| Tokugawa Nariaki | |
| Order: | 9th Lord of Mito |
| Term Start: | 1829 |
| Term End: | 1844 |
| Predecessor: | Tokugawa Narinobu |
| Successor: | Tokugawa Yoshiatsu |
| Birth Date: | April 4, 1800 |
| Nationality: | Japanese |
| Father: | Tokugawa Harutoshi |
| Mother: | Toyama-dono |
| Spouse: | Arisugawa Yoshiko (1804–1893) |
| Native Name: | 徳川 斉昭 |
| Native Name Lang: | ja |
Tokugawa Nariaki (徳川 斉昭, April 4, 1800 – September 29, 1860) was a Japanese daimyō who ruled the Mito Domain (now Ibaraki Prefecture) and contributed to the rise of nationalism and the Meiji Restoration.
Nariaki was the 3rd son of Tokugawa Harutoshi, the seventh-generation daimyō of Mito. The family headship first passed to Harutoshi's eldest son Narinobu, before being passed on to Nariaki in 1829.[1] Nariaki was also leader of the Jōi (expel the barbarian) party and made a Bakufu adviser on national defence.[2] His childhood name was Torasaburo (虎三郎) later changed to Keisaburo (敬三郎).
Nariaki was put in charge of Bakufu efforts to defend the country against encroaching foreigners. His own view was that the bakufu should strengthen its military and fight the foreigners, and was at odds with Ii Naosuke on the issue. He was pro-emperor and favored imperial restoration. Nariaki also greatly expanded the Mitogaku school established by Tokugawa Mitsukuni. He wrote a document entitled "Japan, Reject the Westerners" in 1853. in this document, he stated ten reasons why Japan should stay isolated from the rest of the world. He said that the Japanese people had a choice between war and peace, but clearly to him, the Japanese people should choose war so that Westerners would not intrude into Japan's affairs.
Despite his resistance to Westernization, Nariaki was significantly influenced by the Kokugaku school.[3] Ōkuni Takamasa, a student of Hirata Atsutane attempted to persuade him to combine ritual with technology in order to protect Japan's borders and expand Japan as an empire. This depended on reinvigorating the Japanese "national spirit".[3] Ōkuni and Nariaki therefore laid some foundations for the Meiji restoration as well as the development of State Shinto.[3]
Nariaki and Naosuke fought over who would succeed the Shōgun Iesada, with Nariaki championing his son Yoshinobu. Naosuke, who eventually prevailed, favored the Wakayama Domain daimyo Tokugawa Yoshitomi.
In 1841, Nariaki built Kairaku-en, a garden whose fame lasts to this day.
Nariaki retired in 1844 in favor of his son Yoshiatsu, and died of a heart attack in 1860, at age 60.
Three of the leading figures of the 1860s were in fact natural brothers, all being sons of Nariaki: Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu, who became the 15th and last shōgun as Tokugawa Yoshinobu in 1866; Tokugawa Yoshiatsu of Mito; and Ikeda Yoshinori of Inaba (Tottori).[4]
Published posthumously:
