Katsu Kaishuu in history (1823 - 1899)
Link to Katsu Kaishuu in the anime. I think it's a fairly accurate depiction so far.
Sections particularly relevant up to episode 5 are in red. Please read the disclaimer at the bottom of the page.
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Who was Katsu Kaishuu?
Katsu Kaishuu (勝海舟), also later known as Awa-no-Kami (安房守) or Katsu Awa (勝安房), was a direct retainer of the Tokugawa family, born to a minor samurai in Jan 1823. He was an indispensible negotiator for the Tokugawa faction when it was facing dangerous opposition. He is well known for surrendering Edo Castle in exchange for the preservation of Tokugawa Yoshinobu's family and life, preventing the breakout of civil war in Edo.
He also not only supported, but engaged in much interaction with foreigners and the adaptation of their technology; and was responsible for much of the initial modernisation of the Japanese Navy. According to this article, he "never drew his blade on an adversary" despite having the means to and being exposed to a lot of danger.
As he was well connected and respected by members on both sides of the conflict (as shown by his successful negotiating), he managed to serve in high-level governmental positions both before and after the fall of the Shogunate.
Early life
Katsu was encouraged to take up the study of Dutch when he was younger, opening him up to an exciting new world outside that of Japan, which had been exercising isolationist policies. Studying their language and technology made him appreciate and realise the importance of exchanging ideas and knowledge with other cultures. Later, his mentor would be Sakuma Shozan (wikipedia link), a notable scholar of foreign sciences who eventually also had other like-minded students such as Sakamoto Ryouma.
Modernisation
Of course, he was a proponent of modernisation, and when in 1853 the Tokugawa Shogunate was hesitating over how to deal with Commodore Perry's demand for Japan to open up, he dared to put forth a clear proposal for the Shogunate to end its years of seclusion from the rest of the world, and start entirely reforming its military along Western lines, in order to remain on par with the rest of the world.
The Shogunate eventually accepted this stance by agreeing to Perry's proposals, first in the Kanagawa treaty of 1854 and then in the significant Harris treaty of 1858. In 1860 they sent Katsu on the first transpacific Japanese voyage to San Francisco as part of a delegation for ratifying the latter treaty. Katsu observed the American life - and its comparatively 'modern' lifestyle - during his stay of two months there. Subsequently, he rose through the ranks of the Tokugawa, eventually becoming Vice-Commissioner of the Navy in 1862.
All these dealings with foreigners, however, also earned him a few enemies from the anti-foreigner department, one particular one being Sakamoto Ryouma.
Sakamoto Ryouma and the Naval Academy
In 1863, Sakamoto and Katsu met for the first time. Apparently, Sakamoto, being hotly anti-foreigner and anti-Shogunate, intended to kill Katsu, who was currently a high-ranking Shogunate officer.
However, Katsu ended up becoming Sakamoto's mentor as he convinced him that it was really pointless resisting the foreigners when it was a fact that they had much more powerful technology. Instead, their technology could be adopted to make Japan stronger, which would be a much more sensible option.
Hence, they became good allies despite technically being on 'opposing sides', as they ultimately had the common goal of strengthening Japan, rather than merely furthering the political interests of either side. Indeed, Katsu himself was aware that the Tokugawa would not last long, and saw the good in a non-feudal system like the West's.
In fact, he was so 'sympathetic' (if you may call it that) to the Other Side, that only about a year or so after Katsu and Sakamoto set up a private Naval Academy in June 1863, it was shut down by the Shogunate as they suspected it was housing dangerous anti-Shogunate elements. This despite Katsu being promoted to rank of Naval Commander (receiving the title Awa-no-kami) of the Tokugawa Navy in 1864! Under that capacity, he had even proved his skill as a negotiator by successfully convincing, on behalf of the Shogunate, foreign forces to lay off Shimonoseki.
As a result, in 1864 Katsu was ordered to return to Edo where he was kept under house arrest. He was also stripped of the aforementioned rank and title.
Katsu the Negotiator #1 - Tokugawa vs Choshu at Hiroshima (1866)
However, things were getting worse and worse for the Tokugawa Shogunate. To summarize a number of things that happened from 1865 to 1866:
As such, in mid-1866, the Shogunate government had to call back Katsu Kaishuu in order to negotiate on their behalf: Firstly, to stop Satsuma and Aizu from going to war (#5), and then to negotiate with Choshu forces who were closing in on Hiroshima (#4).
Katsu and Yoshinobu (#6) are said to have not been on the best of terms, but nevertheless Katsu went to negotiate with the Choshu forces in Hiroshima at great personal risk. He came back successful, but subsequently had a disagreement with Yoshinobu that was enough to probably cause his resignation from the Shogunate in August 1866.
Katsu the Negotiator #2 - Saving Edo from War (1868)
Fast forward to 1867. A whole series of things happened (including a change in emperor) culminating in a what was almost a final offensive against the Tokugawa Shogunate, backed by the Imperial Court.
By late 1867, at the suggestion of Sakamoto Ryouma, the last Shogun, Yoshinobu, abdicted and returned power to the Emperor before matters got really bad. Thus ended the Shogunate.
