Date Munenari

Date Munenari

Date Munenari ( Japanese 伊達 宗 城 , first name also read Muneki; born September 1, 1818 in Uwajima ; died December 20, 1892 ) was a politically active daimyo during the late Edo and early Meiji periods .

life and work

Date Munenari was the 8th prince of the Uwajima-Han, a branch of the Date clan , from 1844 to 1858 . With an income of 100,000 Koku , he was one of the larger daimyo of the Edo period. As one of the Tozama daimyo who did not want to abolish the shogunate, but wanted to reform it, he supported the incumbent Shogun Tokugawa Keiki in the dispute over the Shogun succession. but also a strong critic of the Ansei Treaties. He was forced to give up political activity in the course of the Ansei purge in 1858/59. From then on he supported the Kōbu-gattei idea, but held back from active politics. Nevertheless, he exercised a great influence in Kioto (seat of the Tennō).

In his own domain, Date promoted Western knowledge in the 1860s. He set up cannons, took over the English military system and took up direct foreign trade via Nagasaki. After the Meiji Restoration in 1886, he initially took on the post of foreign minister and finance minister. After the dissolution of the domains, he no longer played a role in the now established cabinet government, but with Yamanouchi Toshishige (1827–1872), Shimazu Nariakira and Matsudaira Shungaku (1828–1890) one of the “four strong princes of Bakumatsu” (幕末 の 四 賢 侯, Bakumatsu no Shikenkō).

Remarks

1. ↑ In the dispute about the Shogun succession (将軍 継 嗣 問題, Shogun keishi mondai) it was about the succession of the childless deceased Shogun Tokugawa Iesada .
2. ↑ This refers to the Treaty of Kanagawa enforced by the USA and the treaties with other Western powers during the Ansei period (1855–1860).
3. ↑ Kōbu-gattei (公 武 合体), the idea was to achieve a balance between the (too) strong shogunate and the (too) weak emperor.

literature

• Hunter, Janet: Date Munenari (Muneki) . In: Concise Dictionary of Modern Japanese History. Kodansha International, 1984. ISBN 4-7700-1193-8 .

Web links

Commons : Date Munenari  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Date is the family name, Munenari the first name.