Tokugawa Yoshinobu

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Tokugawa Yoshinobu

Yoshinobu as Shogun, c. 1867

Shogun

In office
August 29, 1866 November 19, 1867

Monarch Kmei

Meiji

Preceded by Tokugawa Iemochi

Succeeded by Meiji Restoration

 Member of the House of Peers

In office
19021910

Personal details

Born October 28, 1837

Edo

Died November 22, 1913 (aged 76)

Bunky

Resting place Yanaka Cemetery

In this Japanese name, the family name is Tokugawa.

Tokugawa Yoshinobu ( , also known as Tokugawa Keiki; October 28, 1837 November
22, 1913) was the 15th and last shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a
movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. After
resigning in late 1867, he went into retirement, and largely avoided the public eye for the rest of his
life.

Contents
[hide]

1Early life
2Family
3Shogun (1866 - 1867)
4Boshin War (186869)
5Later life
6Honors
o 6.1Order of precedence
7Eras of Yoshinobu's bakufu
8Ancestry
o 8.1Patrilineal descent
9See also
10Notes
11References
12Further reading
o 12.1Works of fiction
13External links
Early life[edit]
Tokugawa Yoshinobu was born in Edo, as the seventh son of Tokugawa Nariaki, daimy of Mito.
Mito was one of the gosanke, the three branch families of the Tokugawa clan which were eligible to
be chosen as shogun. His birthname was Matsudaira Shichirmaro ()[1] His
mother, Princess Arisugawa Yoshiko, was a member of the Arisugawa-no-miya, a cadet branch of
the imperial family; through her, he was a third cousin (once removed) of the then Emperor, Nink.
Shichirmaro was brought up under strict, spartan supervision and tutelage.[2] While his father
Nariaki respected the second Mito Tokugawa Mitsukuni who had sent off the second and younger
sons from Edo to Mito to raise them, Shichirmaro was seven months old when he arrived in Mito in
1838. He was taught in the literary and martial arts, as well as receiving a solid education in the
principles of politics and government at Kdkan.[3]
At the instigation of his father, Shichirmaro was adopted by the Hitotsubashi-Tokugawa family in
order to have a better chance of succeeding to the shogunate[4] and changed his first name
to Akimune(). He became family head in 1847, coming of age that year, receiving court rank and
title, and taking the name Yoshinobu.[5] Upon the death of the 13th shogun, Shogun Iesada, in 1858,
Yoshinobu was nominated as a potential successor.[6] His supporters touted his skill and efficiency in
managing family affairs. However, the opposing faction, led by Ii Naosuke, won out. Their candidate,
the young Tokugawa Yoshitomi, was chosen, and became the 14th shogun Iemochi.[7] Soon after,
during the Ansei Purge, Yoshinobu and others who supported him were placed under house
arrest.[8] Yoshinobu himself was made to retire from Hitotsubashi headship.

Tokugawa Yoshinobu organizing defenses at the Imperial Palace in 1864, together with Matsudaira Katamori,
during the Kinmon Incident

The period of Ii's domination of the Tokugawa government was marked by mismanagement and
political infighting. Upon Ii's assassination in 1860, Yoshinobu was reinstated as Hitotsubashi family
head, and was nominated in 1862 to be the shogun's guardian ( shgun kken-shoku),
receiving the position soon afterwards.[9] At the same time, his two closest allies, Matsudaira
Yoshinaga and Matsudaira Katamori, were appointed to other high positions: Yoshinaga as chief of
political affairs ( seiji ssai shoku),[10] Katamori as Guardian of Kyoto ( Kyoto
Shugoshoku).[11] The three men then took numerous steps to quell political unrest in the Kyoto area,
and gathered allies to counter the activities of the rebellious Chsh Domain. They were
instrumental figures in the kbu gattai political party, which sought a reconciliation between the
shogunate and the imperial court.[12]
In 1864, Yoshinobu, as commander of the imperial palace's defense, defeated the Chsh forces in
their attempt to capture the imperial palace's Hamaguri Gate ( Hamaguri-Gomon) in what is
called the Kinmon Incident. This was achieved by use of the forces of the AizuSatsuma coalition.[13]

