1. Abe Masahiro was the chief senior councilor in the Tokugawa shogunate of the Bakumatsu period at the time of the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry on his mission to open Japan to the outside world.
15 Facts About Abe Masahiro
1. 2.
Abe Masahiro did not sign the treaty himself or participate in the negotiations in person; this was done by his plenipotentiary Hayashi Akira.
3.
Abe Masahiro was born in his family's residence outside Edo Castle.
4.
Abe Masahiro was the 5th son of Abe Masakiyo, the 5th daimyo of Fukuyama Domain.
5.
Abe Masahiro became clan leader and daimyo of Fukuyama upon his brother's retirement on December 25,1836.
6.
Abe Masahiro was appointed to the post of soshaban on September 1,1838; on May 15,1840, he received the post of jisha-bugyo.
7.
In September 1843, Abe Masahiro became roju at the young age of 25, moving his residence to the Abe Masahiro family's estate at Tatsunokuchi, outside Edo Castle.
8.
Abe Masahiro became roju shuza in September 1845, after Mizuno Tadakuni lost his standing over the failure of the Tenpo Reforms.
9.
Abe Masahiro held this position throughout the administrations of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyoshi and Tokugawa Iesada, working to unify shogunal politics.
10.
Abe Masahiro supervised the reconstruction of the western enceinte of Edo Castle in 1852, and was awarded an increase of 10,000 koku in income for this service.
11.
Abe Masahiro felt that it was currently impossible for Japan to resist the American demands by military force, and yet was reluctant to take any action on his own authority for such an unprecedented situation.
12.
Abe Masahiro did not sign the treaty himself or participate in the negotiations in person; this was done by his plenipotentiary Hayashi Akira.
13.
Abe Masahiro came under criticism from the tozama daimyo, the Imperial Court and various factions within the government for perceived appeasement to the foreign powers.
14.
Abe Masahiro supported the notion of government selection of talented men, even of low birth, to serve as workers or bureaucrats.
15.
Abe Masahiro was a driving force behind the establishment of the Nagasaki Naval Training Center and the revocation of restrictions on construction of large ocean-going vessels.