Tokugawa Yoshinobu
1837–1913 · Japanese (Edo/Tokyo) · End of Tokugawa Shogunate, Meiji Restoration
Known for: Last shogun of Japan who surrendered power to Emperor Meiji rather than plunge Japan into civil war
Yoshinobu was the 15th and last Tokugawa shogun. When the Meiji Restoration movement demanded the restoration of imperial rule, he chose to resign rather than fight a civil war—one of history's great acts of political self-sacrifice. He lived quietly for 45 years afterward, pursuing photography and pig farming.
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