Osahito (統仁), posthumously honored as Emperor Kōmei was the 121st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Kōmei's reign spanned the years from 1846 through 1867, corresponding to the final years of the Edo period.
Bakumatsu 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 sakoku and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji government. The major ideological-political divide during this period was between the pro-imperial nationalists called ishin shishi and the shogunate forces, which included the elite shinsengumi swordsmen.
Tokugawa Ieyoshi was the 12th shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan.
Tokugawa Iemochi was the 14th shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, who held office from 1858 to 1866. During his reign there was much internal turmoil as a result of the "re-opening" of Japan to western nations. Iemochi's reign also saw a weakening of the shogunate.
Ii Naosuke was a daimyō of Hikone (1850–1860) and also Tairō of the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan, a position he held from April 23, 1858, until his death, assassinated in the Sakuradamon Incident on March 24, 1860. He is most famous for signing the Harris Treaty with the United States, granting access to ports for trade to American merchants and seamen and extraterritoriality to American citizens. He was also an enthusiastic and accomplished practitioner of the Japanese tea ceremony, in the Sekishūryū style, and his writings include at least two works on the tea ceremony.
Ansei (安政) was a Japanese era name after Kaei and before Man'en. This period spanned the years from November 1854 through March 1860. The reigning emperor was Kōmei-tennō (孝明天皇).
Shimazu Nariakira was a Japanese feudal lord (daimyō) of the Edo period, the 28th in the line of Shimazu clan lords of Satsuma Domain.
The Satsuma Domain, briefly known as the Kagoshima Domain, was a domain (han) of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1602 to 1871.
The Ōoku was historically the women's quarters of Edo Castle, the section where the women connected to the reigning shōgun resided. Similar areas in the castles of powerful daimyō, such as the Satsuma Domain, were also referred to by this term.
Matsudaira Yoshinaga, also known as Matsudaira Keiei, or better known as Matsudaira Shungaku (春嶽) was a Japanese daimyō of the Edo period. He was head of the Fukui Domain in Echizen Province. He is counted as one of the "Four Wise Lords of the Bakumatsu period", along with Date Munenari, Yamauchi Yōdō and Shimazu Nariakira. "Yoshinaga" is his imina and "Shungaku" is his gō.
Tokugawa Yoshikatsu was a Japanese daimyō of the late Edo period, who ruled the Owari Domain as its 14th (1849–1858) and 17th daimyō (1870–1880). He was the brother of Matsudaira Katamori. His childhood name was Hidenosuke (秀之助).
Atsuhime is a 2008 Japanese historical drama television series. It is the 47th NHK taiga drama. It aired from January 6 to December 14, 2008, and ran a total of 50 episodes. The drama chronicles the life of Tenshō-in, based on Tomiko Miyao's 1984 novel Tenshō-in Atsuhime (天璋院篤姫). Viewership for Atsuhime was high; the series received an average rating of 24.5%, the highest rating received by a taiga drama since Hideyoshi in 1996.
Ōoku: The Inner Chambers is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fumi Yoshinaga. It was serialized in Hakusensha's manga magazine Melody from June 2004 to December 2020, with its chapters collected in 19 tankōbon volumes. The manga is licensed in North America by Viz Media. Ōoku: The Inner Chambers follows an alternate history of early modern Japan in which an unknown disease kills most of the male population, leading to a matriarchal society in which the Ōoku becomes a harem of men serving the now female Shogun.
The midaidokoro (御台所) was the official wife of the shōgun. During the Edo period, she resided in the Ōoku of Edo Castle and sometimes wielded considerable political power behind the scenes.
Tenshō-in, also known as Atsuko (篤子), was the official wife of Tokugawa Iesada, the 13th shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan.
Kōbu gattai was a policy in the Bakumatsu era of Japanese history aiming to strengthen Japan against the perceived "foreign threat" by obtaining a political coordination between the Tokugawa shogunate, certain major feudal domains and the Japanese Imperial Court.
The 1855 Edo earthquake, was the third Ansei Great Earthquake, which occurred during the late-Edo period. It occurred after the 1854 Nankai earthquake, which took place about a year prior. The earthquake occurred at 22:00 local time on 11 November. It had an epicenter close to Edo, causing considerable damage in the Kantō region from the shaking and subsequent fires, with a death toll of 7,000–10,000 people and destroyed around 14,000 buildings. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.0 on the surface wave magnitude scale and reached a maximum intensity of XI (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale. The earthquake triggered a minor tsunami.
Segodon is a 2018 Japanese historical drama television series and the 57th NHK taiga drama. It stars Ryohei Suzuki as Saigō Takamori, who has been dubbed the last true samurai.
Ōmidaidokoro (大御台所) was a title that can only be given to the past shōgun's official widow or retired shōgun's chief consort/wife. These women had an extraordinary or considerable political power behind the scenes, leading much of the court's events and other events that impacted Japanese history. During the Edo period she resided in Ōoku, third corridor (sannomaru).
Reach Beyond the Blue Sky is a Japanese historical drama television series starring Ryo Yoshizawa as Shibusawa Eiichi, a Japanese industrialist widely known today as the "father of Japanese capitalism". The series is the 60th NHK taiga drama, premiered on February 14, 2021.
