Ii Naosuke

In thisJapanese name,thesurnameisIi.

Ii Naosuke
Lord of Hikone
In office 1858–1860
Preceded by	Ii Naoaki
Succeeded by	Ii Naonori
Personal details
Born	(1815-11-29)November 29, 1815 Edo,Japan
Died	March 24, 1860(1860-03-24)(aged 44) Edo,Japan

Ii Naosuke(Giếng y thẳng bật,November 29, 1815 – March 24, 1860)was adaimyō(feudal lord) ofHikone(1850–1860) and alsoTairōof theTokugawa shogunate,Japan, a position he held from April 23, 1858, until his death, when he was assassinated in theSakuradamon Incidenton March 24, 1860. He is most famous for signing theHarris Treatywith theUnited States,granting access to ports for trade to American merchants and seamen andextraterritorialityto American citizens. He was also an enthusiastic and accomplished practitioner of theJapanese tea ceremony,in theSekishūryūstyle, and his writings include at least two works on the tea ceremony.

Under Ii Naosuke's guidance, the Tokugawa shogunate navigated past a particularly difficult conflict over the succession to the ailing and childlessTokugawa Iesada.Ii Naosuke managed to coerce the Tokugawa shogunate to the last brief resurgence of its power and position in Japanese society before the start of theMeiji period.Ii was assassinated in theSakuradamon incidentby a group of 17Mitoand 1Satsumasamurai on March 24, 1860.

Early life

Ii Naosuke was born on November 29, 1815, as the 14th son of Ii Naonaka, thedaimyōof Hikone by his concubine. Since Naosuke was the 14th son, he was not in line for a prominent position and early in his life was sent to aBuddhisttemple where he lived on a small stipend from his family. Fortunately for Ii, even though he was sent to the monastery, his 13 elder brothers were either adopted into other families who needed an heir, or died before they succeeded their father. Accordingly, when his father died in 1850, Ii was called back from the monastery and became thedaimyōof Hikone, afudaidomain, and took the family name of Ii. As thedaimyōof Hikone, Ii was one of thedaimyōswho were eligible for a position in thebakufu,the council of theshōgun's advisors. His childhood name was Tetsunosuke ( thiết chi giới ).

Ii became involved in national politics, rapidly rising to lead a coalition ofdaimyōs.In 1853 Ii put forward a proposal concerning the Japanese negotiations with U.S. CommodoreMatthew C. Perryduring Perry's mission to open Japan to the outside world. Realizing that Japan was faced with immediate military dangerIi argued that Japan should use their relationship with the Dutch to allow them to buy enough time to develop armed forces, which could resist invasion. Ii recommended that only the port ofNagasakibe opened for trade with foreignersIi, like Hotta Masayoshi, refused to remain silent while shogunal advisorAbe Masahiroappeased the anti-foreign party.Ii led thefudai daimyōsin their effort to bring about the downfall of Abe Masahiro and replace him withHotta Masayoshi.This alienated many reformistdaimyōs,leading them to strengthen their association with the Imperial court.

Family

• Father: Ii Naonaka (1766–1831)
• Mother: Otomi no Kata (1785–1819)
• Foster father: Ii Naoaki (1794–1850)
• Wife: Masako (1834–1885)
• Concubines:
  • Senda Shizue
  • Nishimura Sato
• Children:
  • Ii Naonoriby Nishimura Sato
  • daughter
  • Son
  • Chiyoko (1846–1927) marriedMatsudaira Yoritoshi
  • Ii Naotomo (1849–1887) by Masako
  • Ii Naoyasu (1851–1935) by Nishimura Sato
  • daughter
  • son
  • Manchiyo
  • daughter
  • son
  • Michiyo
  • daughter
  • Ii Naoyuki (1858–1927) by Masako
  • Tokiko married Aoyama Yukiyoshi

