Katsu Kaishū

He was often called Awa (安房) from his ceremonial title Awa-no-kami (安房守) during the late Tokugawa shogunate and later changed his name to Yasuyoshi after the Meiji Restoration.An advocate of modernization and westernization, Katsu was an influential figure during the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate (Bakumatsu) and subsequent Meiji Restoration.In 1860, Katsu served as captain of the warship Kanrin-maru (with assistance from US naval officer Lt. John M. Brooke), to escort the first Japanese delegation to San Francisco, California, en route to Washington, DC, for the formal ratification of the Harris Treaty.Following his return to Japan, Katsu held a series of high-ranking posts in the Tokugawa navy, arguing before government councils in favor of a unified Japanese naval force led by professionally trained officers in disregard of promotion and assignment due to hereditary status.However, Katsu persuaded Ryōma of the necessity of a long-term plan to increase Japan's military strength in the face of Western influence that led to the Convention of Kanagawa.
Japanese namesurnameTokugawa ShogunateEmpire of JapanImperial Japanese NavyKanrin-maruKobe Naval SchoolBoshin WarKatsu Kokichilate Tokugawa shogunateMeiji periodSakuma Shōzangiven namesMeiji Restorationend of the Tokugawa ShogunateSaigō TakamoriretainersamuraiNagasaki Naval AcademyJohn M. BrookeSan Francisco, CaliforniaWashington, DCHarris TreatyrōninSakamoto RyōmawesternizationprotégéChōshūTokugawa bakufuorderly transition of powerMeiji governmentPrivy CouncilTokugawa YoshinobukazokuTsuda SenTsuda UmeSenior second rankOrder of the Sacred TreasureOrder of the Rising SunFumiyo KohinataGoogle BooksJansen, Marius B.Harvard University PressWayback Machine