Eighty-eight Courtiers Oppose Treaty Approval

Senior councilor Hotta Masayoshi sought imperial approval for the American commercial treaty in 1858. Iwakura Tomomi worked with Ōhara Shigetomi and other courtiers to oppose granting it. Their collective action became known as the protest of eighty-eight courtiers, bringing nobles outside the highest court offices into the dispute.

The opposition challenged the proposed delegation of treaty authority to the shogunate. Iwakura also advocated sending a mission overseas to learn about foreign conditions and gain time for consideration. That proposal supplied an alternative step, even though it did not amount to a settled plan for the treaty’s military and commercial consequences.

Emperor Kōmei withheld approval, and Hotta returned without the sanction he sought. Ii Naosuke’s government nevertheless authorized signature on July 29. The protesters therefore affected the domestic approval process without stopping the international agreement. The resulting disagreement over authorization continued into the Ansei Purge and further contests between the court and the shogunate.