Tairō

Portrait of Ii Naosuke, painted by his third sonIi Naoyasu.Echigo ProvinceYoita Domain10th lord)Gotokuji(Setagaya-ku, Tokyo).Setagaya-ku designated tangible cultural property (historical material)

In 1858 after Hotta Masayoshi's disastrous attempt to obtain the emperor's approval for the Harris treaty the TokugawashōgunTokugawa Iesadachose Ii Naosuke to be theTairō(Great Elder); a decision influenced by the Kii Party.The position of Tairō, a post traditionally held by members of the Ii family, was rarely filled; in fact there had only been three Tairō between 1700 and Ii Naosuke's rise to power 158 years later. Ii's promotion to the post of Tairō annoyed many of theshinpandaimyōs(daimyōsrelated to theshōgun,they were unable to be members of the bakufu, but in the event of theshōgundying heirless the nextshōgunwould be chosen from one of theshinpanfamilies) including Tokugawa Nariaki. As the Tairō Ii Naosuke had both prestige and power second only to theshōgun;Ii also enjoyed the full backing of thefudai daimyōs.An intelligent and capable politician Ii Naosuke was determined to restore the power of the bakufu in Japanese policy making, both in a domestic and a foreign role.

Ii Naosuke regarded the Harris treaty, which Hotta Masayoshi had negotiated with the American envoyTownsend Harrisas in Japan's best interests. In accordance with the protocol he asked the three house lords of thegosankyōfor their views in writing. However Ii faced a problem in the form of an obstructionist policy from members of the Hitotsubashi faction led byHitotsubashi Keiki's fatherTokugawa Nariaki.

Ii was unwilling to sign the Harris treaty without approval fromEmperor KōmeiinKyoto.However thedaimyōsof the Hitotsubashi faction were preventing him from presenting the treaty to the emperor by withholding their approval.At this time Harris started putting pressure on the shogunal officials to sign the treaty. Ii decided not to risk aggravating the Americans and on July 29, 1858, encouraged by the full backing of the bakufu officials, Ii ordered the Harris treaty to be signed.Soon after this Ii negotiated a number of similar unequal treaties with the Dutch, the Russians, the British and the French. Bakufu critics considered the treaties signed by Ii Naosuke to have seriously compromised Japan's sovereignty, and recovery of this power became the basis of a large part of the policies formed during the Meiji period.

Due to the frail health of theshōgunTokugawa Iesada,the members of the Hitotsubashi faction wanted to force Ii to support Hitotsubashi Keiki as the heir to the ailingshōgun.Hitotsubashi Keiki was the reformist candidate, supported by the reformist faction, headed by his father Tokugawa Nariaki; his supporters pointed to his experience and skill in handling policy decisions. Ii was aware that Japan needed strong leadership, but unlike the reformistdaimyōs,Ii was not prepared to accept strong leadership from outside the traditional forms of government. The bakufu, led by Ii, wanted the 12-year-olddaimyōof Kii,Tokugawa Yoshitomi,to ascend to the position ofshōgun.The bakufu supported such a young candidate because they felt that it would be easier for them to influence and control a young and inexperiencedshōgun.

To end meddling in bakufu affairs, shortly after he signed the Harris treaty Ii settled the matter of the shogunal succession by claiming that the shogunal succession was a matter for the Tokugawa house alone and neither theshinpan daimyōsor the Emperor had the right to interfere. As head councilor of the Tokugawa house Ii was now free to influence the decision in favor of whichever candidate he preferred without any interference. In this way Ii was able to ignore thedaimyōswho supported Hitotsubashi Keiki, the reformist candidate for the office ofshōgunand crowned thefudai daimyō's candidate, Tokugawa Yoshitomi who changed his name to Tokugawa Iemochi, as the 14th Tokugawashōgun.