But elements in the new government wasn't happy with Yoshinobu simply resigning, and in February 1868, demanded he commit suicide before March 15th or else they would have their Imperial Forces, led by Satsuma's Saigou Takamori, invade Edo Castle.
Katsu was greatly opposed to this as Japan really did not need another bloody civil war at this time, and the instability could also allow foreign powers to get a better foothold in Japan. (There was also a lot of fighting that had gone on which is being omitted here)
As soon as he heard about it, he sent a letter to Saigou Takamori on behalf of the Tokugawa, and eventually prevented the destruction of Edo. Instead, he surrendered Edo to the new government, and in return the Tokugawa family was spared. (Please click "letter" for more details.) This was a historical and very significant move that spurred the movement into the Meiji era. (Sorry I can't find the words to describe it.)
After All Of That?
Katsu subsequently retired to Shizuoka along with Yoshinobu. Despite their differences, Katsu was ultimately still obliged to them. Later on, however, he managed to find employment in the new Meiji government, primarily as a senior advisor but also as a minister of the Imperial Navy, which continued rapid modernisation and expansion (although I am not sure how involved he was in this).
He would have been disliked by those who were on the side of the Tokugawa because he gave up Edo without a fight and got to live well in the Meiji era while many others on that side were not so lucky.
In 1887 he was made a count (hakushaku). But during his last years he expressed concern over the rising nationalism in the 1890s as well as Japan's attitude to other countries, such as in the Sino-Japanese War from 1894 to 1895. He passed away at the age of 71 in 1899. (P.S. Katsu's fears were spot on, because I believe the trend did continue all the way into WWI and WWII)
Disclaimer: This is not written by an expert on the subject. Also this is not written with the intention of being a Good History Essay, but just for watchers of the anime to learn a little more about Katsu Kaishuu. Any corrections and comments are most certainly welcome. Oh, and the author of this page thinks Katsu is freaking awesome.
Links referred to while writing this:
Katsu Kaishu - The Man Who Saved Early Modern Japan by Romulus Hillsborough
Poseidon and his sea - Katsu Kaishu
Katsu Kaishu - Wikipedia
Bakumatsu and Meiji timeline at Shinsengumi HQ (Very helpful!!!)
Katsu Kaishuu in the anime
Return to History
Link to Katsu Kaishuu in the anime. I think it's a fairly accurate depiction so far.
Sections particularly relevant up to episode 5 are in red. Please read the disclaimer at the bottom of the page.
- Who was Katsu Kaishuu?
- Early Life
- Modernisation
- Sakamoto Ryouma and the Naval Academy
- Katsu the Negotiatior #1 (1866)
- Katsu the Negotiator #2 (1868 Edo)
- After all of that?
--------------------------------------------------
Who was Katsu Kaishuu?
Katsu Kaishuu (勝海舟), also later known as Awa-no-Kami (安房守) or Katsu Awa (勝安房), was a direct retainer of the Tokugawa family, born to a minor samurai in Jan 1823. He was an indispensible negotiator for the Tokugawa faction when it was facing dangerous opposition. He is well known for surrendering Edo Castle in exchange for the preservation of Tokugawa Yoshinobu's family and life, preventing the breakout of civil war in Edo.
He also not only supported, but engaged in much interaction with foreigners and the adaptation of their technology; and was responsible for much of the initial modernisation of the Japanese Navy. According to this article, he "never drew his blade on an adversary" despite having the means to and being exposed to a lot of danger.As he was well connected and respected by members on both sides of the conflict (as shown by his successful negotiating), he managed to serve in high-level governmental positions both before and after the fall of the Shogunate.
Early life
Katsu was encouraged to take up the study of Dutch when he was younger, opening him up to an exciting new world outside that of Japan, which had been exercising isolationist policies. Studying their language and technology made him appreciate and realise the importance of exchanging ideas and knowledge with other cultures. Later, his mentor would be Sakuma Shozan (wikipedia link), a notable scholar of foreign sciences who eventually also had other like-minded students such as Sakamoto Ryouma.
Modernisation
Of course, he was a proponent of modernisation, and when in 1853 the Tokugawa Shogunate was hesitating over how to deal with Commodore Perry's demand for Japan to open up, he dared to put forth a clear proposal for the Shogunate to end its years of seclusion from the rest of the world, and start entirely reforming its military along Western lines, in order to remain on par with the rest of the world.
The Shogunate eventually accepted this stance by agreeing to Perry's proposals, first in the Kanagawa treaty of 1854 and then in the significant Harris treaty of 1858. In 1860 they sent Katsu on the first transpacific Japanese voyage to San Francisco as part of a delegation for ratifying the latter treaty. Katsu observed the American life - and its comparatively 'modern' lifestyle - during his stay of two months there. Subsequently, he rose through the ranks of the Tokugawa, eventually becoming Vice-Commissioner of the Navy in 1862.
All these dealings with foreigners, however, also earned him a few enemies from the anti-foreigner department, one particular one being Sakamoto Ryouma.
Sakamoto Ryouma and the Naval Academy
In 1863, Sakamoto and Katsu met for the first time. Apparently, Sakamoto, being hotly anti-foreigner and anti-Shogunate, intended to kill Katsu, who was currently a high-ranking Shogunate officer.
