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, 12:58, 15 July 2014
*''Born: [[1809]]''
*''Died: [[1858]]''
*''Japanese'': [[島津]]斉彬 ''(Shimazu Nariakira)''
Shimazu Nariakira was ''daimyô'' of [[Satsuma han]] from X to X, and a prominent and influential figure in the domain's policies even prior to that, when his father [[Shimazu Narioki]] was Lord of Satsuma. Viewed retrospectively from the circumstances of the [[Bakumatsu]] and [[Meiji period]]s, Nariakira and his supporters have been characterized as "progressive" or "radical" in contrast to the "conservative" positions and policies of his father, and ''his'' faction.
Born and raised in [[Edo]], Nariakira had a relatively weak power base in Satsuma, but was able to work more closely with both Satsuma and shogunate officials in Edo, such as the powerful ''[[roju|rôjû]]'' [[Abe Masahiro]], to effect certain policies or agreements. In [[1846]], he negotiated with Abe to implement positions and policies suggested by Satsuma advisors [[Godai Hidetaka]] and [[Zusho Shozaemon|Zusho Shôzaemon]] for defending [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû]] from Western encroachment; in order to make sure these plans would be implemented, Abe had [[Shogun]] [[Tokugawa Ieyoshi]] place Nariakira, and not the ''daimyô'' his father, in charge of overseeing the defense of Ryûkyû.
In accordance with his wishes, after his death, a series of factories were constructed in [[Kagoshima]] in [[1865]] for the industry and also military defense of the domain. The complex included reverberating furnaces, blast furnaces, a smithy, a foundry, and a glass workshop. Parts of the complex survive today as the [[Shokoshuseikan|Shôkoshûseikan]] museum, the main hall of which has been designated an [[Important Cultural Property]].<ref>Pamphlets available on-site at Shôkôshûseikan; [http://www.shuseikan.jp/eng/index.html Shoko Shuseikan official website] (English).</ref>
Following Nariakira's death, his brother [[Shimazu Hisamitsu]], acting as regent for his son, the ''daimyô'' [[Shimazu Tadayoshi]], reversed many of Nariakira's policies, especially those pertaining to Ryûkyû, and acted in strong support of the shogunate and of samurai privilege through the Bakumatsu and into the Meiji period.
<center>
{| border="3" align="center"
|- align="center"
|width="32%"|Preceded by:<br>[[Shimazu Narioki]]
|width="35%"|'''Lord of [[Satsuma han]]'''<br> [[1851]]-[[1858]]
|width="32%"|Succeeded by:<br>'''[[Shimazu Tadayoshi]]'''
|}
</center>