Background
Shigehide Shimazu was born in 1745. 25th head of the Shimazu family. Succeeded his father, Shigetoshi (1755) and retired (1787).
重豪 島津
Shigehide Shimazu was born in 1745. 25th head of the Shimazu family. Succeeded his father, Shigetoshi (1755) and retired (1787).
Interested in Western civilization, he personally boarded a Dutch ship for inspection and learned the Dutch language. Met Franz Siebolt, a German physician, and Nobuhiro Sato to learn about conditions in the West. Established the Zoshikan school in his clan and opened a medical school.
He had his daughter adopted by the Konoe family in Kyoto and she married Shogun lenari Tokugawa. As father-in-law of the Shogun, he became powerful and lived in extreme luxury, which resulted in his clan becoming debt-ridden.