Family[edit]
 Father: Tokugawa Nariaki
Mother: Arisugawa Yoshiko (18041893)
Wife: Ichijo Mikako (18351894)
Concubines:
Isshiki Saga (18391929)
Shinmura Nobu (18521905)
Nakane Sachi (18361915)
Children:
Nagako (18781878) by Nobu
Namiko (18801954) by Nobu married Matsudaira Hitoshi, son of Matsudaira Naritami
Kuniko (18821942) by Nobu married Okouchi Kiko
Itoko (18831953) by Nobu married Shijo Ryuai
Danshi (18841884) by Nobu
Yashi (18851886) by Nobu
Yoshiko (18911891) by Nobu
Kaneko (18751875) by Nobu
Genji (18711872) by Nobu
Takuma (18731873) by Nobu
Kaito (18711872) by Saga
Tokugawa Kyoko (18731893) married Tokugawa Satotaka (18561941) by Saga
Tokugawa Tetsuko (18751921) married Tokugawa Satotoshi by Saga
Hitoshi (18781878)
Ryohime (18801880)
Tokugawa Eiko (18871924) married Tokugawa Satotaka
Tokugawa Yoshihisa (18841922) by Saga
Tokugawa Atsushi (18741930) by Nobu
Tokugawa Makoto (18871968) by Nobu
Katsu Kuwashi (18881932) by Saga
Ikeda Nakahiro (18771948) inherited Tottori Domain by Saga
Hachisuka Fudeko (18761907) married Hachisuka Masaaki by Nobu
Tokugawa Tsuneko (18821939) married Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu by Saga

Shogun (1866 - 1867)[edit]

The French military mission to Japan, invited by Tokugawa Yoshinobu for the modernization of his forces, in
1867

After the death of Tokugawa Iemochi in 1866, Yoshinobu was chosen to succeed him, and became
the 15th shogun.[14] He was the only Tokugawa shogun to spend his entire tenure outside of Edo: he
never set foot in Edo Castle as shogun.[15] Immediately upon Yoshinobu's ascension as shogun,
major changes were initiated. A massive government overhaul was undertaken to initiate reforms
that would strengthen the Tokugawa government. In particular, assistance from the Second French
Empire was organized, with the construction of the Yokosuka arsenal under Lonce Verny, and the
dispatch of a French military mission to modernize the armies of the bakufu.[16]
The national army and navy, which had already been formed under Tokugawa command, were
strengthened by the assistance of the Russians, and the Tracey Mission provided by the British
Royal Navy. Equipment was also purchased from the United States.[17] The outlook among many was
that the Tokugawa shogunate was gaining ground towards renewed strength and power; however, it
would fall in less than a year.

Boshin War (186869)[edit]

Main article: Boshin War
Fearing the renewed strengthening of the Tokugawa shogunate under a strong and wise ruler,
samurai from Satsuma, Chsh and Tosa formed an alliance to counter it. Under the banner
of sonn ji ("revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians!") coupled with a fear of the new Shogun as
the "Rebirth of Ieyasu" who would continue to usurp the power of the Emperor, they worked to bring
about an end to the shogunate, though they varied in their approaches. In particular, Tosa was more
moderate; it proposed a compromise whereby Yoshinobu would resign as shogun, but preside over
a new national governing council composed of various daimys. To this end, Yamanouchi Toyonori,
the lord of Tosa, together with his advisor, Got Shjir, petitioned Yoshinobu to resign in order to
make this possible.[18]

