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: ...

, born , best known by his nickname , was a Japanese statesman, naval engineer and military commander during the late Tokugawa shogunate and early

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

. Kaishū was a nickname which he took from a piece of calligraphy (Kaishū Shooku ) by Sakuma Shōzan. He went through a series of

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

s throughout his life; his childhood name was . He was often called from his ceremonial title during the late Tokugawa shogunate and later changed his name to Yasuyoshi after 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

. An advocate of modernization and westernization, Katsu was an influential figure during the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate (''Bakumatsu'') and subsequent

. He eventually rose to occupy the position of commissioner ''(Gunkan-bugyō)'' in the Tokugawa navy and was a chief negotiator of the ''bakufu''. As a major Tokugawa commander during 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 coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

, he is particularly known for his surrender of

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

to Imperial forces commanded by

Saigō Takamori Saigō Takamori (; 23 January 1828 – 24 September 1877) was a Japanese samurai and politician who was one of the most influential figures in Japanese history. He played a key role in the Meiji Restoration, which overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate ...

Early life

Born Katsu Yoshikuni on March 12, 1823, in

to a low-ranking retainer of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

. His father, Katsu Kokichi, the subject of the autobiography, '' Musui's Story'', was the ill-behaved head of a minor

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

family. As a youth whose given childhood name as Katsu Rintarō (Kaishu was a pseudonym), he studied Dutch and European military science, and was eventually appointed translator by the government when European powers attempted to open contact with Japan. Katsu developed the reputation as an expert in western military technology. Under the advice of Dutch naval officers, Katsu served as head naval cadet at the Nagasaki Naval Academy between 1855 and 1859.

Military service

In 1860, Katsu served as captain of the warship '' Kanrin-maru'' (with assistance from US naval officer Lt. John M. Brooke), to escort the first Japanese delegation to

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, en route to

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, for the formal ratification of the Harris Treaty. The ''Kanrin Maru'', built by the Dutch, was the first Japanese vessel to sail to the Western world. Kaishū remained in San Francisco for nearly two months, observing American society, culture and technology. Following his return to Japan, Katsu held a series of high-ranking posts in the Tokugawa navy, arguing before government councils in favor of a unified Japanese naval force led by professionally trained officers in disregard of promotion and assignment due to hereditary status. During his command as director of the Kobe Naval School, the institute would become a major source of activity for progressive thinking and reformists between 1863 and 1864. In 1862, the then ''

rōnin In feudal Japan to early modern Japan (1185–1868), a ''rōnin'' ( ; , , 'drifter' or 'wandering man', ) was a samurai who had no lord or master and in some cases, had also severed all links with his family or clan. A samurai became a ''rō ...

'' Sakamoto Ryōma decided to assassinate Katsu due to his support of both modernization and

westernization Westernization (or Westernisation, see spelling differences), also Europeanisation or occidentalization (from the ''Occident''), is a process whereby societies come under or adopt what is considered to be Western culture, in areas such as industr ...

. However, Katsu persuaded Ryōma of the necessity of a long-term plan to increase Japan's military strength in the face of Western influence that led to the Convention of Kanagawa. Instead of killing Katsu, Ryōma started working as his assistant and

protégé Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

. In 1866, Katsu was appointed negotiator between the ''bakufu'' forces and the anti-shogunal domain of Chōshū, and later served as chief negotiator for the

Tokugawa bakufu The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

, ensuring a relatively peaceful and orderly transition of power in the

. Although sympathetic to the anti-Tokugawa cause, Katsu remained loyal to the Tokugawa ''bakufu'' during the

. After the collapse of the Tokugawa forces in late 1867, Katsu negotiated the surrender of Edo castle to

on 11 April 1868.

Later years

Katsu relocated to Shizuoka after the new Imperial government took control of the shogun's former capital, which was renamed Tokyo ("Eastern Capital"). He returned briefly to government service as Vice Minister of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

in 1872, followed by first Minister of the Navy from 1873 until 1878. As Katsu Yasuyoshi, he was among the most prominent of the former Tokugawa retainers who found employment within 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 ...

