The Last Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu

Died 110 years ago Today, November 22, 1913.

The Last Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu died on this day, November 22, 1913.

Born in Edo in 1837 as the seventh son of the Daimyo of Mito, he was seven months old when he first came home to Mito and was brought up by his strict and disciplinarian father, Tokugawa Nariaki.  Known as Keiki in his childhood, his father believed that a warrior should lie straight even in bed while asleep, and so he would often check on the sleeping habits of his son, Keiki. To his horror, he noted the child would sleep on all angles and in dissarray. To “improve” the boy's posture, Lord Nariaki is said to have had sword blades positioned on either side of his son's wooden pillow, so that if the child moved or turned over in the night, he risked cutting himself about the head and face.