SHIMAZU HISAMITSU, KOSHAKU

(Duke, or Prince) born , Nov. 28, 1817, Kagoshima, Satsuma province, Japan died Dec. 6, 1887, Kagoshima noted Japanese lord who led his clan in the 1868 overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate, the military dictatorship that had dominated Japan for 264 years. He then helped organize the newly restored Imperial government. In 1858 Hisamitsu succeeded to the head of Satsuma han, one of the largest feudal fiefs into which Japan was then divided. At that time the country was in the midst of a grave crisis over Western demands that Japan end its two centuries of seclusion and open its ports to international trade. That crisis revived sentiment for the restoration of Japan's Imperial power. Hisamitsu accordingly demanded that shogunal officials grant more power to the emperor and to the important feudal lords like himself, who had previously been denied participation in the central government. The appointment of the Hitotsubashi clan leader Tokugawa Yoshinobu as shogunal guardian signalled the acceptance of Hisamitsu's proposals. To give Yoshinobu the opportunity to work out a new program, Hisamitsu helped suppress the extremist leaders who had gathered around the emperor and who were harassing the shogun. On Sept. 14, 1862, as Hisamitsu was traveling to the court with his retinue, his followers attacked four Britons who rode past the procession without paying proper respect to Hisamitsu. One was killed and two others were wounded. Britain's demand for a huge indemnity precipitated a major crisis. The shogun agreed to pay 100,000, but the Satsuma han refused to pay anything. The British then attacked and partly levelled the han capital, Kagoshima. Realizing that British strength was far superior, Hisamitsu offered to pay 25,000 and to punish the culprits if they could be found. Early in 1864, Hisamitsu and several other great lords were appointed as members of a new governing council composed of representatives of the court and of the shogun. But a dispute between Yoshinobu and Hisamitsu soon broke up the conference and ended hope of a political compromise. After his return to Satsuma in March 1864, Hisamitsu increasingly came under the influence of his vassals Saigo and Okubo, who, in 1868, instituted the coup d'tat that toppled the shogun. The coup was led in Hisamitsu's name, and he participated in organizing the new government. His position was largely symbolic, however, and he soon retired.