From Ideas to Politics: the Imperial Loyalism in the Mito-Court Relations

When explaining the process of establishing the modern state of Japan, the rise of imperial loyalism and the impact of external pressure have been emphasized. However, although these are the necessary conditions for the emperor’s political emergence, they are not sufficient conditions in themselves. In order to explain the emperor’s emergence in the Bakumatsu Era, it is necessary to pay attention to the process of ’politicization of ideas’, that is, the process in which ideas that value the existence of the emperor and seek to further enhance the emperor's authority are connected to political movements in reality. This study attempted to analyze the movements surrounding the imperial court that existed in reality, rather than the discourses of scholars and thinkers who had no special contact with the court. Focusing on the ideas and movements of those who were directly or indirectly related to the administration of the court, this article reveals in more detail the journey of the ideas surrounding the emperor to the political arena in reality. In this article, it was revealed that the revival of the emperor’s ancient-style posthumous name in 1841 marks a milestone in the relationship between Takatsukasa Masamichi and Tokugawa Nariaki, each of whom were the top figures in the court noble class and the warrior class at the time.