Everything about Tokugawa Yoshinobu totally explained
Tokugawa Yoshinobu (徳川 慶喜
Tokugawa Yoshinobu (also known as
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.
Early life
Tokugawa Yoshinobu was born in
Mito,
Hitachi Province, the seventh son of
Tokugawa Nariaki,
daimyo of Mito. Mito was one of the
gosanke, the three branch families of the Tokugawa clan which were eligible to be chosen as shogun.
Born with the name Matsudaira Shichirōma, he was brought up under strict, spartan supervision and tutelage. He was taught in the literary and
martial arts, as well as receiving a solid education in the principles of politics and government.
At the instigation of his father, Shichirōma was adopted by the
Hitotsubashi-Tokugawa family in order to have a better chance of succeeding to the shogunate. He became family head in 1847, coming of age that year, receiving court rank and a kutta title, and taking the name Yoshinobu. Upon the death of the 13th shogun,
Shogun Iesada, in 1858, Yoshinobu was nominated as a potential successor. 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. Soon after, during the
Ansei Purge, Yoshinobu and others who supported him were placed under
house arrest. Yoshinobu himself was made to retire from Hitotsubashi headship.
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, receiving the position soon afterwards. At the same time, his two closest allies,
Matsudaira Yoshinaga and
Matsudaira Katamori, were appointed to other high positions: Yoshinaga as, Katamori as . 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
Chōshū Domain. They were instrumental figures in the
kōbu-gattai political party, which sought a reconciliation between the shogunate and the imperial court.
In 1864, Yoshinobu, as commander of the imperial palace's defense, successfully defeated the Chōshū forces in their attempt to capture the imperial palace's
Hamaguri Gate. This was achieved by use of the forces of the
Aizu-
Satsuma coalition.
Shogun Yoshinobu (1866)
After the death of Tokugawa Iemochi in 1866, Yoshinobu was chosen to succeed him, and became the 15th shogun. He was the only shogun to have spent the entirety of his tenure outside of Edo; he'd never set foot in
Edo Castle as shogun.
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
Leonce Verny, and the dispatch of a
French military mission to modernize the armies of the
bakufu.
The national army and navy, which had already been formed under Tokugawa command, were strengthened by the assistance of the French, and military equipment was also purchased from the
United States. The outlook among many was that the Tokugawa shogunate was gaining ground towards renewed strength and power; however, it in fact would fall in less than a year.
Boshin War (1867–1869)
Fearing the renewed strengthening of the Tokugawa shogunate under a strong and wise ruler, samurai from Satsuma, Chōshū and
Tosa formed an alliance to counter it. Under the banner of
sonnō jōi ("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
daimyo. To this end,
Yamauchi Toyonori, the lord of Tosa, together with his advisor, Gotō Shōjirō, petitioned Yoshinobu to resign in order to make this possible.
Yoshinobu stepped down as shogun in late 1867, formally returning governing power to the Emperor. He then withdrew from Kyoto to
Osaka. However, Satsuma and Chōshū, while supportive of a governing council of daimyo, were opposed to Yoshinobu leading it. They secretly obtained an imperial edictcalling for the use of force against Yoshinobu (later shown to be a forgery) and moved a massive number of Satsuma and Chōshū troops into Kyoto. There was a meeting called at the imperial court, where Yoshinobu was stripped of all titles and land, 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. Yoshinobu opposed this action, and composed a message of protest, to be delivered to the imperial court; at the urging of men of Aizu, Kuwana, and other domains, and in light of the immense number of Satsuma and Chōshū troops in Kyoto, he dispatched a large body of troops to convey this message to the court.
When the Tokugawa forces arrived outside Kyoto, they were refused entry, and were attacked by Satsuma and Choshu troops, starting the
Battle of Toba-Fushimi, the first clash of the
Boshin War. Though the Tokugawa forces had a distinct advantage in numbers, Yoshinobu abandoned his army in the midst of the fight, and escaped to
Edo. 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; Edo Castle was handed over to the imperial army, 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
daimyō 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 didn't find adequate means to support themselves. As a result, many of them resented Yoshinobu, some of them to the point of wanting him dead. Yoshinobu was aware of this, and was so afraid of assassination that he redesigned his sleeping arrangement to confuse a potential assassin.
Later Life
Living a life in quiet retirement, Yoshinobu indulged in many hobbies, including oil-painting, archery, hunting, photography, and even cycling. Some of Yoshinobu's photographs have been published in recent years by his great-grandson,
Yoshitomo.
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 (
kōshaku), for his loyal service to Japan. Prince Tokugawa Yoshinobu [peer] died on November 21, 1913 at 4:10 pm.
Eras of Yoshinobu's bakufu
The years in which Ienari was shogun are more specifically identified by more than one
era name or
nengō.
Further Information
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