Hachisuka Mochiaki

• Born: 1846
• Japanese: 蜂須賀茂韶 (Hachisuka Mochiaki)

Hachisuka Mochiaki was the last daimyô of Tokushima han, succeeding his father Hachisuka Narihiro in 1868, just before the fall of the shogunate.

Whether out of a sense of resignation at the unstoppable influence of the Western powers, or out of genuine excitement and interest in the Western world, he expressed in secret to Ernest Satow in 1867/8, that he wished to abdicate his position as heir apparent, or as daimyô, and to instead travel to England.

Following the Meiji Restoration, Mochiaki remained in charge of Tokushima for a time, as han governor, implementing a variety of reforms, and establishing a school for medical and foreign studies. In 1871, he was among those who petitioned for the abolition of the domains, arguing that only with the abolition of domain autonomy could the central government implement the necessary modernizing and nationalizing reforms to strengthen the country. As a result of his new position as a member of the kazoku (the new Western-style aristocracy), and as a governor serving merely as an official of the Imperial government and no longer as a lord, the incorporation of all the lands under central governmental authority would also mean that he could be free to go study in England without concern for his position or his wealth.

Mochiaki then went on to lead an illustrious career, holding a variety of prestigious government positions, including special envoy to France, governor of Tokyo, chairman of the House of Peers, and Minister of Education. In 1881, he was one of a handful of officials appointed to organize formal receptions for the visit to Japan of King David Kalākaua of Hawaiʻi, the first foreign monarch, and indeed the first foreign sitting head of state to visit Japan in, perhaps, a millennium.

Preceded by: Hachisuka Narihiro

Lord of Tokushima 1868-1871

Succeeded by: None

References

• Mark Ravina, Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan, Stanford University Press (1999), 203-204.