Tokugawa Nariaki and the Expatriates of the Mito Domain in Kyoto

The relationship between Tokugawa Nariaki and the imperial court, especially with Takatsukasa Masamichi, the real power of the court around the time when Tokugawa Japan’s opening, has received attention as a premise for the emperor’s political emergence. However, examination of Nariaki’s movements in the period before his retirement as the lord of Mito (1829-1844) has so far been insufficient. In the Tokugawa Era, the contact points between the Mito Family and the court were diverse, and many of the expatriates of the Mito Domain stayed in Kyoto. In this paper, I paid attention to the movements of the expatriates of the Mito Domain. Particularly, the review focused on the role of Kawase Noritaka, The Mito Samurai, who received great trust from Nariaki. Noritaka stayed in Kyoto for about four years during this period and belonged to the Nijo Family and then the Takatsukasa Family. Both of these Coutiers’ wives were the sister of Nariaki. This paper first outlines Noritaka’s career and the circumstances in which he came to reside in Kyoto. I looked at the composition of the expatriates of the Mito Domain in Kyoto at the time, and looked into what their daily work was like in Kyoto. Nextly, I reviewed the major tasks performed by Noritaka during his time as a member of the Nijo Family. Lastly, a particularly detailed review was conducted on the process of sending Hananoi, Mito’s senior maidservant who had a strained relationship with Nariaki and her mother Eisoin, to become the Takatsukasa Family’s maidservant.