starving the district clusters elsewhere. Opponents beat him by pillaging traders inside his borders and by out-expanding him while he perfects a small core.
Similar civilizations
Related guides
- Science Victory City Planning: Roles, the Production Core, and the SpaceportA city-by-city plan for science victories in Gathering Storm: which cities carry research, which one carries the spaceport, era checkpoints to measure against, and what to do when the plan stalls.Last reviewed: 2026-10-03
- Which Civilization Should You Play? Picks by Victory TypeThree to four leader picks for each victory type — science, culture, domination, religion, and diplomacy — with the reason each one teaches that victory well, plus flexible all-rounders and a guide to matching a civilization to how you actually like to play.Last reviewed: 2026-10-03
- Early District Planning: The First 100 TurnsHow to read city sites for future adjacency, decide between settling for yields now or reserving tile clusters, and know when a planned layout should be abandoned.Last reviewed: 2026-10-03
- City-States and Envoys: Where Your Influence Should GoWhere envoys come from, how to spend the first handful, which city-state types match each victory plan, how to win and keep suzerainty against the AI, and when conquering a city-state is the right call.Last reviewed: 2026-10-03
Last reviewed: 2026-10-03