Walking in the Steps of the Last Shogun

Deep within the inner recesses of the Toeizan Kaneiji complex there is a cozy but opulent room, called the Aoi no Ma. Peek inside the circular window and you might see the shadow of a Tokugawa shogun, awaking from his nap. The shogun would have been none other than Yoshinobu, the 15th leader of the Tokugawa clan, who ascended to the throne in the year 1866. ''Black Ships'' were arriving from across the Pacific and taking anchor in Japan's ports, rocking the proverbial boat and destabilizing the political status quo. Competing factions emerged, all advocating their own idea of how best to handle these foreign incursions. One faction advocated restoring the imperial court to power and pushing back against foreign influence under the banner of sonno joi — “exalt the emperor, expel the barbarians” — while another faction was in favor of opening Japan, using international exchange as a springboard toward modernization. The heated debate jumped from the intellectual arena to the physical battlefield, where the blood of countrymen was shed for opposing causes, plunging Japan into an age of profound discord.

Amid mounting frustration over the shogunate's inability to squelch the turmoil and calls for the Tokugawa clan to step aside, Yoshinobu acquiesced to handing over the reins of power to the emperor in 1867. However, the shogunate's supporters did not take the fall from grace lightly, and continued to rattle swords with the new government. In 1868, shogunate and pro-Imperial forces clashed at the Battle of Toba–Fushimi, marking the start of the Boshin War. Realizing that violence would not solve this particular situation, and fearing being branded an enemy of the imperial court, Yoshinobu decided to lay low and go into voluntary exile from public life as a gesture of supplication to the emperor. For his humble retreat he chose the Aoi no Ma.

Aoi no Ma was originally built as part of the Daijiin, overlooking 5th shogun Tsunayoshi Tokugawa’s mausoleum as one of the 36 subordinate temples that used to comprise the Kaneiji complex. Located at what was once the northwest corner of the Kaneiji precinct, the site allowed convenient access to a secreted side path that led straight to Senju, providing an escape route in case of a not-unlikely assassination attempt. On February 12, 1868, Yoshinobu moved into his new cramped quarters, measuring a little over a mere three meters square. Spared from the gallows in April, Yoshinobu watched the fall of Edo in May and June from his nook in the Aoi no Ma, as the forces loyal to the shogunate surrendered to the emperor's forces, and then left the city. The shogunate loyalists — known as the shogitai — took his place, setting up camp in Kaneiji, from where they ended up launching their last stand at the Battle of Ueno. The Kaneiji itself suffered enormous casualties, as the Konpon Chudo and many other structures were destroyed in the battle.

After leaving the Aoi no Ma, Yoshinobu continued to stay out of the public eye. As the Boshin War came to a close in 1869, he was absolved of his official duties, and is said to have spent the rest of his life quietly indulging in his hobbies. Although Yoshinobu established a new Tokugawa house separate from the main lineage and thus grew distant from his ancestral Kaneiji temple, upon his death in 1913, Iesato Tokugawa, 16th head of the Tokugawa clan, had his remains returned to Ueno, where he is interred at the Yanaka Cemetery. Located on the former grounds of Kaneiji, Yanaka Cemetery is also the final resting place of Eiichi Shibusawa, the famed industrialist who served as an adviser to Yoshinobu when he was still in line to become shogun as head of the Hitotsubashi house, one of the three branches of the Tokugawa clan. The grave of Shibusawa, a loyal admirer of Yoshinobu even after he stepped down from the shogun's seat, still faces his lord in a show of eternal respect.

Yoshinobu lived to see the reign of the Taisho emperor, dying in 1913 at the age of 76 years and 25 days old. 

Yoshinobu requested a Shinto-style burial, as seen in his mausoleum marked by a dome of stones.

A stone inscription bears testament to Yoshinobu’s prolific life. His grave is seen to the left alongside his wife’s grave to the right.