Background
Iemochi Tokugawa was born on 17 July 1846 in Tokyo. He was the eldest son of Toku- gawa Saijun, a former lord of the domain of Kishu, and in 1849 he himself became lord of Kishu.
徳川 家茂
Iemochi Tokugawa was born on 17 July 1846 in Tokyo. He was the eldest son of Toku- gawa Saijun, a former lord of the domain of Kishu, and in 1849 he himself became lord of Kishu.
In 1858, when the thirteenth shogun, Iesada, fell dangerously ill, a struggle over who should be his successor developed, the progressive daimyo Matsudaira Yoshinaga and his group supporting the candidacy of Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu (who later became fifteenth shogun), the conservative statesman Ii Naosuke, who held the position of tairo (senior councilor of state), supporting Iemochi. Such was the power of Ii Naosuke that his judgement prevailed and Iemochi became the fourteenth shogun in 1858.
In 1862 he further attempted to promote harmony and bring about reform in the shogunate by appointing his former rival Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu and the latter’s backer Matsudaira Yoshinaga to important posts in the government. In 1863 he journeyed to Kyoto to discuss problems related to the opening of the ports to foreign
trade directly with the imperial court, but his trip did not accomplish the results he had hoped for. In 1864, when he journeyed to Kyoto once more, he persuaded the court to sanction him in launching a punitive attack on the foices of the fief of Choshu, who were enthusiastic supporters of imperial rule and advocates of the expulsion of the foreigners, but who in their zeal had become all but uncontrollable. Peace between the parties was restored for a time, but in 1866 Iemochi launched a second expedition against Choshu, leading his forces in person. Before he could accomplish his objective, however, he died of illness at Osaka Castle at the age of twenty.
In an attempt to allay some of the criticisms that had been raised against the shogunate because of its signing of trade treaties with the United States and other foreign powers, Iemochi in 1861 followed the advice of shogimate officials in taking as his bride Princess Kazunomiya, the younger sister of Emperor Komei, thus endeavoring to establish harmonious relations between the imperial court and the shogunate.