英語訳
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Toyohashi City Historical Discourse (The Administration of Ii Kammon-no-kami) 466
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Not only Matsudaira Yoshinaga and Yamauchi Yōdō, but even those like Shimazu Nariakira, who had initially concealed their true intentions, gradually came to support this cause and eventually began lobbying Konoe and Sanjō and other court nobles. Such circumstances came to light from various motives during Senior Councillor Hotta's stay in Kyoto, so the so-called Nanki faction felt they had to increasingly oppose this, and their covert struggle became progressively more intense. With national affairs becoming increasingly entangled, Ii Naosuke, who could be called a leader of one faction, now encountered an opportunity where he had no choice but to rise himself and face the nation's crisis.
**Ii Kammon-no-kami**
Originally, Ii Naosuke, as you all know, had early devoted himself to National Learning and his immersion in loyalist thought was second to none. In Kaei 6 (1853), regarding the treatment of American ships, he had even submitted a memorial stating that the court should be informed first. However, when he finally came to face this crisis, he fell into what might be called "the hunter chasing deer sees not the mountain," and his political views of subduing the daimyo to assert shogunal authority became incompatible with the times that required national unity. His ultimate failure to carry out his convictions and his downfall were entirely due to being trapped by his circumstances—a truly pitiable situation deserving of sympathy.
**◉ The Administration of Ii Kammon-no-kami**
Earlier, Senior Councillor Hotta's journey to Kyoto had been completely fruitless, and he returned to Edo on the 20th of the 4th month. At this time, shogunal deliberations had roughly decided on appointing a new Great Elder.
*Subheading: Matsudaira Iga-no-kami and Great Elder Ii*
Regarding this matter, there was Senior Councillor Matsudaira Iga-no-kami, whom I have mentioned many times before. This person had already concluded that while interference by related domains like Echizen and Mito in the succession question might still be tolerable, it was absolutely intolerable for outer domains like Satsuma and Tosa to ally with Kyoto court nobles and ultimately try to coerce the shogunate by borrowing imperial authority. Therefore, he determined to gain appropriate supporters to devise countermeasures, and on the other hand,
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also considered using this to assert his own authority. Thus, he also allied with the inner palace, but ultimately decided that the only option was to elevate Ii Naosuke. However, Senior Councillor Hotta, having some thoughts when departing Kyoto, was considering that it might be better to recommend Matsudaira Yoshinaga as Great Elder instead, so on this point he greatly differed in opinion from Iga-no-kami. Nevertheless, just two days after his return to the capital, by the shogun's order, Ii finally received appointment as Great Elder.
Indeed, Ii's appointment was quite unexpected to the general public at the time, but as Ii finally took office, he naturally made a great resolution and from the beginning had no hesitation in implementing his convictions. As I mentioned before, Ii had been an advocate of opening the country from the start, and was a main supporter of establishing Kii Yoshitomi as heir. Even someone like Matsudaira Yoshinaga had recently come to lean quite toward opening the country, as I have mentioned repeatedly, so regarding this issue's treatment, considerable agreement should have been found. However, unfortunately, regarding the succession question, they were completely opposite. Particularly since Ii held the strongest opposition to Mito Nariaki's recent actions, he was thoroughly committed to excluding Hitotsubashi.
*Subheading: Great Elder Ii's Decisive Action*
Thus, immediately after taking office as Great Elder, he implemented decisive measures and conducted personnel changes. The result was, needless to say, the exclusion of the Hitotsubashi faction, so even those like Kawaji, who had worked hard on foreign relations for many years, were dismissed, and Iwase also fell into disfavor. Consequently, even someone like Hotta was forced into holding his breath, while the only one who appeared triumphant was Matsudaira Iga-no-kami. Anyone who had shown any sympathy for Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu was generally expected to be distanced.
Under these circumstances, the Hitotsubashi faction could no longer remain silent, and gradually conspiracies to eliminate the senior officials began to be plotted. Moreover, in Mito domain, as I mentioned before, there had always been two factions within the domain that constantly clashed with each other, but Ii's gaining power in the shogunal council greatly affected the domain's internal factional struggles, which was another reason why that domain became zealously devoted to eliminating the senior officials.
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Toyohashi City Historical Discourse (The Administration of Ii Kammon-no-kami) 467