Ii's decision made him very unpopular with Imperial loyalists, especially with the Mito samurai. Towards the end of 1858 the reformists went to the emperor with the hopes of restraining Ii. In response to the attempt by Tokugawa Nariaki and his supporters to denounce him in the emperor's court Ii had a shogunal decree passed which allowed him to conduct theAnsei Purge.During the rest of 1858 and into 1859 Naosuke purged over 100 officials from the bakufu, the imperial court and the lands of variousdaimyōs.Eight of the officials who were purged were executed; the remainder were forced into retirement. During the Ansei purge Ii Naosuke was able to force Hitotsubashi Keiki's supporters to retire and place Hitotsubashi and his family under house arrest. Ii Naosuke was also able to remove officials who had expressed unhappiness with his handling of the Harris treaty and the shogunal succession from public life.

Kōbu gattai and the Kazunomiya marriage

In early 1859 Ii Naosuke's agent in the Imperial Court, Nagano Shuzen, approached him with the idea ofkōbu gattai.Kōbu gattaiwas a policy binding Kyoto and Edo closer together to shore up the failing shogunate with the prestige of the imperial court. This policy was to be carried out by means of a marriage between theshōgunand the Emperor's younger sister,Princess Kazunomiya.Naosuke broached the topic to the Imperial court through his Envoy Manabe Akibuke. Manabe was tasked with gauging the measure of acceptability for the proposed marriage between Shogun Iemochi and Princess Kazunomiya. Prominent court official Konoe Tadahiro responded favorably to the proposal, insinuating a marriage between the shogun and Princess Kazunomiya was possible if her present engagement failed. However, in March 1859 Konoe was forced to retire from the court by Naosuke's Ansei purge, and the idea ofkōbu gattaifaded into the background until 1861, after the death of Ii Naosuke. In 1861 due to the further deteriorating status of the shogunate the marriage between Tokugawa Iemochi and Princess Kazunomiya finally took place, though their marriage was cut short by Iemochi's death in 1866.

Death and consequences

Edo Castle's Sakurada Gate (Sakurada-mon) – photographed byFelice Beato,1863–1870

Edo Castle's Sakurada Gate (Sakurada-mon) – the location chosen by Ii Naosuke's assassins for their attack in Ansei 7 (March 1860)

Although Ii's Ansei purge was very effective in silencing the officials and his high ranking opponents, it did not have the same effect on lower-ranking samurai. Ii Naosuke's 20-month dictatorial reign astairōcame to an abrupt end in the third month ofAnsei7 (March 24, 1860).

In theSakuradamon incident,Ii was attacked by a band of 17 young samurai loyalists from the Mito Province and cut down just in front of one of the gates of theshōgun's Edo castle entering to meet with theshōgun.The assassination of Ii Naosuke, who was seen as the symbol of the bakufu's power and authority, was construed as crushing any hopes for the resurrection of the shogunate's power.His assassins additionally left a note accusing him of building hereticalBuddhisttemples in Japan; this in fact referred to his allowingChristianityto return to the region, building on earlier Japaneseheresiologicaldiscourse.

The death of Tairō Ii Naosuke started a wave of loyalist terrorism across Japan, the poetTsunada Tadayukieven wrote a poem praising Ii's assassins.Soon attempts were being made on the lives of other members of the bakufu and their informants. The wave of popular dissent also turned against officials with a connection to Ii Naosuke, no matter how distant it was. Shimada Sakon, retainer of the Kujō, (one of the Sekke families; the 5 regent houses, and among the most powerful in the court), Imperial regent, was killed by dissidents for supporting the Harris treaty and helping Ii's confidant, Nagano Shuzen, expose members of the court who were targeted during the Ansei purge.

Theshōgunand the Bakufu were astounded and taken completely off-guard by the death of Ii Naosuke. They didn't even announce his death until several months after the assassination took place. Instead, during this time theshōgunand the bakufu first pretended that Ii was still alive and rendering service to theshōgun.Then they faked an illness and had him render his resignation to theshōgunbefore announcing his death. In this way Ii continued to serve theshōgun,even after death. Ii's assassins were later granted a general amnesty by the bakufu, a precedent later used byYamagata Aritomo,a key member of the Meiji restoration and a main architect of the military and political foundations of early modern Japan and Japanese militarism, to show that any action can be forgiven if it is performed for the betterment of the emperor.