Tokugawa Yoshinobu with rifle

Tokugawa Yoshinobu in later life

On November 9, 1867, Yoshinobu tendered his resignation to the Emperor and formally stepped
down ten days later, returning governing power to the Emperor.[19] He then withdrew from Kyoto
to Osaka. However, Satsuma and Chsh, while supportive of a governing council of daimys, were
opposed to Yoshinobu leading it.[18] They secretly obtained an imperial edict[18] calling for the use of
force against Yoshinobu (later shown to be a forgery)[20] and moved a massive number of Satsuma
and Chsh troops into Kyoto.[21] There was a meeting called at the imperial court, where Yoshinobu
was stripped of all titles and land,[22] despite having taken no action that could be construed as
aggressive or criminal. Any who would have opposed this were not included in the
meeting.[21] Yoshinobu opposed this action, and composed a message of protest, to be delivered to
the imperial court;[23] at the urging of the leaders of Aizu, Kuwana, and other domains, and in light of
the immense number of Satsuma and Chsh troops in Kyoto, he dispatched a large body of troops
to convey this message to the court.[24]
When the Tokugawa forces arrived outside Kyoto, they were refused entry, and were attacked by
Satsuma and Chsh troops, starting the Battle of TobaFushimi, the first clash of the Boshin
War.[25] Though the Tokugawa forces had a distinct advantage in numbers, Yoshinobu abandoned
his army in the midst of the fight once he realized the Satsuma and Choshu forces raised the
Imperial banner, and escaped to Edo.[26] He placed himself under voluntary confinement, and
indicated his submission to the imperial court. However, a peace agreement was reached
wherein Tayasu Kamenosuke, the young head of a branch of the Tokugawa family, was adopted
and made Tokugawa family head;[27] On April 11, Edo Castle was handed over to the imperial
army,[28][29] and the city spared from all-out war.
Together with Kamenosuke (who took the name Tokugawa Iesato), Yoshinobu moved to Shizuoka,
the place to which Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of Tokugawa shogunate, had also retired, centuries
earlier. Iesato was made the daimy of the new Shizuoka Domain, but lost this title a few years later,
when the domains were abolished.
Many of the hatamoto also relocated to Shizuoka; a large proportion of them did not find adequate
means to support themselves. As a result, many of them resented Yoshinobu, some of them to the
point of wanting him dead.[30] Yoshinobu was aware of this, and was so afraid of assassination that
he redesigned his sleeping arrangement to confuse any potential assassin.[31]
Later life[edit]
Living a life in quiet retirement, Yoshinobu indulged in many hobbies, including oil painting, archery,
hunting, photography, and cycling.[32]Some of Yoshinobu's photographs have been published in
recent years by his great-grandson, Yoshitomo.[33]
In 1902, the Meiji Emperor allowed him to reestablish his own house as a Tokugawa branch (bekke)
with the highest rank in the peerage, that of prince (kshaku), for his loyal service to Japan.[34] He
took a seat in the House of Peers, resigning in 1910. Tokugawa Yoshinobu died on November 21,
1913, at 4:10 pm and is buried in Yanaka Cemetery, Tokyo.
On 9 January 1896 his ninth daughter Tsuneko Tokugawa (18821939) married Prince Fushimi
Hiroyasu, a second cousin to both Emperor Shwa and Empress Kjun and nephew of Prince Kan'in
Kotohito.
On 26 December 1911 his granddaughter Kikuko Tokugawa was born. She married Prince
Takamatsu, the brother of Emperor Shwa, to become Princess Takamatsu.

Honors[edit]
With information from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia

Prince (3 June 1902)

Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (30 April 1908)[35]
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers (22 November 1913;
posthumous)
Order of precedence[edit]

Third rank (first day, 12th month of the fourth year of Koka (1847))
Second rank (10th day, 12th month of the first year of Keio (1865))
Senior second rank (fifth day, 12th month of the second year of Keio (1866); degraded 28th day,
ninth month of the second year of Meiji (1869))
Fourth rank (appointed 6 January 1872, following degradation in 1869)
Senior second rank (18 May 1880, restored)
Junior first rank (20 June, 1888)

Eras of Yoshinobu's bakufu[edit]

The years in which Yoshinobu was Shgun are more specifically identified by more than one era
name or neng.

Kei (18651868)
Meiji (18681912)

Ancestry[edit]
[show]Ancestors of Tokugawa Yoshinobu

Patrilineal descent[edit]

[show]Patrilineal descent
See also[edit]
Late Tokugawa shogunate
Meiji Restoration
Tokugawa Yoshinobu-ke

