Bakumatsu and Restoration– category –
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Manabe’s Visit to the Palace and His Report ―― From the 2nd Month of Kōka 3 (1846) to the 12th Month of Ansei 5 (1858)
From early morning, Kyoto was struck by a sudden shower, and thunder rolled. At the hour of the snake, just before ten in the morning, the sky finally cleared. -
The author of the script was not shallow in judgment ―― the decision in the sixth month of Ansei 5 to send Manabe Akikatsu and Sakai Tadaaki up to the capital
The twelfth day of the sixth month of Ansei 5 (1858). -
The Emperor’s Wish for Clemency ―― From the Second Month to the Twelfth Month of Ansei 6
The twenty-first day of the second month of Ansei 6 (1859). It was a document to the effect that Edo should be approached. -
The Tinted Lens of the Ii Side ―― The Eleventh Month of Ansei 5: From the Record of Inquiries into Mito Affairs to the Evil Hand Reaching Mito
The eleventh month of Ansei 5 (1858). A bundle of rumor records had been placed at Ii Naosuke's side. The title was "Record of Inquiries into Mito Affairs." -
Abe Masahiro’s Letter of Resignation ―― A Report of Headache and Dizziness, Fourth Month of Ansei 1
The tenth day of the fourth month of Ansei 1 (1854). Abe Masahiro, the senior councilor in the chief seat, did not attend the castle. He sent a short report to Makino Tadamasa, a fellow senior… -
“Take down the curtains,” said the commodore ―― A day at the Yokohama reception hall, the tenth day of the second month of Kaei 7
The tenth day of the second month of Kaei 7 (1854), Yokohama. The meeting hall on the shore was completely enclosed on all four sides with curtains. From outside, the interior could not be seen. -
The First Day of the Sixth Month: Announcement of the Adopted Lord ―― The Shogunate That Concealed the Name, and Kyoto’s Reply Blocked by the River
The first day of the sixth month of Ansei 5 (1858). The members of the Gosanke who had come to Edo Castle as usual (Owari excepted), the two kyō lords, and the men of the Tamarinoma-zume were ordered… -
Kyoto in the Second Month of Bunkyū 3 ―― The Summoning of the Daimyo and the Proclamation of Expelling the Barbarians
On the sixteenth day of the second month of Bunkyū 3 (1863), at the hour of six-half in the morning (seven o'clock). Matsudaira Yoshinaga, holder of the office of chief of state affairs, went out… -
Putyatin’s Arrival at Nagasaki ―― A Mild-Mannered Envoy and the Russian Flag Forty Days Later
The seventeenth day of the sixth month of Kaei 6 (1853). Far out on the sea off Nagasaki, five white sails appeared. Sentries at three posts at once sent word. The magistrate's sentries were somewhat… -
Two Draft Texts for Circulating the Imperial Edict ―― The Letter Tokugawa Nariaki Wrote but Never Sent
Tokugawa Nariaki, while under house confinement, placed two draft texts before his retainers. Tokutomi Sohō writes that the steward Kuki Naojirō and the chief oku-yūhitsu Harada Hachibei joined them… -
“I shall withdraw,” Oguri wrote ―― Five letters from Oguri Tadamasa, who returned from Tsushima in the seventh month of Bunkyū 1 (1861)
The business of the letter was one thing: "the matter of suddenly withdrawing today." -
Manabe Akikatsu’s Deception ―― The Document of the Kogosho and “Nothing But Lies,” Tenth Month, Ansei 5
The lower chamber of the Kogosho. Present together were the court liaisons to the shogunate, Hirohashi Mitsushige and Madenokōji Masafusa. The matter was taken up at the fifth hour of the night,…
