was the chief senior councilor (''

rōjū The , usually translated as ''Elder'', was one of the highest-ranking government posts under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. The term refers either to individual Elders, or to the Council of Elders as a whole; under the first two ''shō ...

'') in the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

of the Bakumatsu period at the time of the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry on his mission to open Japan to the outside world. Abe was instrumental in the eventual signing of the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854. Abe did not sign the treaty himself or participate in the negotiations in person; this was done by his plenipotentiary Hayashi Akira. His courtesy title was ''Ise-no-kami''.

Biography

Early life

Abe Masahiro was born in his family's residence outside Edo Castle. He was the 5th son of Abe Masakiyo, the 5th ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominal ...

'' of

Fukuyama Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Bingo Province and Bitchū Province in modern-day Hiroshima Prefecture.">DF_39-40_of_80">"Mizuno"_at_''Nobiliare_du_Japon'',_pp._35–36_[PDF_39-40_of_80/nowiki>_retrieved_2013-4- ...

. Upon his father's death in 1826, his elder brother Masayasu became ''daimyō'' of Fukuyama; Abe was moved to the domain's ''naka-yashiki'' ("middle residence") in Hongō, Edo (modern-day Bunkyō, Tokyo). However, in 1836, Masayasu adopted his brother as heir. Abe became clan leader and ''daimyō'' of Fukuyama upon his brother's retirement on December 25, 1836. In early 1837, he left Edo and made the long journey to Fukuyama to formally enter his domain. This would be the only time that Abe set foot in his domain, as his career as a bureaucrat within the Tokugawa shogunate eclipsed his obligations to return to Fukuyama under the ''

sankin-kōtai ''Sankin-kōtai'' ( ja, 参覲交代/参覲交替, now commonly written as ja, 参勤交代/参勤交替, lit=alternate attendance, label=none) was a policy of the Tokugawa shogunate during most of the Edo period of Japanese history.Jansen, M ...

'' system.

Career in the Tokugawa Shogunate

Abe was appointed to the post of ''

sōshaban were officials of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan. Conventional interpretations have construed this Japanese title as "master of ceremonies" Created in 1632, this '' bakufu'' title identified an official selected from the ranks of the ...

'' (master of ceremony) on September 1, 1838; on May 15, 1840, he received the post of ''

jisha-bugyō was a "commissioner" or an "overseer" of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan. Appointments to this prominent office were always ''fudai daimyōs'', the lowest-ranking of the shogunate offices to be so restricted.Beasley, William G. (1955) ...

'' (Magistrate of shrines and temples). One of his acts was to order the destruction of the Nichiren sect temple of Kannō-ji, whose priests had become involved in a scandal with ladies of the '' Ōoku'' under Shōgun

Tokugawa Ienari Tokugawa Ienari ( ja, 徳川家斉, November 18, 1773 – March 22, 1841) was the eleventh and longest-serving ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan who held office from 1787 to 1837.Hall, John Whitney ''et al.'' (1991) ''Early Modern J ...

. In September 1843, Abe became ''rōjū'' at the young age of 25, moving his residence to the Abe family's estate at Tatsunokuchi, outside Edo Castle (modern day Ōtemachi). He became ''rōjū shuza'' (老中首座, presiding senior councillor) in September 1845, after

Mizuno Tadakuni was a ''daimyō'' during late-Edo period Japan, who later served as chief senior councilor (''Rōjū'') in service to the Tokugawa shogunate. He is remembered for having instituted the Tenpō Reforms. Biography Mizuno Tadakuni was the second so ...

lost his standing over the failure of the

Tenpō Reforms The were an array of economic policies introduced between 1841 and 1843 by the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan. These reforms were efforts to resolve perceived problems in military, economic, agricultural, financial and religious systems. The changes ...

. Abe held this position throughout the administrations of Shōgun Tokugawa Ieyoshi and Tokugawa Iesada, working to unify shogunal politics. He supervised the reconstruction of the western enceinte of Edo Castle in 1852, and was awarded an increase of 10,000 '' koku'' in income for this service. In the meantime, he kept the shogunate abreast of foreign political developments, such as the outbreak of the First Opium War, which provided an impetus to strengthen the nation’s coastal defenses to help maintain the

isolationist Isolationism is a political philosophy advocating a national foreign policy that opposes involvement in the political affairs, and especially the wars, of other countries. Thus, isolationism fundamentally advocates neutrality and opposes entan ...

policies of the time.

