Changes

He was born in the Kishû Tokugawa residence in Edo in [[1846]], and became the head of the [[Kishu Tokugawa clan|Kishû Tokugawa clan]] at age four.

He was born in the Kishû Tokugawa residence in Edo in [[1846]], and became the head of the [[Kishu Tokugawa clan|Kishû Tokugawa clan]] at age four.

There was a faction that supported [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]] as successor to the shogun [[Tokugawa Iesada|Iesada]], but when Iesada died in [[1858]], Iemochi became the 14th Tokugawa Shogun by the recommendation of [[Ii Naosuke]]. This was during the [[Bakumatsu period]], and the shogunate was facing both domestic troubles and foreign pressures. The shogunate pursued marriage between the Tokugawa line and the Imperial court, a policy known as ''[[kobu gattai|kôbu gattai]]'' ("union of court and military"), in the hopes of appeasing the ''sonnô jôi'' ("Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians") extremists.

There was a faction that supported [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]] as successor to the shogun [[Tokugawa Iesada|Iesada]], but when Iesada died in [[1858]], the 12-year-old Iemochi became the 14th Tokugawa Shogun by the recommendation of [[Ii Naosuke]]. This was during the [[Bakumatsu period]], and the shogunate was facing both domestic troubles and foreign pressures. The shogunate pursued marriage between the Tokugawa line and the Imperial court, a policy known as ''[[kobu gattai|kôbu gattai]]'' ("union of court and military"), in the hopes of appeasing the ''sonnô jôi'' ("Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians") extremists.

In [[1862]], Iemochi and Princess [[Kazu-no-Miya]] (younger sister of [[Emperor Komei|Emperor Kômei]]) wedded in a magnificent ceremony, the most visible show of the ''kôbu gattai'' policy.

In [[1862]], Iemochi and Princess [[Kazu-no-Miya]] (younger sister of [[Emperor Komei|Emperor Kômei]]) wedded in a magnificent ceremony, the most visible show of the ''kôbu gattai'' policy.