was the 12th and final ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

'' of Tsu Domain under the

Bakumatsu period was the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji govern ...

Tokugawa Shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

of Japan. He was the 20th hereditary chieftain of the Tōdō clan.

Biography

Tōdō Takakiyo was born in 1837 as the eldest son of the previous ''daimyō'' of Tsu Domain, Tōdō Takayuki; his mother was from the Hashimoto clan. In 1849, he was awarded the courtesy titles of ''Daigaku-no-kami'' and ''jijū'' and Lower Fourth court rank. In 1863, he was sent to

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

in place of his father to attend to Emperor Kōmei as the nominal head of the domain’s forces sent to help suppress pro''-

sonnō jōi was a ''yojijukugo'' (four-character compound) phrase used as the rallying cry and slogan of a political movement in Japan in the 1850s and 1860s during the Bakumatsu period. Based on Neo-Confucianism and Japanese nativism, the movement sought ...

'' rebels during the

Tenchūgumi Incident The was a military uprising of ''sonnō jōi'' (revere the Emperor and expel the barbarians) activists in Yamato Province, now Nara Prefecture, on 29 September 1863 (Bunkyū 3/8/17 in the old Japanese calendar), during the Bakumatsu period. Empe ...

. He was awarded with the ceremonial

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some co ...

of Captain of the Left Imperial Guards (左近衛権少将) by the grateful emperor the following year. At the start of the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

of the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, the samurai of the domain were divided between factions which supported the Shogunate, and those who supported the concept of '' Kōbu gattai;'' however, sentiment towards to shogunate was only lukewarm. During the

Battle of Toba–Fushimi The occurred between pro-Imperial and Tokugawa shogunate forces during the Boshin War in Japan. The battle started on 27 January 1868 (or fourth year of Keiō, first month, 3rd day, according to the lunar calendar), when the forces of the shog ...

, forces of Tsu Domain initially supported the shogunate, but switched sides in the course of the battle, contributing strongly to the defeat of the pro-shogunate forces. Tsu Domain subsequently contributed forces to other battles of the Boshin War, including the Battle of Hakodate on the side of the new

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji o ...

. In 1868, Takakiyo was part of the guard to

Emperor Meiji , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...

in his first pilgrimage to the

Ise Grand Shrine The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Officially known simply as , Ise Jingū is a shrine complex composed of many Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, and . The Inn ...

. On June 28, 1871, Tōdō Takayuki officially retired due to ill health, and Takakiyo was appointed imperial governor of Tsu, as the former title of ''daimyō'' had been abolished by the new

. However, with the

abolition of the han system The in the Empire of Japan and its replacement by a system of prefectures in 1871 was the culmination of the Meiji Restoration begun in 1868, the starting year of the Meiji period. Under the reform, all daimyos (, ''daimyō'', feudal lords) ...

only a month later, his position was abolished, and he relocated to Tokyo. With the establishment of ''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. They succeeded the feudal lords () and court nobles (), but were abolished with the 1947 constitution. Kazoku ( 華族) should not be confused with ' ...

'' peerage on July 8, 1884, he was made a

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

(''hakushaku''). He predeceased his father at the age of 53 in 1889 and was posthumously awarded Third court rank.『官報』第1920号「叙任及辞令」November 20, 1889 Tōdō Takakiyo studied

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

under Watanabe Kazan and was noted for his flower paintings. He was also noted for

calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

. He was married to a daughter of

Hachisuka Narimasa (August 24, 1795 – October 8, 1859) was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Edo period, who ruled the Tokushima Domain. His court title was '' Awa no kami''. Family * Father: Hachisuka Haruaki * Mother: Tsuyo no Kata * Wives: ** Jouhime (1792-182 ...

of Tokushima Domain.

References

*Himeno, Junichi. "Encounters With Foreign Photographers: The Introduction and Spread of Photography in Kyūshū". In ''Reflecting Truth: Japanese Photography in the Nineteenth Century'' (Amsterdam: Hotei Publishing, 2004), 18–29. *Totman, Conrad (1980). ''Collapse of the Tokugawa Bakufu''. (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press), pp. 425–429.

External links

family information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Todo, Takakiyo Tozama daimyo Kazoku 1837 births 1889 deaths