Tokugawa Yoshinobu — The Last Shogun Who Returned Power to the Emperor
The man who, with his own hand, brought down the curtain on an Edo shogunate of more than 260 years was the fifteenth shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu. The decision of the last shogun turned the course of Japanese history.
Contents
The road to shogun
Tokugawa Yoshinobu was born in 1837 into the Mito branch of the Tokugawa house and was later adopted into the Hitotsubashi family. Known for his intelligence, he rose early to prominence as a central figure in shogunal politics.
After the arrival of the Black Ships, Yoshinobu took the helm in an unsteady political world. In 1866 he at last took the office of shogun.
The Taisei Hōkan
The greatest decision Yoshinobu made as shogun was the Taisei Hōkan — the return of political power. In 1867 he offered to return governing authority to the imperial court.
He is thought to have envisioned shifting power without armed conflict, with the Tokugawa house still playing a defined role under the new order. Encouraged in part by figures like Sakamoto Ryōma, this move aimed at a bloodless transfer of power.
The Battle of Toba–Fushimi
Events, however, did not unfold as Yoshinobu intended. Tensions with the new government rose until the Battle of Toba–Fushimi broke out.
As the old shogunate's forces fell into disadvantage, Yoshinobu withdrew to Edo and showed his submission to the new government. This led to the later bloodless surrender of Edo.
A quiet retirement
After the Restoration, Yoshinobu withdrew from public life and spent a long retirement in Shizuoka and elsewhere. The last shogun, who survived a turbulent age while devoting himself to his hobbies, died in 1913.
As the man who saw the shogunate to its end, Yoshinobu's decisions are still judged in many ways. Yet the weight of taking on the role of ending the warrior age is beyond measure.
The group portrait of those who moved the Bakumatsu can be traced in Bakumatsu Figures.
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