Kazunomiya Marries Tokugawa Iemochi

Kazunomiya, Emperor Kōmei’s younger sister, was already betrothed to Prince Arisugawa Taruhito when the shogunate sought her marriage to Iemochi. The proposal followed disputes over unauthorized commercial treaties and the killing of Ii Naosuke. Senior councilors Kuze Hirochika and Andō Nobumasa pursued closer relations with the court through the match.

Kazunomiya initially refused. Kōmei eventually approved the marriage with a condition concerning treaty cancellation or expulsion of foreigners. She moved to Edo in 1861; the wedding took place on the eleventh day of the second month of the Japanese calendar in 1862.

The marriage brought an imperial princess into the shogunal household. Letters and gifts exchanged by the couple survive, while Iemochi’s repeated journeys to Kyoto reduced their time together. He died in 1866. Their family connection lasted only a few years, and the treaties remained in force. The wedding strengthened a channel between the two institutions without settling the policy that had made their reconciliation urgent.