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*''Japanese'': [[島津]]忠義 ''(Shimazu Tadayoshi)''

*''Japanese'': [[島津]]忠義 ''(Shimazu Tadayoshi)''

Shimazu Tadayoshi 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 father Hisamitsu served initially 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. 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.

Tadayoshi 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>

As a result of repeatedly requesting permission from the shogunate to postpone ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' obligations in [[1862]]-[[1865]] for a variety of reasons, in the end Tadayoshi became one of a relatively few ''daimyô'' in the entire [[Edo period]] who never performed ''sankin kôtai'' during his time as Lord.<ref>Tinello, 377.</ref>

As a result of repeatedly requesting permission from the shogunate to postpone ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' obligations in [[1862]]-[[1865]] for a variety of reasons, in the end Tadayoshi became one of a relatively few ''daimyô'' in the entire [[Edo period]] who never performed ''sankin kôtai'' during his time as Lord.<ref>Tinello, 377.</ref>

Following the [[1863]] [[Bombardment of Kagoshima]] by the British Royal Navy, in which much of the city was destroyed, Tadayoshi successfully represented to the Imperial Court that he had acted in accordance with the edict issued two months earlier by [[Emperor Komei|Emperor Kômei]] to [[joi|expel the barbarians]], driving the British ships away from Kagoshima in the end.<ref>Robert Hellyer, ''Defining Engagement'', Harvard University Press (2009), 194-195.</ref>

Following the [[1863]] [[Bombardment of Kagoshima]] by the British Royal Navy, in which much of the city was destroyed, Tadayoshi successfully represented to the Imperial Court that he had acted in accordance with the edict issued two months earlier by [[Emperor Komei|Emperor Kômei]] to [[joi|expel the barbarians]], driving the British ships away from Kagoshima in the end.<ref>Robert Hellyer, ''Defining Engagement'', Harvard University Press (2009), 194-195.</ref> In 1865, however, he invited British diplomat [[Harry Parkes]] and his wife to Kagoshima, and spoke with them, as part of efforts to forge friendly relations between Satsuma and the United Kingdom. A number of sons of prominent Satsuma retainers secretly left Japan for England that same year, in order to study Western government, economics, and science & technology, and in order to build agreements and networking. As a result of these relationships, Satsuma exhibited at the [[1867 Paris World's Fair]] separately from "Japan" (i.e. the shogunate), and invited British experts to Kagoshima to help build weaving mills, sugar mills, and other modern industrial establishments.

 

Unlike many ''daimyô'', who adopted Western/modern ways quite quickly into the Bakumatsu or Meiji periods, Tadayoshi is known for having maintained his topknot (''[[chonmage]]''), samurai dress, and other aspects of samurai lifestyle far into the Meiji period.<ref name=shoko>Gallery labels, [[Shokoshuseikan|Shôkoshûseikan]], Kagoshima, Sept 2014.</ref> His [[Sengan'en|residence at Iso]], similarly, is very much in the style of traditional Edo period elite samurai architecture and decor, albeit with some modern/Western-style accommodations for entertaining guests.

Unlike many ''daimyô'', who adopted Western/modern ways quite quickly into the Bakumatsu or Meiji periods, Tadayoshi is known for having maintained his topknot (''[[chonmage]]''), samurai dress, and other aspects of samurai lifestyle far into the Meiji period.<ref name=shoko>Gallery labels, [[Shokoshuseikan|Shôkoshûseikan]], Kagoshima, Sept 2014.</ref> His [[Sengan'en|residence at Iso]], similarly, is very much in the style of traditional Edo period elite samurai architecture and decor, albeit with some modern/Western-style accommodations for entertaining guests.

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