Accounts of the dramatic event were sent via ship across the Pacific to San Francisco and then sped byPony Expressacross the American West. On June 12,The New York Timesreported thatJapan's first diplomatic mission to the Westreceived the news about what had happened in Edo.

Legacy

Statue of Ii Naosuke at the grounds ofHikone Castle

After his death, Ii Naosuke was quickly both vilified and defended. Even his enemies would admit that, along with Tokugawa Nariaki, Ii was one of the most important political figures of the late Edo period of Japanese history. Due to the often-tyrannical means Ii used to maintain his power, he was the subject of extremely negative press and was portrayed as a villain in much of the literature from his time, for example in the poems of Tsunada Tadayuki. Historians such as Miyauchi and Beasley consider that Ii was nonetheless a patriot who carried out all of his acts in the belief that they were for the good of Japan and the Emperor. They base this theory upon Ii's 1853 proposal concerning the Japanese negotiations with Commodore Perry, where Ii realized that Japan could not stand up to the Western powers and therefore suggested a policy of placation while the Japanese built up their armed forces (which was the policy chosen by the Meiji government). Ii's successors could not overturn his policy decisions, and his attitude towards the foreigners became the cornerstone of Japanese policy well into the Meiji period.

After Ii Naosuke's death, the Ii family was disgraced for many years; recently, however, Ii's actions have been looked at in a more favorable light and Ii Naosuke has taken his place as one of the most important political figures of Japanese history. On October 7, 2009, Ii Naotake, a family descendant of Naosuke, attended a memorial ceremony with the people of Fukui in reconciliation over the execution of Hashimoto Sanai in theAnsei Purge.

Gōtoku-ji,burial place

Ii is buried in the temple ofGōtoku-ji,inSetagaya, Tokyo.

References

• Benneville, James Seguin de. (1910).Saitō Mussashi-bō Benkei.(Tales of the Wars of the Gempei). Yokohama.
• Kusunoki Sei'ichirō gỗ nam thành một lang (1991).Nihon shi omoshiro suiri: Nazo no satsujin jiken wo oeNhật Bản sử おもしろ trinh thám: Mê の giết người sự kiện を truy え. Tokyo: Futami bunko nhị thấy kho sách.
• Matsuoka Hideo tùng cương anh phu (2001).Ansei no Taigoku: Ii Naosuke to Nagano ShuzenAn chính の nhà tù: Giếng y thẳng bật と trường dã chủ thiện. Tokyo: Chūōkōron-shinsha trung ương công luận tân xã.
• Mori Yoshikazu mẫu lợi mỹ cùng (2006).Ii NaosukeGiếng y thẳng bật. Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kōbunkan cát xuyên hoằng văn quán.
• Nakamura Katsumaro, Akimoto Shunkichi (1909).Lord Ii Naosuké and New Japan.Yokohama: Japan Times.
• Osaragi Jirō đại Phật thứ lang (1967–1974).Tennō no seikiThiên hoàng の thế kỷ. Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha mặt trời mới mọc tin tức xã.
• Shimada Saburō đảo điền Tam Lang (1888).Kaikoku shimatsu: Ii Kamon no Kami Naosuke denKhai quốc từ đầu đến cuối: Giếng y quét cỡ sách thẳng bật truyền. Tokyo: Yoronsha dư luận xã.
• Tanimura Reiko cốc thôn linh tử (2001).Ii Naosuke, shūyō toshite no chanoyuGiếng y thẳng bật, tu dưỡng として の trà の canh. Tokyo: Sōbunsha sang văn xã.
• Tsuzuki, Chushichi. (2000).The Pursuit of Power in Modern Japan, 1825–1995.Oxford:Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-820589-9

External links

• National Diet Library:photograph of Sakurada-mon (1902)