Tokugawa Ieyoshi was the 12th shogun

Shogun

A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...

 of the Tokugawa shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

 of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

He was the second son of the 11th shogun, Tokugawa Ienari

Tokugawa Ienari

Tokugawa Ienari; 徳川 家斉 was the eleventh and longest serving shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan who held office from 1787 to 1837.-First wife:...

, and appointed Mizuno Tadakuni

Mizuno Tadakuni

was a daimyō during late-Edo period Japan, who later served as chief senior councilor in service to the Tokugawa Shogunate. He is remembered for having instituted the Tenpo Reform.-Biography:...

 to conduct the Tenpo reform.

Shortly after the arrival of U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry

Matthew Perry (naval officer)

Matthew Calbraith Perry was the Commodore of the U.S. Navy and served commanding a number of US naval ships. He served several wars, most notably in the Mexican-American War and the War of 1812. He played a leading role in the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854...

, in 1853, whose purpose was to negotiate a treaty allowing American trade

Trade

Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...

 with Japan, Tokugawa Ieyoshi died, and was succeeded by his third son Tokugawa Iesada

Tokugawa Iesada

Tokugawa Iesada Tokugawa Iesada Tokugawa Iesada (徳川 家定 (May 6, 1824 – August 14, 1858) was the 13th shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan who held office for only 5 years, from 1853 to 1858. He was physically weak and therefore unfit to be shogun in this period of great challenges...

. The following year the Tokugawa shogunate was forced to accept the American demands after signing the Convention of Kanagawa

Convention of Kanagawa

On March 31, 1854, the or was concluded between Commodore Matthew C. Perry of the U.S. Navy and the Tokugawa shogunate.-Treaty of Peace and Amity :...

.

Events of Ieyoshi's bakufu

• 1837 (Tenpō 7): Tokugawa Ieyoshi becomes the 12th shogun
  Shogun
  A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
  
   of the bakufu
  Tokugawa shogunate
  The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
  
   government.

Ieyoshi died in 1853. His grave is at the Tokugawa family mausoleum at Zōjō-ji

Zojo-ji

San'en-zan is a Buddhist temple in the Shiba neighborhood of Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It is the Great Main Temple of the Chinzai sect of the Shingon school. The main image is of Amida Buddha...

 in Shiba

Shiba, Tokyo

Shiba is a district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan, located near Hamamatsucho and Tamachi Stations on the Yamanote Line and Mita Station on the Toei Mita Line....

.

Eras of Ieyoshi's bakufu

The years in which Ieyoshi was shogun are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.

• Tenpō
  Tenpo
  was a , also known as Tempō, after Bunsei and before Kōka. The period spanned the years from December 1830 through December 1844...
  
  (1830–1844)
• Kōka
  Koka
  was a after Tenpō and before Kaei. This period spanned the years from December 1844 through February 1848. The reigning emperors were and .-Change of era:...
  
  (1844–1848)
• Kaei
  Kaei
  was a after Kōka and before Ansei. This period spanned the years from February 1848 through November 1854. The reigning emperor was .-Change of era:...
  
  (1848–1854)

In popular culture

Tokugawa Ieyoshi is a minor character in Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...

's musical "Pacific Overtures

Pacific Overtures

Pacific Overtures is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a libretto by John Weidman, and additional material by Hugh Wheeler. The musical is set in 1853 Japan and follows the difficult Westernization of Japan, through the lives of two friends caught in the change...

," in which he is murdered by his mother, using poisoned chrysanthemum tea

Chrysanthemum tea

Chrysanthemum tea is a flower-based tisane made from chrysanthemum flowers of the species Chrysanthemum morifolium or Chrysanthemum indicum, which are most popular in East Asia...

.

He is also a minor character in the first two Nemuri Kyoshiro made-for-TV specials starring Tamura Masakazu.

External links

• National Archives of Japan: Illustrations of Road to Nikko, Tempo 14 (1843)