Japan's last shogun gave up power, then took up photography and cycling
Tokugawa Yoshinobu never once entered Edo Castle as shogun. Within a year of taking the title he handed power back to the emperor, fled a battle his side outnumbered, and retired to Shizuoka to paint, hunt, take photographs and ride a bicycle. The new government later made him a prince.
Born in Edo in 1837 as the seventh son of Tokugawa Nariaki, lord of Mito, one of the three branch houses eligible to supply a shogun, he was sent to Mito as a baby and schooled in letters, martial arts and government. His mother came from a cadet branch of the imperial family. To improve his chances of succession his father had him adopted into the Hitotsubashi house, which he headed from 1847. Passed over in 1858 by a faction under Ii Naosuke, he was put under house arrest in the Ansei Purge, only to return after Ii's assassination in 1860 as guardian to the young shogun.
In 1864 he commanded the defence of the imperial palace and drove back Chōshū forces at the Hamaguri Gate. When Shogun Iemochi died childless in 1866, officials pressed Yoshinobu to succeed; he took charge of the main family but held out against the title until January 1867. He then launched sweeping reforms, bringing in a French military mission and building the Yokosuka arsenal, with British naval advisers and American equipment too.
His energy alarmed Satsuma, Chōshū and Tosa, who feared a rebirth of Ieyasu. Tosa proposed he resign and lead a council of lords, and on 9 November 1867 he returned governing power to the emperor. Satsuma and Chōshū, however, produced an edict for force against him that was later shown to be forged, and had him stripped of lands and titles. When fighting erupted at Toba–Fushimi and the enemy raised the imperial banner, he abandoned his larger army and sailed for Edo, submitting to the court. Edo Castle was surrendered peacefully in April 1868, sparing the city.
In retirement he feared assassination by impoverished former retainers and rearranged where he slept to confuse attackers. Emperor Meiji restored his standing in 1902, granting him a princely house and a seat in the House of Peers. His granddaughter Kikuko married a brother of Emperor Hirohito. He died in November 1913 and lies in Yanaka Cemetery, Tokyo.
Source: Tokugawa Yoshinobu
