Born at the Mito domain residence in Koishikawa, Edo, the third son of the seventh lord, Tokugawa Harutoshi. Mito had valued learning since the days of Tokugawa Mitsukuni, and Nariaki was raised with a strict education.
When his elder brother Narinobu died without an heir, he became the ninth lord of Mito at 29. Some in the domain opposed him, but reform-minded men such as Fujita Tōko strongly backed Nariaki.
From around this time he promoted able retainers such as Fujita Tōko and Aizawa Seishisai and began sweeping domain reforms: restoring finances, resurveying the fields and strengthening the military.
To prepare for foreign ships, he held large-scale military drills known as oitorigari. Nariaki stressed early on the need for defense against foreign powers, and later even collected temple bells to cast cannon.
He opened the domain school Kōdōkan to teach learning and martial arts to samurai children. The next year he created Kairakuen garden as a place to enjoy together with the people. Kairakuen is still famous for its plum blossoms.
The shogunate censured him for demolishing temples and holding gun drills, and ordered him to retire as lord and stay in confinement. Thanks to his supporters' efforts, however, he was later allowed to take part in domain affairs again.
His seventh son Shichirōmaro (later Tokugawa Yoshinobu) was adopted into the Hitotsubashi family. The brilliant Yoshinobu drew attention as a future candidate for shogun, and Nariaki placed great hopes in him.
When Perry arrived, the rōjū Abe Masahiro called on him to advise the shogunate on coastal defense. Nariaki argued fiercely for driving out the foreigners and became an idol for the shishi who preached sonnō jōi.
In the great Ansei earthquake, Fujita Tōko, his right-hand man, died at the domain residence in Edo. Tōko is said to have been crushed while shielding his mother. It was a heavy blow to Nariaki.
When the tairō Ii Naosuke signed the Harris Treaty without the emperor's permission, Nariaki went to Edo Castle on an unscheduled day to protest. He also opposed Naosuke by backing Yoshinobu in the dispute over the shogunal succession, and was ordered into confinement.
In the Ansei Purge he was given the still heavier sentence of permanent house arrest and was sent to Mito.
In the year Naosuke was struck down by masterless samurai from Mito in the Sakuradamon Incident, Nariaki too died suddenly of illness in Mito. Later called Rekkō, he had ideas that greatly influenced the sonnō jōi movement of the Bakumatsu years.
Tokugawa MitsukuniAizawa SeishisaiMatthew C. PerryFujita TokoIi NaosukeAbe MasahiroTokugawa YoshinobuHotta Masayoshi
Utagawa HiroshigeUtagawa KuniyoshiTakashima ShūhanUdagawa YōanEgawa HidetatsuKawaji ToshiakiraTakano ChōeiTownsend Harris
People of the Edo period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.