Matsudaira Katamori

Lord of Aizu during the end of the Edo period. His pen names were Yudo and Yoshiyama. He was later named Wakasa no Kami and Higo no Kami. He was born as the sixth son of Matsudaira Yoshitake, lord of Takasu Domain in Mino Province (Gifu Prefecture), and was adopted by Matsudaira Katataka, lord of Aizu Domain, and succeeded to his title in 1852 (Kaei 5). He advocated the idea of ​​unifying the Imperial Court and the Shogunate, and in the 1862 (Bunkyu 2) Shogunate reforms he became a Shogunate advisor, was appointed to the newly established Kyoto Shugoshoku, and was in charge of maintaining order in Kyoto when the Sonno Joi movement became fierce, leading the suppression of Sonno Joi patriots. In the August 18 Coup of 1863, he cooperated with Prince Nakagawa and the Satsuma clan to expel the Sonno Joi faction from the Choshu clan and other clans, and participated in the Imperial Court government as an advisor together with Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu, Matsudaira Yoshinaga, Yamauchi Toyonobu, Date Munenari, and Shimazu Hisamitsu, and attempted to restore national power by uniting the Imperial Court and the Shogunate, but failed due to internal conflicts. In 1864 (Genji 1), he took this opportunity to defeat the Choshu clan, which had caused the Kinmon Incident (Hamagurigomon Incident), together with the Satsuma and Kuwana clans, and during the Choshu Expedition he was appointed Chief of the Army, later Chief of the Military Affairs, and also resumed his position as Kyoto Shugoshoku. After that, he cooperated with Tokugawa Yoshinobu and played an active role in the issue of treaties and charters, but in 1867 (Keio 3), the machinations of the Satsuma and Choshu clans were successful, and an imperial decree was issued to kill Katamori. After the Meiji Restoration, he retreated to Osaka with Yoshinobu, and was defeated in the Battle of Toba-Fushimi and fled to Edo by sea. He tried to persuade Yoshinobu to rise again, but was not accepted. He became the center of the Oshu-Uetsu Alliance in Aizu, deployed troops in Tohoku and Hokuetsu, and surrendered after a siege. He was placed under permanent custody in the Tottori clan, and later the Wakayama clan. He was pardoned in 1872 (Meiji 5), and became the chief priest of Toshogu Shrine in 1880. He died on December 5, 1893.

[Katsuo Inoue]

"The Life of Matsudaira Katamori, by Teshirogi Katsuto and Shiba Taichiro (included in the Aizu Clan Office Records, 1926, Japan Historical Records Association, reprint edition, 1982, University of Tokyo Press)" ▽ "The End of the Kyoto Shugoshoku, by Yamakawa Hiroshi and annotated by Toyama Shigeki, 2 volumes (Heibonsha, Toyo Bunko)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

幕末の会津藩主。号は祐堂、芳山。若狭守(わかさのかみ)、肥後守となる。美濃国(みののくに)（岐阜県）高須(たかす)藩主松平義建の六男に生まれ、会津藩主松平容敬(かたたか)の養子となり、1852年（嘉永5）襲封した。公武合体論を唱え、1862年（文久2）の幕政改革で幕政参与となり、新設された京都守護職に就任し、尊王攘夷(じょうい)運動が熾烈(しれつ)になった京都の治安維持にあたり、尊王攘夷派志士弾圧の指揮をとった。1863年の八月十八日の政変では、中川宮(なかがわのみや)や薩摩(さつま)藩らと協力して長州藩などの尊攘派勢力を追放し、一橋慶喜(ひとつばしよしのぶ)、松平慶永(よしなが)、山内豊信(やまうちとよしげ)、伊達宗城(だてむねなり)、島津久光(しまづひさみつ)とともに参与として朝政に参画し、公武合体策による国政挽回(ばんかい)を図ったが、内部対立のために失敗した。1864年（元治1）、これを好機として禁門(きんもん)の変（蛤御門(はまぐりごもん)の変）を起こした長州藩を、薩摩・桑名藩とともに撃退し、長州征伐には陸軍総裁職、のち軍事総裁職につき、また京都守護職に復した。その後、徳川慶喜(とくがわよしのぶ)と協力して条約勅許問題などで活躍したが、1867年（慶応3）薩長両藩の画策が功を奏し、容保誅戮(ちゅうりく)の宣旨(せんじ)が出され、大政奉還後、慶喜とともに大坂に退去し、鳥羽(とば)・伏見(ふしみ)の戦いに敗れて海路、江戸へ逃れた。慶喜に再挙を説いたがいれられず、会津で奥羽越(おううえつ)列藩同盟の中心となり、東北・北越に兵を展開し、籠城(ろうじょう)のうえ降伏、鳥取藩のち和歌山藩に永預(ながあず)けの処分を受けた。1872年（明治5）許され、1880年には東照宮宮司となった。明治26年12月5日没。

［井上勝生］

『手代木勝任・柴太一朗述『松平容保公伝』（『会津藩庁記録』所収・1926・日本史籍協会／復刻版・1982・東京大学出版会）』▽『山川浩著、遠山茂樹校注『京都守護職始末』全2巻（平凡社・東洋文庫）』

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