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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. -
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… -
While the Shogun Still Lives ―― Ii Naosuke’s Disposition of Owari and Mito on the Fifth Day of the Seventh Month of Ansei 5
Ii Naosuke entered the castle at the usual hour, and on this day his withdrawal came at the hour of nine-half at night, as late as one in the morning. The reason was that the beriberi of the shogun,… -
The Person at Umoregi no ya Was Waiting ―― In the Fourth Month of Ansei 5 (1858), Hotta Masayoshi’s Return to Edo and Two Difficult Problems
There, an envoy of Matsudaira Yoshinaga, the leader of the Hitotsubashi faction, caught up with him. Tokutomi Sohō writes that Yoshinaga, unable to wait for Hotta's return to Edo, had deliberately… -
The Chancellor of the Spring Breeze ―― Abe Masahiro and the Forecast of the Eleventh Month of Kaei 5
The second day of the eleventh month of Kaei 5 (1852). At the Satsuma domain residence in Edo, Shimazu Nariakira took up his brush. The letter was addressed to his younger brother Hisamitsu, who was… -
Tokugawa Nariaki’s Campaign to Remove the Corrupt ―― Eight Years of Mito Domain Politics, from Kōka 1 to Kaei 5
A single letter arrived at the residence of the senior councilor Abe Masahiro from the Mito domain's secondary residence. -
Three Months in Nagasaki ―― The Russian Envoy Putyatin and the Shogunate’s Delaying Tactics
The inspector Ōi Saburōsuke went out to sea. His destination was the Russian ship moored inside the harbor. There was only one thing he had to convey. It was the death of the shogun, Tokugawa Ieyoshi. -
Footsteps in an Empty Valley ―― In Kaei 6, the Daimyo’s Opinions on America and Takashima Kihei’s Argument for Opening the Country
The tenth month of Kaei 6 (1853). Takashima Kihei. He had once called himself Shirōdayū Shūhan, and was the man who introduced Western artillery techniques to Japan. -
The Character for Peace, Sealed Away ―― The Seventh Month of Kaei 6, and the Trump Card Named Tokugawa Nariaki
On the third day of the seventh month of Kaei 6 (1853), a notice came down to the Mito residence. Since there was business concerning coastal defense, he was to attend the castle roughly every other…
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