The Perry expedition and aftermath

In 1852,

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Commodore

Matthew Perry Matthew Langford Perry (born August 19, 1969) is an American-Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004). As well as starring in the short-lived television series '' St ...

was sent in command of a squadron of warships by American President Millard Fillmore. President Fillmore had forbidden Perry to use threats or force. As a lawyer, Fillmore believed that the Shogunate would respond reasonably to American concerns about U.S. mariners washed up on Japanese shores and the need to repatriate Japanese fishermen washed up on American shores. Nevertheless, Perry, who hailed from a military family and himself had been hardened by combat in war, chose to use bluffing tactics in flagrant violation of Fillmore's wishes. Perry arrived with a squadron of four warships at Uraga, at the mouth of Edo Bay in the evening of July 8, 1853. After refusing Japanese demands that he proceed to Nagasaki, which was the designated port for foreign contact, and after threatening to continue directly on to Edo, the nation’s capital and to burn it to the ground if necessary, he was allowed to land at nearby Kurihama on July 14 and to deliver his letter. Despite years of debate on the isolation policy, Perry's visit created great controversy within the highest levels of the Tokugawa shogunate. The Shōgun, Tokugawa Ieyoshi, died days after Perry’s departure, and was succeeded by his sickly young son, Tokugawa Iesada, leaving effective administration in the hands of the Council of Elders (''rōjū'') led by Abe Masahiro. Abe felt that it was currently impossible for Japan to resist the American demands by military force, and yet was reluctant to take any action on his own authority for such an unprecedented situation. Attempting to legitimize any decision taken, Abe polled all of the

for their opinions. This was the first time that the Tokugawa shogunate had allowed its decision-making to be a matter of public debate, and had the unforeseen consequence of portraying the Shogunate as weak and indecisive. The results of the poll also failed to provide Abe with an answer, as of the 61 known responses, 19 were in favor of accepting the American demands, and 19 were opposed. Of the remainder, 14 gave vague responses expressing concern of possible war, seven suggested making temporary concessions and two advised that they would simply go along with whatever was decided.W. G. Beasley, ''The Meiji Restoration'', pp. 90–95. Perry returned again on February 13, 1854, with an even larger force of eight warships and made it clear that he would not leave until a treaty was signed. Negotiations began on March 8 and proceeded for around one month. The Japanese side gave in to almost all of Perry's demands, with the exception of a commercial agreement modeled after previous American treaties with China, which Perry agreed to defer to a later time. The main controversy centered on the selection of the ports to open, with Perry adamantly rejecting Nagasaki. The Convention of Kanagawa was signed at

Kanagawa is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanagaw ...

, adjacent to the site of the future city of

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

on March 31. Abe did not sign the treaty himself or participate in the negotiations in person; this was done by his plenipotentiary Hayashi Akira. Similar treaties were concluded with

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

soon afterwards. Abe came under criticism from the '' tozama daimyō'', the Imperial Court and various factions within the government for perceived appeasement to the foreign powers. In September 1855, he was forced to resign his post, and was replaced by Hotta Masayoshi in October.Bolitho. p. 233.

Later life and death

Despite his resignation as ''rōjū shuza'', Abe remained as one of the ''rōjū'' and continued to have significant influence for the rest of his life. Despite the precarious state of finances in Fukuyama Domain, he built a domain academy to teach Western sciences and to modernize his military. He also supported the notion of government selection of talented men, even of low birth, to serve as workers or bureaucrats. He was a driving force behind the establishment of the Nagasaki Naval Training Center and the revocation of restrictions on construction of large ocean-going vessels. Abe died on August 6, 1857, at the age of 39, possibly due to cancer, and was succeeded by his nephew, Abe Masanori (the first Abe daimyō of Shirakawa Domain, Abe Masanori.)

Notes

References

* China Through Western Eyes * * Bolitho, Harold (1974). ''Treasures Among Men: The Fudai Daimyo in Tokugawa Japan.'' New Haven: Yale University Press.
OCLC 185685588
* * Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). ''Japan Encyclopedia.'' Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...

.
OCLC 48943301
* Mass, Jeffrey P. and William B. Hauser, eds. (1985). ''The Bakufu in Japanese History,'' (Harold Bolitho, "Abe Masahiro and the New Japan"). Stanford: Stanford University Press.