The Last Shogun: Ryotaro Shiba

The Last Shogun: The Life of Tokugawa Yoshinobu
Ryotaro Shiba
Juliet Winters Carpenter (Translator)
255pp

I sit here on a Saturday morning... my Friday review not out... what to do...

Luckily I have a little time this morning with my coffee to share a book that I finished (one that will begin a series of at least 9 books, two of which are yet to be published, one I reviewed for the WIK site, and one that came out this week...).

Here I begin my look at the works of Ryotaro Shiba, the master best seller of accessible Japanese historical novels.

So far in English, The Last Shogun, Clouds Above the Hill, and the first two volumes of Ryoma are available. I've read about half of what is out so far, and I will certainly finish them all, and feel like I've learnt more from these books, at least more that feels like it actually is sticking in my brain rather than spilling out, than in many of the history books I have read before.

And then, we begin with a look at this book specifically. The last shogun, if you are unfamiliar, was Tokugawa Yoshinobu, who served less than a year and who took part in one of the defining moments in modern Japan, that being the handing over of power from the Tokugawa Shogunate to the Emperor.

What led up to this moment? Why did it have to happen?

Shiba does a marvelous job of leading us from Yoshinobu's youth where it appears he is always meant to be the bridesmaid and never the Shogun, and all the way up to the point at which he appears to be the obvious next leader. Here we have maybe the greatest part of the book, where instead of accepting the role, Yoshinobu starts a game of Shogun hot potato of sorts where he dives and jumps to avoid taking responsibility, but all in an apparently genius negotiation to put himself in the only position where he and many others can hope to survive.

In many ways, along with his ability to make history reasonably accessible, Shiba is also wonderful at making Gods of men into human figures. A tremendous example occurs when Yoshinobu realizes that his men have gone against his wishes and started a battle that they simply can't win. This was what the shogun had hoped to avoid:

Yoshinobu's eyes were shining. The next moment, sparkling tears spilled from his eyes and coursed freely down his cheeks. They were the first tears Yoshinobu had shown to any retainer of his since leaving Kyoto

"They carried the brocade banner," he said simply.

The battle had begun on January 27, 1868, and on January 29 the brocade banner that signified an imperial commission had appeared, transforming Satsuma and Choshu into imperial forces. That automatically made Yoshinobu a rebel, a traitor to the throne. The stigma would never vanish.

Now, not only will Yoshinobu lost everything, a state he accepted, but his reputation as well. It is a final crush that ended any hope of a future for himself or the Tokugawa line. Shiba and Mrs. Carpenter in translating do a beautiful job here and throughout.


On a personal note, having toured Nijo Castle nearly a dozen times, and read and studied at least casually about the handing over of the control of Japan, I can admit that many of the images and ideas that I had about that time were not quite right. Shiba, in a kind and guiding voice of authority guides us through those seemingly backwards decisions and circumstances and gives it all a common sort of sense.

So, I recommend this book highly. My one caveat (and one that will linger as I review more Shiba works) is that the changing of names can be incredibly bothersome for a light reading. Japanese tend to have varying names or nicknames for various situations and this can be a little confusing and a little note on the back cover saved me numerous times from having to re-read passages. But, again, with a bit of effort the reward provided by this book is momentous for those learning Japanese history.


Be sure to check out all the future reviews of Shiba's historical novels.

The man, the myth, the end of a era of shogun leading Japan.