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One Who Knocked at a Commoner’s Door in Yodo ―― Ansei 6, First Month: Sanjō Sanetsumu’s Request to Take the Tonsure and the Plan to Purge the Emperor’s Circle
It was around ten o'clock at night on the ninth day of the first month of Ansei 6 (1859). Someone knocked at the door of a commoner's house in Yodo. The master of the house was the former Minister of… -
A Worthless Promise to Return to National Seclusion ―― Manabe Akikatsu’s Audience at Court and the Proclamation on the Thirtieth Day of the Twelfth Month of Ansei 5
The thirtieth day of the twelfth month of Ansei 5 (1858). At his first audience at court on the twenty-fourth day of the tenth month, he was merely granted an imperial cup, on the grounds that the… -
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. -
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… -
The Three Characters “Violation of the Imperial Command” ―― Tokugawa Nariaki’s Petition and Ii Naosuke’s Reply, Sixth Month of Ansei 5 (1858)
At the Mito domain residence in Edo, Tokugawa Nariaki was making corrections to an inquiry document. It was a reply. -
Opening and closing Hakone ―― The strategy of Oguri Kōzuke no suke as recorded by Ninagawa Arata, and the sixty years that followed
It was in Keiō 4 (1868), after the fighting against the Shōgitai at Ueno had ended. -
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… -
“The tyranny truly caused lamentation” ―― In the fifth month of Ansei 6 (1859), the imperial letter and gifts bestowed after the four lords’ tonsure
A cut sheet of formal paper, wrapped in Mino paper. A note states that it conveys a private command.
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