Changes

Some of the Western powers began to eye Tsushima as an ideal place for naval bases or other operations. One particularly significant and worrying incident of Western incursion took place in [[1861]], when the Russian corvette ''[[Posadnik]]'', under the command of a Captain Birilev, anchored at Asô Bay, a major inlet on the island. After six tense months, and the ineffective interventions of both shogunate officials and two ships of the British Royal Navy, Birilev was finally convinced to leave the island when orders from Russian naval command & from the Russian consul in [[Hakodate]] arrived commanding him to do so. Throughout the process, Tsushima officials continued to petition for the shogunate to take over responsibility for Tsushima and its defense, and to relocate the Sô to another fief. At the recommendation of magistrate of foreign affairs [[Nonoyama Kanehiro]], the shogunate denied the domain's request once again.<ref name=hellyer207/>

Some of the Western powers began to eye Tsushima as an ideal place for naval bases or other operations. One particularly significant and worrying incident of Western incursion took place in [[1861]], when the Russian corvette ''[[Posadnik]]'', under the command of a Captain Birilev, anchored at Asô Bay, a major inlet on the island. After six tense months, and the ineffective interventions of both shogunate officials and two ships of the British Royal Navy, Birilev was finally convinced to leave the island when orders from Russian naval command & from the Russian consul in [[Hakodate]] arrived commanding him to do so. Throughout the process, Tsushima officials continued to petition for the shogunate to take over responsibility for Tsushima and its defense, and to relocate the Sô to another fief. At the recommendation of magistrate of foreign affairs [[Nonoyama Kanehiro]], the shogunate denied the domain's request once again.<ref name=hellyer207/>

Factional conflicts within domain leadership led to a violent coup in [[1862]], as members of a ''[[sonno|sonnô]] [[joi|jôi]]'' faction assassinated chief councilor [[Sasu Iori]] and pressured ''daimyô'' [[So Yoshiyori|Sô Yoshiyori]] to step down, in favor of his son [[So Yoshiakira|Sô Yoshiakira]]. Yoshiakira's mother, Jihôin, the daughter of a former ''daimyô'' of [[Choshu han|Chôshû]], coordinated an alliance between the two domains, and [[Oshima Tomonojo|Ôshima Tomonojô]] replaced Sasu as the chief prominent figure in domain politics. Working closely with [[Kido Takayoshi]], [[Katsu Kaishu|Katsu Kaishû]], [[Yamada Hokoku|Yamada Hôkoku]], and [[Itakura Katsukiyo]], Ôshima petitioned the shogunate for considerable aid on behalf of the domain, and for consideration of the possibility of invading Korea, in order to prevent the peninsula from falling into foreign hands.<ref name=hellyer217>Hellyer, 217-</ref>

Factional conflicts within domain leadership led to a violent coup in [[1862]], as members of a ''[[sonno|sonnô]] [[joi|jôi]]'' faction assassinated chief councilor [[Sasu Iori]] and pressured ''daimyô'' [[So Yoshiyori|Sô Yoshiyori]] to step down, in favor of his son [[So Yoshiakira|Sô Yoshiakira]]. Yoshiakira's mother, Jihôin, the daughter of a former ''daimyô'' of [[Choshu han|Chôshû]], coordinated an alliance between the two domains, and [[Oshima Tomonojo|Ôshima Tomonojô]] replaced Sasu as the chief prominent figure in domain politics. Working closely with [[Kido Takayoshi]], [[Katsu Kaishu|Katsu Kaishû]], [[Yamada Hokoku|Yamada Hôkoku]], and [[Itakura Katsukiyo]], Ôshima petitioned the shogunate for considerable aid on behalf of the domain, and for consideration of the possibility of invading Korea, in order to prevent the peninsula from falling into foreign hands.<ref name=hellyer217>Hellyer, 217-227</ref>

The shogunate agreed in [[1863]] to grant Tsushima a whopping 30,000 ''koku'' in aid, and to send Katsu Kaishû to investigate the threat posed to Tsushima and Korea by the Westerners. Katsu never ended up traveling to Tsushima, as he quickly became called away on other urgent business, but the successful petition and large grant spurred the domain to finally coordinate stronger domainal controls over its commercial activities, as other domains had done decades or even a century or more earlier. Tsushima leaders established domain monopolies over certain goods, and created clearinghouses through which those goods and their associated revenues would be funneled. They hired local merchants to act as authorized agents within the domain's monopoly operations, and established an office in [[Osaka]] to coordinate the sales of Tsushima specialty products on the domestic market.

The shogunate agreed in [[1863]] to grant Tsushima a whopping 30,000 ''koku'' in aid, and to send Katsu Kaishû to investigate the threat posed to Tsushima and Korea by the Westerners. Katsu never ended up traveling to Tsushima, as he quickly became called away on other urgent business, but the successful petition and large grant spurred the domain to finally coordinate stronger domainal controls over its commercial activities, as other domains had done decades or even a century or more earlier. Tsushima leaders established domain monopolies over certain goods, and created clearinghouses through which those goods and their associated revenues would be funneled. They hired local merchants to act as authorized agents within the domain's monopoly operations, and established an office in [[Osaka]] to coordinate the sales of Tsushima specialty products on the domestic market.