Hirochika Kuze

Japanese: 久世広周 - くぜ・ひろちか

Year of death: June 25, 1864 (July 28, 1864)
Year of birth: 1819
A senior councilor in the late Edo period. The second son of the shogunate official Okusa Takayoshi. In 1829, he was adopted by Kuze Hirotsune, the lord of Sekijuku Domain (Chiba Prefecture), and inherited his title in 1830. After serving as a soshaban (a court official) and the magistrate of temples and shrines, he became a senior councilor in 1851, and supported Abe Masahiro. After Ii Naosuke was appointed as the chief councilor, he showed a cautious attitude toward the punishment of Tokugawa Nariaki and others, and resigned in October 1858. In March 1860, immediately after the Sakuradamon Gate Incident, he was reappointed as a senior councilor, and was in charge of shogunate politics together with Ando Nobumasa. He dealt with diplomatic issues such as the assassination of Heusken, the occupation of Tsushima by a Russian ship, and the attack on Tozenji Temple, and served as the official in charge of marriage arrangements when Princess Kazunomiya was married off to the Imperial Court. He also supported Nagai Gagaku, sympathizing with the "nautical strategy." In the Sakashitamon Incident, Ando was injured and left his position as senior councilor, and Nagai's movement to unite the Imperial Court and the Shogunate was frustrated, leading to his resignation in June 1862. In August of the same year, he was accused of mismanagement during his term in office, and was sentenced to retirement and immediate confinement, followed by permanent house arrest.

(Inoue Isao)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：元治1.6.25(1864.7.28)
生年：文政2(1819)
幕末の老中。幕臣大草高好の次男。文政12(1829)年関宿藩(千葉県)藩主久世広連の養子となり,天保1(1830)年襲封。奏者番,寺社奉行を経て嘉永4(1851)年老中となり阿部正弘を支援。井伊直弼大老就任ののち,徳川斉昭ほかの処分に慎重な態度を示し,安政5(1858)年10月辞職。桜田門外の変直後の万延1(1860)年閏3月老中に再任,安藤信正と共に幕政を担当。ヒュースケン暗殺事件,ロシア艦対馬占領事件,東禅寺襲撃事件などの外交問題処理に当たり,和宮降嫁に際しては御縁組御用掛を務めた。また「航海遠略策」に共鳴して長井雅楽を援助。坂下門外の変で安藤が負傷し老中職を去り,長井の公武合体運動が挫折し,文久2(1862)年6月辞職。同年8月,在職中の失政を問われて隠居・急度慎,次いで永蟄居の追罰を受けた。

(井上勲)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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