Who was this person?
The fourteenth shōgun of the Edo shogunate. Born at the Kii domain residence in Edo as the son of the Kii lord, he became lord of Kii as a small child. After a succession struggle he became shōgun in 1858 and, to unite court and shogunate, married Kazunomiya, sister of Emperor Kōmei. He was the first shōgun since Iemitsu to go to Kyoto, but died of illness at Osaka Castle during the second Chōshū expedition.
| Name | Tokugawa Iemochi (徳川家茂) |
|---|---|
| Born–died | 1846 – 1866 |
| Period | Late Edo (Bakumatsu) |
| Birthplace | Kii domain residence, Edo |
| Main achievements |
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He was born at the Kii domain residence in Edo as the son of Tokugawa Narimichi, lord of Kii. His childhood name was Kikuchiyo. His father Narimichi had died shortly before he was born. His grandfather was the eleventh shogun Ienari, and he was raised as a child of a line close to the shogunal house.
When his uncle, the lord of Kii, died, the still very young Kikuchiyo became the thirteenth lord of the Kii domain, later taking the name Yoshitomi. As head of the Kii Tokugawa, one of the three senior branch houses, he grew up supported by his retainers.
The thirteenth shogun Iesada had no children, and the Hitotsubashi faction backing Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu fought the Nanki faction backing Yoshitomi over the succession. This shogunal succession dispute was settled in Yoshitomi's favor by Ii Naosuke, who had become tairō. Yoshitomi took the name Iemochi and became the fourteenth shogun.
The tairō Ii Naosuke, who had led the government, was attacked and killed outside the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle by rōnin from Mito. The shogunate's authority was badly shaken. It pursued kōbu gattai, union of court and shogunate, to restore itself, and plans moved forward for Iemochi to marry Princess Kazu, sister of Emperor Kōmei.
He married Princess Kazu, the emperor's sister. Princess Kazu's marriage into the shogunal house was a political match, but the two, born the same year, were devoted to each other, and Iemochi took no concubines. He is said to have been considerate toward her, and she in turn loved him deeply. That year the shogunate also carried out the Bunkyū Reforms of personnel and institutions.
He went up to Kyoto, the first shogun to do so in 229 years since the third shogun Iemitsu, and met Emperor Kōmei. The court pressed him hard to expel foreigners and forced him to promise a date for doing so. In Kyoto, swept by the storm of sonnō jōi, the young shogun was placed in a difficult position.
While inspecting the waters off Osaka aboard the shogunal warship Jundō Maru, he listened to Katsu Kaishū explain how warships worked and grasped it at once, impressing Katsu. When Katsu asked him to train naval personnel, he immediately ordered the founding of the Kobe Naval Training Center. Katsu came to revere Iemochi deeply.
Aboard the warship Shōkaku Maru, he made his second trip to Kyoto, the first time a shogun had traveled there by sea. The court appointed him Minister of the Right. That year the first of the Chōshū expeditions was launched to punish the Chōshū domain for the Kinmon Incident.
He went to Kyoto a third time to strike Chōshū again. But as foreign powers pressed for the opening of Hyōgo, he resented the court's punishment of shogunal rōjū and asked the court to let him resign as shogun. Persuaded by those around him, he withdrew, but the episode shows the depth of the young shogun's anguish.
During the second Chōshū expedition he fell ill at Osaka Castle and died, reportedly from worsening beriberi. Katsu Kaishū lamented in his diary that the Tokugawa house had fallen that day. The Nishijin brocade he had promised Princess Kazu as a gift reached her among his effects, and she is said to have grieved deeply at the sight of it.
A. The fourteenth shōgun of the Edo shogunate. Born at the Kii domain residence in Edo as the son of the Kii lord, he became lord of Kii as a small child. After a succession struggle he became shōgun in 1858 and, to unite court and shogunate, married Kazunomiya, sister of Emperor Kōmei. He was the first shōgun since Iemitsu to go to Kyoto, but died of illness at Osaka Castle during the second Chōshū expedition.
A. Period: Late Edo (Bakumatsu). Born in 1846, died in 1866.
A. Tokugawa Iemochi was born in Kii domain residence, Edo.
A. Though they married for the political purpose of uniting court and shogunate, they are said to have been an affectionate couple. Iemochi is said to have taken no concubines and to have cherished Kazunomiya. After Iemochi died at Osaka Castle, Kazunomiya became a nun and took the name Seikan'in-no-miya.
See also: Wikipedia (ja) / Wikipedia (en) / Wikipedia (fr) / Wikipedia (zh) / Wikidata
Follow this life (autoplay)Ii NaosukeKatsu KaishūPrincess KazuShimazu NariakiraKiyokawa HachirōKondō IsamiAtsuhime (Tenshō-in)Iwakura Tomomi
Yamaoka TesshūTokugawa YoshinobuNakaoka ShintarōTakasugi ShinsakuKusaka GenzuiOkita SōjiSaitō HajimePrincess Kazu
People of the Edo period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.