, and was between 1869 and 1885. Although his influence within the navy was minimal, as the Navy was largely dominated by a core of Satsuma officers, Katsu served in a senior advisory capacity on national policy. During the next two decades, Katsu served on the Privy Council and wrote extensively on naval issues. He also made efforts to restore the honor of

Tokugawa Yoshinobu Kazoku, Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned his position as shogun in late 1867, while ai ...

and

. In 1887, he was elevated to the title of ''hakushaku'' (count) in the ''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. It was formed by merging the feudal lords (''Daimyo, daimyō'') and court nobles (''kuge'') into one system modelled after the British peerage. Distin ...

'' peerage system. Katsu recorded his memoirs in the book ''Hikawa Seiwa''.

Death

In 1891, through a connection of Tsuda Sen, the father of Tsuda Ume, Katsu Yasuyoshi purchased a plot of land at , and built his retirement home there. Following his death in 1899, he was buried with his wife Tami near the site of their home, on the shores of Senzoku Pond, in what is today in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. The Katsu Kaishu Memorial Museum can also be found near the park.

Honors

* Count (9 May 1887)

Order of precedence

* Fourth rank (15 June 1872) * Senior fourth rank (18 February 1874) * Third rank (December 1887) * Senior third rank (October 1888) * Junior Second rank (30 June 1894) *

Senior second rank The court ranks of Japan, also known in Japanese language, Japanese as ''ikai'' (位階), are indications of an individual's court rank in Japan based on the system of the Nation, state. ''Ikai'' as a system was the indication of the rank of burea ...

(20 January 1899; posthumous) * Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese Order (distinction), order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six c ...

(December 1889) * JPN Kyokujitsu-sho 1Class BAR

Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

(26 February 1898)

In popular culture

Katsu appears in the 2009–2011 TV series '' Jin'', portrayed by actor

Fumiyo Kohinata is a Japanese actor. Filmography Film * '' Begging for Love'' (1998) * '' Give It All'' (1998) * '' Ring 2'' (1999) - Dr. Kawajiri * '' Audition'' (1999) - Television producer * '' Minna no Ie'' (2001) * '' Turn'' (2001) * '' Dark Water'' (200 ...

. Katsu appears in the 2024 video game '' Rise of the Ronin '', portrayed in English by actor Earl Baylon and in Japanese by actor Kazuhiro Yamaji.

Gallery

File:Kaishu Katsu 1.jpg, upA young Kaishū Katsu File:Surrender of Edo Castle (Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery).jpg, Negotiations between

(left) and Katsu regarding the surrender of the capital. File:Kaimei kizokuhyō by Shinsai.jpg, Katsu (bottom row, third from right) and other major figures of the Meiji era aristocracy. File:Katsu Kaishu by Motoyama Hakuun - Edo-Tokyo Museum - Sumida, Tokyo, Japan - DSC06901.jpg, upleft, A bust of Katsu Kaishu by Motoyama Hakuun (1871–1952) File:Grave of Katsu Kaishū.JPG, Grave of Katsu Kaishū at Senzoku Pond Public Park,

, Japan File:Saigo Takamori-1.jpg, Memorial on the site of the meeting between Saigō Takamori and Katsu Kaishū, Shiba, Tokyo

Notes

References

* Hillsborough, Romulus. ''Samurai Revolution: The Dawn of Modern Japan Through the Eyes of the Shogun's Last Samurai.'' Tuttle, 2013. * Jansen, Marius B. (1961). ''Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration.'' Princeton: Princeton University Press
OCLC 413111
* Katsu, Kokichi; translated by Teruko Craig. ''Musui's Story: The Autobiography of a Tokugawa Samurai'' University of Arizona Press, 1988. * Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''
Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

.
OCLC 58053128

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katsu, Kaishu Japanese swordfighters 1823 births 1899 deaths Boshin War Hatamoto Imperial Japanese Navy officers Japanese military leaders Meiji Restoration Nobility from Tokyo Engineers from Tokyo Samurai Japanese politicians Kazoku People of the Meiji era Wakadoshiyori People of the Boshin War Members of the Japanese Embassy to the United States