Tokugawa Iesada

was the 13th shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He held office for five years from 1853 to 1858. He was physically weak and was therefore considered by later historians to have been unfit to be shōgun. His reign marks the beginning of the Bakumatsu period. Early years Iesada was born in Edo Castle as Masanosuke (政之助)—the fourth son of the 12th shōgun Tokugawa Ieyoshi with his concubine, known as Honjuin. As most of Ieyoshi's children died in infancy or before coming of age, Iesada was appointed heir at a very early age, but his interaction with people was very restricted in an effort to prevent contracting any illnesses. Some historians have theorized that he may have suffered from cerebral palsy. He had suffered from smallpox in early childhood, which left his face pockmarked. On the death of Tokugawa Ienari in 1841, concerns were raised on the fitness of Iesada as heir, with Tokugawa Yoshinobu named as a potential successor. However, this was strongly opposed by the rōjū Abe Masahiro, and Iesada remained heir. Shōgun (1853–1858) Iesada became shōgun on the sudden death of his father, Tokugawa Ieyoshi at the height of the Black Ships episode. Already in poor health, he took no active role in political affairs, leaving negotiations with the Americans in the hand of Abe Masahiro. The Convention of Kanagawa was signed on March 31, 1854. Abe resigned his post shortly afterwards, and was replaced as leader of the rōjū by Hotta Masayoshi. On November 4–7, 1854, the Great Nankaidō earthquakes and tsunamis killed 80,000 people. This was followed by the 1854 Tōkai earthquake on December 23, 1854. The earthquake struck primarily in the Tōkai region but destroyed houses as far away as in Edo. The accompanying tsunami caused damage along the entire coast from the Bōsō Peninsula in modern-day Chiba Prefecture to Tosa Province (modern-day Kōchi Prefecture). The earthquake and tsunami also struck Shimoda on Izu peninsula; and because the port had just been designated as the prospective location for a U.S. consulate, some construed the natural disasters as demonstration of the displeasure of the kami.