Background
Iesada Tokugawa was born on May 6, 1824 in Japan. He was the third son of Ieyoshi.
家定 徳川
Iesada Tokugawa was born on May 6, 1824 in Japan. He was the third son of Ieyoshi.
Iesada was appointed heir at a very early age, but his interaction with people was very restricted in an effort to prevent contracting any illnesses. On the death of Tokugawa Ienari in 1841, concerns were raised on the fitness of Iesada as heir, with Tokugawa Yoshinobu named as a potential successor. However, this was strongly opposed by the rōjū Abe Masahiro, and Iesada remained heir.
Iesada became shōgun on the sudden death of his father, Tokugawa Ieyoshi at the height of the Black Ships episode. Already in poor health, he took no active role in political affairs, leaving negotiations with the Americans in the hand of Abe Masahiro. The Convention of Kanagawa was signed on March 31, 1854. Abe died shortly afterwards, and was replaced as rōjū by Hotta Masayoshi.
On November 4-7, 1854, the Great Nankaidō earthquakes and tsunamis killed 80,000 people. This was followed by the 1854 Tōkai earthquake on December 23, 1854. The earthquake struck primarily in the Tōkai region but destroyed houses as far away as in Edo. The accompanying tsunami caused damage along the entire coast from the Bōsō Peninsula in modern-day Chiba Prefecture to Tosa Province (modern-day Kōchi Prefecture). The earthquake and tsunami also struck Shimoda on Izu peninsula; and because the port had just been designated as the prospective location for a U.S. consulate, some construed the natural disasters as demonstration of the displeasure of the kami.
The 1854 Nankai earthquake followed on December 24, 1854, killing over 10,000 people from the Tōkai region down to Kyushu, and the 1855 earthquake in Edo, one of the Ansei great earthquakes, with resulting fire damage and loss of life.
On October 21, 1857, Iesada received American ambassador Townsend Harris in an audience at Edo Castle. Under Hotta Masayoshi's advice, Iesada ultimately signed the Harris Treaty of 1858 (the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between Japan and the United States), and subsequently other Unequal Treaties (including the Anglo-Japanese Friendship Treaty, and Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce) which broke the sakoku (isolation) policy and opened Japan to foreign influences.
A widespread cholera outbreak from 1858 to 1860 is believed to have killed between 100,000 and 200,000 people in Edo alone. Iesada died childless in 1858, possibly from the cholera outbreak. His grave is at the Tokugawa clan temple of Kan'ei-ji in Ueno.
Physical Characteristics: Some historians have theorized that he may have suffered from cerebral palsy. He had suffered from smallpox in early childhood, which left his face pockmarked.
Iesada was initially married to Princess Takatsukasa Atsuko (1823-1848), the daughter of kampaku Takatsukasa Masahiro in 1842. However, she died of smallpox without having given birth to an heir. His second official wife was Princess Ichijō Hideko (1825-1850), daughter of Ichijō Tadayoshi in 1849. She died of illness less than a year later. His third marriage was to Princess Atsu (1836-1883), the adopted daughter of the daimyō of Satsuma, Shimazu Nariakira. However, none of these marriages produced any children.
Before he died, he adopted his cousin as his son, Tokugawa Yoshitomi (later Tokugawa Iemochi).
Tokugawa Ieyoshi (徳川 家慶, June 22, 1793 - July 27, 1853) was the 12th shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan.
Tenshō-in (天璋院, February 5, 1836 - November 20, 1883), also known as Atsuko (篤子) was the daughter of Lady Oyuki and Shimazu Tadatake (島津忠剛), who was the head of the Imaizumi Shimazu (今和泉島津) branch of the Shimazu in Satsuma.
Tokugawa Iemochi (徳川 家茂) (July 17, 1846 - August 29, 1866) was the 14th shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, who held office from 1858 to 1866. During his reign there was much internal turmoil as a result of the "re-opening" of Japan to western nations. Iemochi's reign also saw a weakening of the shogunate.
