HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

was the 13th ''
shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...
'' of the
Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...
of
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. He held office for five years from 1853 to 1858. He was physically weak and was therefore considered by later historians to have been unfit to be ''shōgun''. His reign marks the beginning of the
Bakumatsu were the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate Meiji Restoration, ended. Between 1853 and 1867, under foreign diplomatic and military pressure, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a Feudali ...
period.


Early years

Iesada was born in Edo Castle as Masanosuke (政之助)—the fourth son of the 12th ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Ieyoshi with his concubine, known as Honjuin. As most of Ieyoshi's children died in infancy or before coming of age, Iesada was appointed heir at a very early age, but his interaction with people was very restricted in an effort to prevent contracting any illnesses. Some historians have theorized that he may have suffered from
cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...
. He had suffered from
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
in early childhood, which left his face pockmarked. On the death of Tokugawa Ienari in 1841, concerns were raised on the fitness of Iesada as heir, with
Tokugawa Yoshinobu Kazoku, Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned his position as shogun in late 1867, while ai ...
named as a potential successor. However, this was strongly opposed by the '' rōjū'' Abe Masahiro, and Iesada remained heir.


''Shōgun'' (1853–1858)

Iesada became ''shōgun'' on the sudden death of his father, Tokugawa Ieyoshi at the height of the Black Ships episode. Already in poor health, he took no active role in political affairs, leaving negotiations with the Americans in the hand of Abe Masahiro. The Convention of Kanagawa was signed on 31 March 1854. Abe resigned his post shortly afterwards, and was replaced as leader of the ''rōjū'' by Hotta Masayoshi. On 4–7 November 1854, the Great Nankaidō
earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...
s and
tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
s killed 80,000 people. This was followed by the 1854 Tōkai earthquake on 23 December 1854. The earthquake struck primarily in the Tōkai region but destroyed houses as far away as in Edo. The accompanying
tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
caused damage along the entire coast from the Bōsō Peninsula in modern-day
Chiba Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama ...
to Tosa Province (modern-day Kōchi Prefecture)._____. (2007). in , p. 253. The earthquake and tsunami also struck Shimoda on
Izu peninsula The is a mountainous peninsula with a deeply indented coastline to the west of Tokyo on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the island of Honshu, Japan, the largest of the four main islands of Japan. Formerly known as Izu Province, Izu peninsu ...
; and because the port had just been designated as the prospective location for a U.S. consulate, some construed the natural disasters as demonstration of the displeasure of the ''kami''. The 1854 Nankai earthquake followed on 24 December 1854, killing over 10,000 people from the Tōkai region down to Kyushu, and the 1855 earthquake in Edo, one of the Ansei great earthquakes, with resulting fire damage and loss of life. On 18 December 1856, he married Princess Atsu, adopted daughter of Shimazu Nariakira and
Konoe Tadahiro Prince List of Japanese court ranks, positions and hereditary titles, Senior first rank , son of Konoe Motosaki, Motosaki, was a ''kugyō'' or Japanese court noble of the late Edo period (1603–1868). He held a regent position Sesshō and Kampak ...
. She was known as Midaidokoro Atsuko (first-wife Atsuko). On 21 October 1857, Iesada received the newly arrived American Consul Townsend Harris in an audience at Edo Castle. Under Hotta Masayoshi's advice, Iesada ultimately signed the Harris Treaty of 1858 (the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between Japan and the United States),Beasley, William G. (1955). ''Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853–1868,'' p. 322. and subsequently other Unequal Treaties (including the Anglo-Japanese Friendship Treaty, and Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce) which broke the '' sakoku'' (isolation) policy and opened Japan to foreign influences. Kōmei, the reigning
emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
at the time, was a major opponent of his policies. This strengthened the '' sonnō jōi'' movement. Ii Naosuke was appointed '' tairō'' from 23 April 1858. A widespread
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
outbreak from 1858 to 1860 is believed to have killed between 100,000 and 200,000 people in Edo alone. Iesada died childless in 1858, possibly from the cholera outbreak. His grave is at the Tokugawa clan temple of Kan'ei-ji in Ueno. His buddhist name was Onkyoin. Political factions within the '' bakufu'' clashed over the succession. Tokugawa Nariaki of Mito, Satsuma and others wanted to see
Tokugawa Yoshinobu Kazoku, Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned his position as shogun in late 1867, while ai ...
as his successor, while the Ōoku and shogunate officials including Ii Naosuke supported
Tokugawa Iemochi (17 July 1846 – 29 August 1866) was the 14th '' shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, who held office from 1858 to 1866. During his reign there was much internal turmoil as a result of the "re-opening" of Japan to western nations. I ...
, and succeeded. These quarrels ended in the Ansei Purge.


