Tosa Domain (2/2)Produced many great figures who were active at the end of the Edo period

As a result, he had a very bad reputation among the conservatives of the domain.
There is also the opinion that Toyo Yoshida gave rise to the later loyalists.

Toyonobu Yamauchi also actively interfered with the shogunate government, forcing the roju Masahiro Abe to reform the shogunate government, and clashed with the dairo Ii Naosuke over the issue of succession to the shogun. Then, when Naosuke Ii raised the Ansei Great Prison, eliminated his political opponents, and installed Tokugawa Iemochi, whom he recommended, as the 14th shogun, he became angry and in February 1859, he sent a request to the shogunate to retire. I submitted it, and the shogunate issued a restraining order.

While Toyonobu Yamauchi was on hiatus, a coup d'état occurred in the Tosa domain, and the Tosa Kinnobu party, headed by Mizuzan Takeichi, assassinated Toyo Yoshida, a vassal whom Toyanobu Yamauchi trusted.

As soon as Yamauchi Toyonobu was lifted from suspension, he embarked on a major purge of the Tosa Kinnoto party, and starting with the beheading of its leader, Takeichi Zuizan, all party members were punished, and the Tosa Kinnoto party was destroyed. Furthermore, just before the assassination of Toyo Yoshida, Tosa patriots such as Ryoma Sakamoto left the domain, and their efforts led to the formation of the Satsuma-Choshu Alliance.

Toyonobu Yamauchi himself felt extremely indebted to the Shogunate for promoting him to the position of lord of the domain, and remained a member of the Sabaku faction until the end, but due to the secret maneuvers of Tosa patriots and Satchos who had defected from the domain, the entire Tosa domain was overthrown. It was tilted and there was no way to stop the flow.
In 1868, when the Battle of Toba and Fushimi, a battle between the former shogunate army and the Meiji government began, Toyonobu Yamauchi ordered the 100 Tosa domain warriors he was leading not to participate in the battle. However, it was too late, and the soldiers ignored Toyonobu's restraints and sided with the Meiji government, fighting against the Shogunate army.

After the restoration of imperial rule, Toyonobu Yamauchi was appointed as the head of domestic affairs, but resigned after just two years.
Furthermore, when Toyonobu Yamauchi retired, the 16th lord of the domain, Toyonori Yamauchi, took over as head of the family, but as the 15th lord did not relinquish real power, Toyonori Yamauchi's shadow is weak. However, Toyonori Yamauchi actively invested in the railway industry during the Meiji era, and became famous not only as a member of the nobility but also as a businessman. The Yamauchi family still exists today, and the 18th generation head is still alive.

Tosa domain summary

The Tosa domain was ruled by the Yamauchi family, whose founder was Kazutoyo Yamauchi, from the early Edo period until the end of the Edo period. If you are a fan of the history of the end of the Edo period, you may have an impression that the Tosa clan was a group that respected the emperor and expelled the barbarians, and was active in overthrowing the shogunate.

However, in reality, the 15th feudal lord, Toyonobu Yamauchi, and other feudal lords were friendly to the shogunate. However, it is possible that this image was created because former Tosa samurai who defected from the domain, including Ryoma Sakamoto, actively worked to form the Satsuma-cho alliance and ordered the overthrow of the shogunate.
Today, Kochi Prefecture, along with Kochi Castle, is a tourist attraction where traces of great figures such as Sakamoto Ryoma and Itagaki Taisuke were active during the end of the Edo period and the early Meiji period. It would be interesting to tour Tosa and think about the feudal lords and people who left their domain to work for Japan at the end of the Edo period.