Tokugawa Iesada

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Tokugawa Iesada in classic court dress

Tokugawa Iesada ( 徳 川 家 定 ; * May 6, 1824 in the Palace of Edo ; † August 14, 1858 ) was the 13th Shogun of the Edo period in Japan from 1853 to 1858 . During his term of office, the opening of Japan, forced by imperialist powers, fell .

Life path

Tokugawa Iesaki ( 徳 川 家 祥 ) was the third birth son of Tokugawa Ienari (who had 20 surviving children). His mother was the Honju-in ( 本 寿 院 ). His health was weak. His childhood name was Masanosuke ( 政 之 助 ). At the age of four he had received second court rank and the title of Dainagon . He was adopted by his brother Tokugawa Ieyoshi . When he took up the post of Shogun at the age of 30, he soon changed his name to Iesada (1853/11/23) . He was greatly supported by council members Hotta Masayoshi and Abe Masahiro . Ii Naosuke later rose to become the leading politician in Bakufu .

Shortly after taking office, on August 21, 1853, the Russian admiral Putyatin appeared with four warships in Nagasaki . On July 14th, Matthew Perry landed in Uraga (today Yokosuka ) with 300 soldiers. Both negotiated independently, but in competition with each other, with the Bakufu , which was then forced to conclude the Treaty of Kanagawa (March 31, 1854; Nichi-Bei washin jōyaku ). On February 7, 1855, Putyatin reached an almost identical agreement with the Shimoda Treaty . The Dutch and British soon enforced similar treaties. These formed the starting point for the oppositional Sonnō jōi movement ("Adore the emperor, get away with the barbarians").

In November, Iesada received a stranger, the American Consul General Townsend Harris , in audience for the first time . The Shogun first appeared to strangers under the title Taikun ( 大君 , from the English tycoon ). In the following years various trade agreements followed , which put the Japanese side at a disadvantage.

In the course of his life he was given high court ranks commensurate with his position with corresponding positions that were meaningless in practice. His grave is in Kan'ei-ji of Ueno . Posthumously he was given the name Onkyō-in ( 温 恭 院 ), as well as the first real court rank with the office of Grand Chancellor ( Dajō Daijin ).

Women

His main wife was Takatsukasa Hideko ( 鷹 司 任 子 ). Concubines were the courtly Ichijō Hideko ( 一条 秀 子 ), the Chōshin-in and the Tensō-in from the house of Konoe , who died young. There was also a concubine.

Literature and Sources

Movie

The life of Iesada and his wife was dramatized by NHK in 2008 under the title Atsuhime .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Japanese calendar
  2. ↑ cf. Ramming, Martin; About the Russian share in the opening of Japan…; MOAG Volume 21, B; Tokyo 1926
Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Tokugawa is the family name, Iesada the first name.
personal data
SURNAME Tokugawa, Iesada
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 徳 川 家 定 (Japanese); Masanosuke (childhood name); 政 之 助 (Japanese, childhood name); Tokugawa Iesaki (before taking office); 徳 川 家 祥 (Japanese, before taking office); Imo Kubō (salutation in office); イ モ 公 方 (Japanese, salutation in office); Onkyō-in (posthumous); 温 恭 院 (Japanese, posthumous)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Shogun (1853-1858)
DATE OF BIRTH May 6, 1824
PLACE OF BIRTH Edo
DATE OF DEATH August 14, 1858