Changes

Ii Naosuke was a prominent [[Tairo|Tairô]] of the [[Bakumatsu period]], known for his support of ending the [[maritime restrictions]] of the [[Edo period]] and "opening" the country, and for his engineering of the [[Ansei Purges]] in which he purged from the government a great many shogunate officials belonging to rival factions.

Ii Naosuke was a prominent [[Tairo|Tairô]] of the [[Bakumatsu period]], known for his support of ending the [[maritime restrictions]] of the [[Edo period]] and "opening" the country, and for his engineering of the [[Ansei Purges]] in which he purged from the government a great many shogunate officials belonging to rival factions.

Born at the [[Keyaki]]goten, the lord's private residence within [[Hikone castle]], Naosuke became lord of [[Hikone han]] at the age of 36. He was named Tairô in [[1858]], and was a strong supporter of [[Hotta Masayoshi|Hotta Masayoshi's]] having negotiated and agreed to the Treaty of Amity and Commerce ([[Harris Treaty]]).

Born the fourteenth son of lord [[Ii Naonaka]] at the [[Keyaki]]goten, the lord's private residence within [[Hikone castle]], at the age of 17, Naosuke was given a separate residence, known as Umoreginoya, where he would then spend the next fifteen years of his life. During this period, he devoted himself to cultural study and practice, and towards the end of his time at the Umoreginoya, he established his own branch of the [[Katagiri Sekishu|Sekishû]] school of [[tea culture]], producing numerous writings on his philosophies on tea and the arts. These texts reveal an attitude of disappointment or sadness at the decline of ''daimyô'' styles of tea (in the vein of that supposedly practiced by warlords such as [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] and [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]]), and the decline of warrior spirit overall. Within tea practice, Naosuke emphasized the value of ''[[ichigo ichie]]'' (once-in-a-lifetime experiences), and of sitting alone in meditation.<ref>Rebecca Corbett, ''Cultivating Femininity: Women and Tea Culture in Edo and Meiji Japan'', University of Hawaii Press (2018), 133-134.</ref>

 

In [[1846]], he was named heir apparent to the Ii household, and four years later, at the age of 36, Naosuke became head of the Ii family and lord of [[Hikone han]]. He was named Tairô in [[1858]], and was a strong supporter of [[Hotta Masayoshi|Hotta Masayoshi's]] having negotiated and agreed to the Treaty of Amity and Commerce ([[Harris Treaty]]).

Among his many activities as Tairô, in addition to the Ansei Purges, Naosuke suggested the succession of [[Tokugawa Iemochi]] to the position of shogun following the death of [[Tokugawa Iesada]], and restored [[Manabe Akikatsu]] to the ''[[roju|rôjû]]'' after disagreements with [[Mizuno Tadakuni]] forced Akikatsu to retire from the position.

Among his many activities as Tairô, in addition to the Ansei Purges, Naosuke suggested the succession of [[Tokugawa Iemochi]] to the position of shogun following the death of [[Tokugawa Iesada]], and restored [[Manabe Akikatsu]] to the ''[[roju|rôjû]]'' after disagreements with [[Mizuno Tadakuni]] forced Akikatsu to retire from the position.