However, Katsu ended up becoming Sakamoto's mentor as he convinced him that it was really pointless resisting the foreigners when it was a fact that they had much more powerful technology. Instead, their technology could be adopted to make Japan stronger, which would be a much more sensible option.
Hence, they became good allies despite technically being on 'opposing sides', as they ultimately had the common goal of strengthening Japan, rather than merely furthering the political interests of either side. Indeed, Katsu himself was aware that the Tokugawa would not last long, and saw the good in a non-feudal system like the West's.
In fact, he was so 'sympathetic' (if you may call it that) to the Other Side, that only about a year or so after Katsu and Sakamoto set up a private Naval Academy in June 1863, it was shut down by the Shogunate as they suspected it was housing dangerous anti-Shogunate elements. This despite Katsu being promoted to rank of Naval Commander (receiving the title Awa-no-kami) of the Tokugawa Navy in 1864! Under that capacity, he had even proved his skill as a negotiator by successfully convincing, on behalf of the Shogunate, foreign forces to lay off Shimonoseki.
As a result, in 1864 Katsu was ordered to return to Edo where he was kept under house arrest. He was also stripped of the aforementioned rank and title.
Katsu the Negotiator #1 - Tokugawa vs Choshu at Hiroshima (1866)
However, things were getting worse and worse for the Tokugawa Shogunate. To summarize a number of things that happened from 1865 to 1866:
- The anti-Shogunate Choshu clan was creating a lot of problems
- Satsuma clan, which was like the Shogunate's ally, broke off
- Instead Satsuma and Choshu allied against them (thanks to Sakamoto Ryouma)
- Shogunate forces lose badly many times against the Choshu clan
- Satsuma and Aizu (a pro-Shogunate clan) were about to go to war
- A change in shogun complicated matters (from Iemochi to Yoshinobu)
As such, in mid-1866, the Shogunate government had to call back Katsu Kaishuu in order to negotiate on their behalf: Firstly, to stop Satsuma and Aizu from going to war (#5), and then to negotiate with Choshu forces who were closing in on Hiroshima (#4).
Katsu and Yoshinobu (#6) are said to have not been on the best of terms, but nevertheless Katsu went to negotiate with the Choshu forces in Hiroshima at great personal risk. He came back successful, but subsequently had a disagreement with Yoshinobu that was enough to probably cause his resignation from the Shogunate in August 1866.
Katsu the Negotiator #2 - Saving Edo from War (1868)
Fast forward to 1867. A whole series of things happened (including a change in emperor) culminating in a what was almost a final offensive against the Tokugawa Shogunate, backed by the Imperial Court.
By late 1867, at the suggestion of Sakamoto Ryouma, the last Shogun, Yoshinobu, abdicted and returned power to the Emperor before matters got really bad. Thus ended the Shogunate.
But elements in the new government wasn't happy with Yoshinobu simply resigning, and in February 1868, demanded he commit suicide before March 15th or else they would have their Imperial Forces, led by Satsuma's Saigou Takamori, invade Edo Castle.
Katsu was greatly opposed to this as Japan really did not need another bloody civil war at this time, and the instability could also allow foreign powers to get a better foothold in Japan. (There was also a lot of fighting that had gone on which is being omitted here)
As soon as he heard about it, he sent a letter to Saigou Takamori on behalf of the Tokugawa, and eventually prevented the destruction of Edo. Instead, he surrendered Edo to the new government, and in return the Tokugawa family was spared. (Please click "letter" for more details.) This was a historical and very significant move that spurred the movement into the Meiji era. (Sorry I can't find the words to describe it.)
After All Of That?
Katsu subsequently retired to Shizuoka along with Yoshinobu. Despite their differences, Katsu was ultimately still obliged to them. Later on, however, he managed to find employment in the new Meiji government, primarily as a senior advisor but also as a minister of the Imperial Navy, which continued rapid modernisation and expansion (although I am not sure how involved he was in this).
He would have been disliked by those who were on the side of the Tokugawa because he gave up Edo without a fight and got to live well in the Meiji era while many others on that side were not so lucky.
In 1887 he was made a count (hakushaku). But during his last years he expressed concern over the rising nationalism in the 1890s as well as Japan's attitude to other countries, such as in the Sino-Japanese War from 1894 to 1895. He passed away at the age of 71 in 1899. (P.S. Katsu's fears were spot on, because I believe the trend did continue all the way into WWI and WWII)
Disclaimer: This is not written by an expert on the subject. Also this is not written with the intention of being a Good History Essay, but just for watchers of the anime to learn a little more about Katsu Kaishuu. Any corrections and comments are most certainly welcome. Oh, and the author of this page thinks Katsu is freaking awesome.
Links referred to while writing this:
Katsu Kaishu - The Man Who Saved Early Modern Japan by Romulus Hillsborough
Poseidon and his sea - Katsu Kaishu
Katsu Kaishu - Wikipedia
Bakumatsu and Meiji timeline at Shinsengumi HQ (Very helpful!!!)
Katsu Kaishuu in the anime
Return to History