Health Problem

In the difficult situation at the end of the Edo period, the problem of the shogunate before Iesada took office immediately after he took office, and Iesada's constitution was very weak when he succeeded him, and he was even said to be a "wasted person". The abolition refers to the possibility that he may suffer from traumatic cerebral palsy, as well as the performance of the general.


Family

Iesada was initially married to Princess Takatsukasa Atsuko (1823–1848), the daughter of '' kampaku'' Takatsukasa Masahiro in 1842. However, she died of smallpox without having given birth to an heir. His second official wife was Princess Ichijō Hideko (1825–1850), daughter of Ichijō Tadayoshi in 1849. She died of illness less than a year later. His third marriage was to Princess Atsu (1836–1883), the adopted daughter of the daimyō of Satsuma, Shimazu Nariakira. However, none of these marriages produced any children. Before he died, he adopted his cousin as his son, Tokugawa Yoshitomi (later
Tokugawa Iemochi (17 July 1846 – 29 August 1866) was the 14th '' shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, who held office from 1858 to 1866. During his reign there was much internal turmoil as a result of the "re-opening" of Japan to western nations. I ...
). * Father: Tokugawa Ieyoshi * Mother: Honjuin (1807–1885) * Wives: ** Takaatsukasa Atsuko (1823–1848) later Tenryuin ** Ichijo Hideko (1825–1850) later Sunjoin ** Shimazu Atsuko or Konoe Sumiko, later Tenshō-in * Concubine: Oshiga no Kata (d. 1857) later Hoken'in * Adopted son:
Tokugawa Iemochi (17 July 1846 – 29 August 1866) was the 14th '' shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, who held office from 1858 to 1866. During his reign there was much internal turmoil as a result of the "re-opening" of Japan to western nations. I ...


Eras of Iesada's ''bakufu''

The years in which Iesada was ''shōgun'' are more specifically identified by more than one era name, or '' nengō''. * '' Kaei'' (1848–1854) * '' Ansei'' (1854–1860)


Ancestry


In fiction

Tokugawa Iesada is featured in the 2008
NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...
taiga drama is the name NHK gives to the annual year-long historical drama television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white ''Hana no Shōgai'', starring kabuki actor Onoe Shoroku II and Awashima Chikage, the network regul ...
'' Atsuhime'', which chronicles the life of his wife Tenshō-in. He is portrayed by Masato Sakai. Iesada's portrayal in this series (unlike most other characterizations of him as an imbecile),See, for example, other contemporary taiga dramas such as '' Shinsengumi!'', '' Ryōmaden'' and '' Yae no Sakura'' which exaggerates his oddities and the apocryphal story of him chasing a duck within the Edo Castle compound. presents a romanticized (and largely-fictionalized) image him as a reasonable, if weak-willed individual, whose interactions with his wife Atsuhime pushed him to exert effort into his work as ''
shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...
''.


Notes


References

* Jansen, Marius B. and John Whitney Hall, eds. (1989)
''The Cambridge History of Japan: The Nineteenth Century''
Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...
. . * Mogues, Alfred de.
''Recollections of Baron Gros's Embassy to China and Japan in 1857–58''
London: Richard Griffin and Company. 1860. . * Ravina, Mark (2004)
''The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori''
Hobokin, New Jersey:
John Wiley & Sons John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Publishing, publishing company that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company was founded in 1807 and pr ...
. ; . * Totman, Conrad (1967)
''Politics in the Tokugawa Bakufu, 1600–1843''
Cambridge:
Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...
. .


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tokugawa, Iesada 1824 births 1858 deaths 19th-century shōguns Tokugawa shōguns Tokugawa clan