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Shimazu Tadayoshi, known as Mochihisa for the majority of his time as ''daimyô'', was the 12th and last [[Edo period]] ''daimyô'' of [[Satsuma han]]. He was the son of [[Shimazu Hisamitsu]], adopted son of [[Shimazu Nariakira]], and is counted as the 29th head of the [[Shimazu clan]].

Shimazu Tadayoshi, known as Mochihisa for the majority of his time as ''daimyô'', was the 12th and last [[Edo period]] ''daimyô'' of [[Satsuma han]]. He was the son of [[Shimazu Hisamitsu]], adopted son of [[Shimazu Nariakira]], and is counted as the 29th head of the [[Shimazu clan]].

Upon Nariakira's death on [[1858]]/7/16, Tadayoshi succeeded him as ''daimyô'', officially taking the position on 1858/12/28. His grandfather [[Shimazu Narioki]] served as his guardian, watching over his political or administrative life, briefly, before his father Hisamitsu took over as regent, wielding considerable power over domainal affairs in place of his son. Acting in his son's name, Hisamitsu reversed many of Nariakira's policies, especially those pertaining to [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû]], and took a moderate and cautious approach in contrast to the radical factions which began to emerge in Satsuma at that time.<ref>Marco Tinello, "The termination of the Ryukyuan embassies to Edo : an investigation of the bakumatsu period through the lens of a tripartite power relationship and its world," PhD thesis, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia (2014), 300.</ref> While nominally honoring and supporting the will of the late Nariakira, Hisamitsu & Tadayoshi for the most part acted in strong support of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] and of samurai privilege through the Bakumatsu and into the Meiji period.

Upon Nariakira's death on [[1858]]/7/16, Tadayoshi succeeded him as ''daimyô'', officially taking the position on 1858/12/28. Though he was obliged by the shogunate to adopt Nariakira's son [[Shimazu Tetsumaru]] as his heir, Tetsumaru died soon afterward, on [[1859]]/1/2.<ref>Ishin Shiryô Kôyô 維新史料綱要, vol 3, 123.</ref>

 

Tadayoshi's grandfather [[Shimazu Narioki]] served as his guardian, watching over his political or administrative life, briefly, before his father Hisamitsu took over as regent, wielding considerable power over domainal affairs in place of his son. Acting in his son's name, Hisamitsu reversed many of Nariakira's policies, especially those pertaining to [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû]], and took a moderate and cautious approach in contrast to the radical factions which began to emerge in Satsuma at that time.<ref>Marco Tinello, "The termination of the Ryukyuan embassies to Edo : an investigation of the bakumatsu period through the lens of a tripartite power relationship and its world," PhD thesis, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia (2014), 300.</ref> While nominally honoring and supporting the will of the late Nariakira, Hisamitsu & Tadayoshi for the most part acted in strong support of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] and of samurai privilege through the Bakumatsu and into the Meiji period.

Known by a number of different names in childhood, and his early adulthood, he was granted an audience with the new shogun [[Tokugawa Iemochi]] on [[1859]]/2/7, and was granted the honor of taking one syllable from the shogun's name, changing his own name to Mochihisa. He would later change his name to Tadayoshi, however, on [[1868]]/1/16, and this is the name by which he is most typically known.<ref>Tinello, 295.</ref>

Known by a number of different names in childhood, and his early adulthood, he was granted an audience with the new shogun [[Tokugawa Iemochi]] on [[1859]]/2/7, and was granted the honor of taking one syllable from the shogun's name, changing his own name to Mochihisa. He would later change his name to Tadayoshi, however, on [[1868]]/1/16, and this is the name by which he is most typically known.<ref>Tinello, 295.</ref>