Notes[edit]
1. Jump up^ Takano, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, p. 26. Sons of the lord of Mito did not bear the name
Tokugawa unless they themselves became the next lord.
2. Jump up^ Tokugawa, Tokugawa yonbyakunen no naishobanashi, pp. 138140.
3. Jump up^ Takano, p. 28.
4. Jump up^ Takano, p. 38.
5. Jump up^ Takano, p. 48.
6. Jump up^ Borton, Japan's Modern Century, p. 40.
7. Jump up^ Borton, pp. 3940.
8. Jump up^ Takano, pp. 1213.
9. Jump up^ Murray, Japan, p. 362; Kobiyama, Matsudaira Katamori no shgai, p. 75; Bolitho, Collapse
of the Tokugawa Bakufu, p. 9.
10. Jump up^ Kobiyama, p. 75.
11. Jump up^ Takano, pp. 132133.
12. Jump up^ Kobiyama, pp. 8487; Totman, p. 45; Takano, p. 20.
13. Jump up^ See Japan 18531864, Or, Genji Yume Monogatari, trans. by Ernest Mason Satow.
(Tokyo: Naigai Shuppan Kyokai), for more.
14. Jump up^ Borton, p. 63.
15. Jump up^ Tokugawa, Tokugawa yonbyakunen no naishobanashi, vol. 2, p. 162.
16. Jump up^ Sims, French Policy Towards the Bakufu and Meiji Japan, 185495, p. 236.
17. Jump up^ Treat, Japan and the United States: 18531921, p. 89
18. ^ Jump up to:a b c Beasley, The History of Modern Japan, p. 96.
19. Jump up^ Takano, p. 256.
20. Jump up^ Yamakawa, Aizu Boshin Senshi, pp. 79.
21. ^ Jump up to:a b Beasley, p. 97.
22. Jump up^ Beasley, p. 97; Yamakawa, Aizu Boshin Senshi, p. 148151.
23. Jump up^ Totman, p. 416. For a copy of the original text of the message, see Yamakawa, pp. 8990.
24. Jump up^ Totman, p. 417.
25. Jump up^ Sasaki, pp. 2324; Bolitho, pp. 420422.
26. Jump up^ Kobiyama, p. 124.
27. Jump up^ Griffis, The Mikado: Institution and Person, p. 141.
28. Jump up^ Takano, p. 267.
29. Jump up^ Tokyo, an administrative perspective. Tokyo Metropolitan Government. 1958. p. 21.
Retrieved 9 April 2011.
30. Jump up^ Tokugawa Munefusa, Tokugawa yonbyakunen no naisho banashi, vol. 1, p. 131
31. Jump up^ Tokugawa, pp. 131133
32. Jump up^ Tokugawa, p. 136-138.
33. Jump up^ For an example of Yoshinobu's photography, see: Tokugawa Yoshitomo, Tokugawa
Yoshinobu-ke e ykoso, p. 73.
34. Jump up^ Takano, p. 273.
35. Jump up^ Ibaraki Prefecture e-newsletter

References[edit]
 Beasley, William G. (1963). The modern history of Japan. (New York: Praeger).
Borton, Hugh (1955). Japan's Modern Century. (New York: The Ronald Press Company).
Griffis, William Elliot. (1915). The Mikado: Institution and Person. (Princeton: Princeton
University Press).
Kobiyama Rokur (2003). Matsudaira Katamori no shgai. (Tokyo: Shin Jinbutsu raisha).
Murray, David (1905). Japan. (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons).
Sasaki Suguru (1977). Boshin sens. (Tokyo: Chkron-shinsha).
Sims, Richard L. (1998). French Policy Towards the Bakufu and Meiji Japan, 185495. (London:
Routledge).
Takano Kiyoshi (1997). Tokugawa Yoshinobu: kindai Nihon no enshutsusha :
. (Tokyo: Nihon Hs Shuppan Kykai ).
Tokugawa Munefusa (2004). Tokugawa Yonhyaku-nen no naisho-banashi
Vol. 1. (Tokyo: Bungei-shunju).
Tokugawa Munefusa (2004). Tokugawa Yonhyaku-nen no naisho-banashi
Vol. 2: Raibaru tekish hen. (Tokyo: Bungei-shunju).
Tokugawa Yoshitomo (2003). Tokugawa Yoshinobu-ke ni Ykoso: Wagaya ni
tsutawaru aisubeki "Saigo no Shogun" no Yokogao
. (Tokyo: Bungei-shunju). ISBN 4-16-765680-9
Totman, Conrad (1980). The Collapse of the Tokugawa Bakufu, 18621868. (Honolulu:
University of Hawai'i Press)
Treat, Payson J. (1921). Japan and the United States: 18531921. (New York: Houghton Mifflin
Company).
Yamakawa Kenjir (1933). Aizu Boshin Senshi. (Tokyo: Tokyo Daigaku Shuppankai).