Background
Shuzen was born in Ise Province (Mie Prefecture), Japan in 1815.
Shuzen was born in Ise Province (Mie Prefecture), Japan in 1815.
Was the right-hand man of Naosuke Ii, the Shogunate Prime Minister. A man of handsome appearance and fluent speech, he was well versed in Japanese literature, especially poetry, and history. Taught classics in various places before he served Ii at the latter’s request (1842). Shuzen successfully maneuvered in Kyoto to bring about a' reversal in the Im¬perial Courts decisions on the issues of Imperial Sanction on a friendship treaty with the United States and the Shotjmiate succession issue (1858). He also persuaded Ii to carry out the mass arrests of anti-Shogunate leaders (Ansei-no-Taigoku) in the same year. After Ii was assissinated near the Sakurada Gate of the Edo Castle (1860), he was arrested and executed.