He was born the eldest son of Yamauchi Toyoaki in the Minami-tei Yamauchi family, a branch of the Tosa domain's ruling house. His childhood name was Terue. The Minami-tei family was a branch of one thousand five hundred koku, ranking lowest among the related houses. Lords' sons were usually raised at the Edo residence, but Terue grew up in the castle town of Kōchi and was not, in the normal course, in line to become lord.
The previous year the lord Toyoteru and his younger brother Toyoatsu, who succeeded him, died one after the other, and the Yamauchi house faced the danger of abolition. Toyoshige of the branch family was chosen and, with the mediation of Shimazu Nariakira, Date Munenari and others, became lord. But watched by the retired former lord and conservative senior retainers, he could not steer the government as he wished.
Following Perry's arrival, he had Yoshida Tōyō, known for his learning, draft a memorial to the shogunate. Taking this opportunity, he launched reforms of the domain government and promoted Tōyō to an important post. He is said to have consoled his frustrating early years as lord with drink and poetry, and he loved both so much that he later called himself the "Drunken Lord of the Whale Sea."
He associated with Matsudaira Shungaku of Fukui, Date Munenari of Uwajima and Shimazu Nariakira of Satsuma, and they were called the Four Wise Lords. They actively voiced views on shogunal politics and backed Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu as heir to the sickly shogun Tokugawa Iesada. But Ii Naosuke, who became tairō, chose Tokugawa Yoshitomi of Kii as heir and clashed head-on with Toyoshige and the others.
As Ii Naosuke's Ansei Purge went on, Toyoshige retired, handing the lordship to Toyonori, younger brother of the former lord, and later took the name Yōdō. Even so the shogunate ordered him into confinement, and he was shut up in his Edo residence. Barred from activity outside the domain, Yōdō could only watch from afar where Tosa's politics were heading.
As sonnō jōi ideas spread, in Tosa too the Tosa Loyalist Party led by Takechi Hanpeita grew stronger and clashed with Yoshida Tōyō, the trusted advocate of court–shogunate union whom Yōdō relied on. In this year Tōyō lost his life at the hands of party members. Afterward Takechi allied with conservative senior retainers and came to steer the domain's politics.
When the coup of 18th day of 8th month drove Chōshū out of Kyoto, the momentum of the sonnō jōi faction waned. Released from confinement, Yōdō returned to Tosa and, though retired, took control of the domain's politics. He then moved to crack down on the Tosa Loyalist Party, deeply involved in Tōyō's death, and had Takechi and others arrested.
After a long investigation, Yōdō ordered Takechi Hanpeita to commit ritual suicide, and the Tosa Loyalist Party was destroyed. Yōdō's stance, loyal to the emperor yet feeling indebted to the shogunate, looked hard to grasp to those around him. The quip that he was a loyalist when drunk and a shogunate supporter when sober reflected this complex position.
He joined the Council of Four Lords but, disliking Satsuma's lead in trying to weaken the shogunate, kept staying away. Meanwhile Gotō Shōjirō, having heard Sakamoto Ryōma's idea, proposed as his own plan that rule be returned to the court; Yōdō thought it an excellent plan and submitted it to shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu. Yoshinobu accepted, and the return of power to the court took place.
At the Kogosho Conference, which set the new government's course, Yōdō insisted strongly that the former shogun Yoshinobu be included and argued fiercely with Iwakura Tomomi and others. But it was decided that Yoshinobu should give up his rank and lands. In the following Battle of Toba–Fushimi he ordered his domain's troops not to join the fighting, but the soldiers fought on the new government's side.
After the Meiji Restoration he took an honorary post in the new government, but unable to get used to standing alongside people of the sort who had once been retainers and subjects, he resigned that year. He was, however, on good terms with Kido Takayoshi, and is said to have invited him to his residence to talk about the new government's future. Thereafter he lived in retirement in Tokyo.
His health was ruined by drink, and in the New Year of this year he suffered a stroke that paralyzed half his body. He recovered for a time under a German doctor's treatment, but died in Tokyo within the same year. Itagaki Taisuke lamented his last years, saying he had been by nature a very reserved man. His grave is in Shinagawa, Tokyo.
Matthew C. PerryShimazu NariakiraIi NaosukeYoshida TōyōSakamoto RyōmaTokugawa YoshinobuIwakura TomomiKido Takayoshi
John ManjirōKusumoto IneKawai TsugunosukeOguri TadamasaSaigō TakamoriMatsudaira Shungaku (Yoshinaga)Takechi Hanpeita (Zuizan)Yoshida Shōin
People of the Edo period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.