Masahiro Abe

Chief of the Shogunate's Council of Elders around the time of the country's opening to the world at the end of the Edo period. Born in Edo on October 16, 1822 (Bunsei 2) as the sixth son of Abe Masayoshi. His pen name was Yuken. He was the lord of Fukuyama Domain in Bingo (Hiroshima Prefecture) and was appointed as a Council of Elders in 1843 (Tenpo 14). Two years later, he succeeded Mizuno Tadakuni, who had failed in the Tenpo Reforms, and became Chief of the Council of Elders at the young age of 26. With news of the Opium Wars and a succession of foreign ships arriving, there were calls for urgent coastal defense, and in 1853 (Kaei 6) Perry demanded the country be opened to the world. Masahiro reported this to the Imperial Court and consulted with daimyo, hatamoto, and the general public on countermeasures, opening the way for the Shogunate to speak out. The following year, in 1854 (Ansei 1), he was forced to conclude the Treaties of Peace and Amity between Japan and the United States, Japan and Britain, and Japan and Russia. At the same time, he appointed Tokugawa Nariaki, lord of the Mito domain, to the shogunate, and sought cooperation with powerful daimyo such as Shimazu Nariakira (Satsuma), Matsudaira Yoshinaga (Echizen), and Yamauchi Toyoshige (Tosa). He also promoted capable officials such as Kawaji Toshiaki, Nagai Naoyuki (also pronounced "Naomune"), and Iwase Tadanari to key positions in the shogunate regardless of their rank, and worked to unify the Imperial Court, the shogunate, and the various domains, and to reform the shogunate. Representative examples of this were the establishment of the Naval Training School and Military Studies School to develop the navy and reform the military system, the construction of artillery batteries in major ports, the construction of the Nirayama Reverberatory Furnace in Izu, and the establishment of the Bansho Shirabesho to study and educate on overseas affairs. However, these policies of cooperation and reform drew resentment from the Fudai daimyo families who clung to the old Shogunate's arbitrary decision-making, and in an attempt to avoid friction, Masahiro handed over his position as senior councilor to Hotta Masayoshi (Lord of Sakura Domain) in 1855, and the following year, in 1856, he left the front line, leaving Hotta to take on the role of foreign affairs. Masahiro, who had been troubled by the contradiction between the world historical necessity of opening the country and the Shogunate's arbitrary decision-making, passed away eight months later on June 17, 1856.

[Takuji Shibahara]

"The Life of Abe Masahiro" by Watanabe Shujiro (1910, privately published)" ▽ "The Man, Abe Masahiro, and His Politics" by Komori Tatsukuni (1985, Akashi Shoten)" ▽ "Everything about Abe Masahiro" (edited by Shinjinbutsu Oraisha, 1997, Shinjinbutsu Oraisha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

幕末開国前後の幕府老中首席。阿部正精(まさきよ)の第6子として文政(ぶんせい)2年10月16日、江戸に生まれる。号裕軒。備後(びんご)（広島県）福山藩主で1843年（天保14）老中に就任。翌々年、天保(てんぽう)の改革に失敗した水野忠邦(ただくに)の後を受け、26歳の若さで老中首席となった。アヘン戦争の情報や相次ぐ外国船渡来で海防の急が叫ばれるなか、1853年（嘉永6）ペリーの開国要求に直面、正弘はこれを朝廷に奏聞(そうもん)し、大名、旗本はじめ一般にその対策を諮問するなど、幕政への言路洞開の途(みち)を開いた。翌1854年（安政1）日米、日英、日露の和親条約を余儀なく締結する一方、水戸(みと)藩主徳川斉昭(なりあき)の幕政への登用、島津斉彬(なりあきら)（薩摩(さつま)）、松平慶永(よしなが)（越前(えちぜん)）、山内豊信(やまうちとよしげ)（土佐）ら有力諸大名との協調を図り、また川路聖謨(かわじとしあきら)、永井尚志(なおゆき)（「なおむね」とも読む）、岩瀬忠震(ただなり)など有能な吏僚を身分の高下にかかわらず幕政の要路に抜擢(ばってき)し、朝廷、幕府、諸藩の合体と幕政の改革に努めた。海軍伝習所や講武所の設置による海軍育成と軍制改革、主要諸港への砲台築造や伊豆韮山(にらやま)反射炉の建設、蕃書調所(ばんしょしらべしょ)の設立による海外事情の研究教育などがその代表的なものである。しかし、これらの協調と改革の路線は、旧来の幕府専断に固執する譜代(ふだい)名家大名群の反感も招き、摩擦回避の意もあって正弘は、1855年堀田正睦(ほったまさよし)（佐倉藩主）に老中首席の座を譲り、翌1856年、外国事務取扱も堀田に兼務させて第一線を退いた。開国の世界史的必然と幕府専断の祖法との矛盾に悩み抜いた正弘が死去したのはその8か月後の安政(あんせい)4年6月17日であった。

［芝原拓自］

『渡辺修二郎著『阿部正弘事跡』（1910・私家版）』▽『小森竜邦著『人間・阿部正弘とその政治』（1985・明石書店）』▽『新人物往来社編『阿部正弘のすべて』（1997・新人物往来社）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例