Who was this person?
The last (15th) shogun of the Edo shogunate. A son of Tokugawa Nariaki, lord of Mito, he headed the Hitotsubashi house and served as the shogun’s guardian before becoming shogun in 1866. In 1867 he returned governing power to the imperial court (Taisei Hōkan), and after the battle of Toba–Fushimi the next year he withdrew to Edo in submission. In the Meiji era he lived quietly in Shizuoka, pursuing hobbies, and died in 1913.
| Name | Tokugawa Yoshinobu (徳川慶喜) |
|---|---|
| Born–died | 1837 – 1913 |
| Period | Late Edo–Taishō |
| Birthplace | Mito domain residence in Koishikawa, Edo (now Bunkyō, Tokyo) |
| Also known as | Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu, Shichirōmaro (childhood name) |
| Main achievements |
|
Born in Edo, the seventh son of the Mito lord Tokugawa Nariaki, and strictly raised in Mito.
He succeeded to the Hitotsubashi house, a branch of the shogunal family, and won a reputation for brilliance.
He was backed as heir to the 13th shogun, but Ii Naosuke and others chose Tokugawa Yoshitomi (Iemochi). The next year he was confined in the Ansei Purge.
Pardoned, he became guardian to the shogun Iemochi and handled negotiations with the court in Kyoto.
Charged with guarding the imperial palace, he fought the Chōshū army in the Kinmon Incident.
Iemochi died and Yoshinobu became the 15th shogun, pushing military and political reforms with French help.
At Nijō castle in Kyoto he announced the return of political power to the court. The Edo shogunate, some 260 years old, came to an end, and the court then proclaimed the restoration of imperial rule.
When the former shogunate army lost at Toba-Fushimi, he returned from Osaka to Edo by ship. Signalling submission to the new government, he confined himself at Kan'ei-ji in Ueno.
Freed from confinement, he lived quietly in Shizuoka for nearly thirty years, enjoying hobbies such as photography, hunting and cycling.
He moved to Tokyo and the next year met Emperor Meiji; he was later made a prince.
He died in Tokyo at 76. The last shogun of Edo, he had lived to see the Meiji and Taishō eras.
A. The last (15th) shogun of the Edo shogunate. A son of Tokugawa Nariaki, lord of Mito, he headed the Hitotsubashi house and served as the shogun’s guardian before becoming shogun in 1866. In 1867 he returned governing power to the imperial court (Taisei Hōkan), and after the battle of Toba–Fushimi the next year he withdrew to Edo in submission. In the Meiji era he lived quietly in Shizuoka, pursuing hobbies, and died in 1913.
A. Period: Late Edo–Taishō. Born in 1837, died in 1913.
A. Tokugawa Yoshinobu was born in Mito domain residence in Koishikawa, Edo (now Bunkyō, Tokyo).
A. In 1867 Tokugawa Yoshinobu offered to return governing power to the imperial court, and the court accepted. Urged by Yamauchi Yōdō of Tosa and others, it ended shogunal rule and was followed by the proclamation restoring imperial rule.
See also: Wikipedia (ja) / Wikipedia (en) / Wikipedia (fr) / Wikipedia (zh) / Wikidata
Follow this life (autoplay)Tokugawa NariakiIi NaosukeYamauchi Yōdō (Toyoshige)Komatsu Tatewaki (Kiyokado)Nishi AmaneSanjō SanetomiGoto ShojiroYamaoka Tesshū
Sakamoto RyōmaAtsuhime (Tenshō-in)Matsudaira KatamoriYamaoka TesshūNakaoka ShintarōTakasugi ShinsakuKusaka GenzuiOkita Sōji
People of the Edo period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.