Bio Oguri Tadamasa (1827–1868)

At the same time, Oguri remained unwaveringly loyal to the Tokugawa regime. Following the resignation of the fifteenth shōgun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu (徳川慶喜, 1837–1913), he argued that the shogunate should continue resisting the Satsuma-Chōshū alliance during the Boshin War. His advice was rejected, and after the collapse of Tokugawa authority, he was arrested by the new imperial government and executed without a formal trial in 1868.

For many years, official Meiji historiography portrayed Oguri as a dangerous opponent of the Restoration. During the twentieth century, however, historians increasingly reassessed his career. Today, he is widely regarded as one of the principal architects of Japan's modernisation, whose industrial and administrative reforms laid important foundations for the Meiji state, despite having served the government that it replaced.

Early life

Oguri Tadamasa was born on 16 July 1827 in Surugadai, Edo, into a distinguished hereditary hatamoto family receiving an annual stipend of 2,500 koku. He was the son of Oguri Tadataka (小栗忠高) and Kuniko (くに子). He became the twelfth head of the Mikawa branch of the Oguri family, whose ancestors had served Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康, 1543–1616) since before the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate. His maternal grandfather, Nakagawa Tadahide (中川忠英), had served as commissioner of finance (kanjō bugyō), reflecting the family's long tradition of government service.

As a child, Oguri was known as Gōtarō (剛太郎). Although contemporaries initially regarded him as mischievous and rather unruly, he gradually revealed exceptional intellectual and physical abilities. Smallpox in childhood left his face permanently scarred, and the death of his younger sister at an early age was another formative experience.

From the age of eight, he studied at Kenzanrō (見山楼), the private academy of the Confucian scholar Asaka Gonsai (安積艮斎, 1791–1848), where he became acquainted with Kurimoto Joun (栗本鋤雲, 1822–1897), who would later become one of his closest associates. Alongside his literary education, he devoted himself to martial training. He studied swordsmanship under Shimada Toranosuke (島田 虎之 助), later receiving a licence of full mastery in the Jikishinkage-ryū school. He also trained in artillery under Tatsuke Kazue (田付主計), in jujutsu, and in Yamaga military strategy under Kubota Suketarō Kiyone (窪田助太郎清音). He developed a lifelong interest in military science.

One of the strongest influences on the young Oguri came from Yūki Keinosuke (結城啓之助), an older fellow student who was familiar with Dutch-style artillery and advocated opening Japan to the outside world. Well before Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in 1853, Oguri had become convinced that Japan needed to adopt Western technology if it hoped to preserve its independence. This conviction would shape his entire career.

At the age of seventeen, he formally entered Tokugawa service, joining the guards of Edo Castle. His intelligence and administrative ability quickly attracted notice, although his unusually direct manner often irritated his superiors. On several occasions, he was removed from office after expressing blunt opinions, only to be recalled because of his recognised talents. This pattern would continue throughout his career and contributed to the popular claim that he changed official appointments around seventy times, serving in a remarkable variety of senior government posts.

In 1849, he married Michiko (道子), daughter of Takebe Masazumi (建部政醇), the former daimyō of Hayashida Domain. Following his father's death in 1855, he inherited the headship of the family and entered the ranks of the senior Tokugawa bureaucracy. Four years later, he was appointed metsuke (目付), or inspector, and received the court title Bungo-no-kami (豊後守). His abilities attracted the attention of the powerful tairō Ii Naosuke (井伊直弼, 1815–1860), who selected the thirty-two-year-old Oguri as one of the principal members of the shogunate's embassy to the United States in 1860. The appointment marked the beginning of his rise as one of the Tokugawa government's leading reformers.

Mission to the United States

In 1860, the Tokugawa shogunate dispatched its first official embassy to the United States to exchange the instruments of ratification for the Treaty of Amity and Commerce concluded two years earlier. The delegation travelled aboard the American steam frigate USS Powhatan. At the same time, the Japanese escort vessel Kanrin Maru (咸臨丸) crossed the Pacific separately under the command of Katsu Kaishū (勝海舟, 1823–1899), demonstrating Japan's growing mastery of Western navigation and steam technology. Oguri, then serving as a metsuke, was selected by Ii Naosuke as one of the mission's principal officials, who recognised his administrative ability and political judgement despite his relatively young age.

Although Shinmi Masaoki (新見正興, 1810–1869) formally headed the embassy, Oguri quickly attracted the attention of his American hosts. Unlike many members of the delegation, who had little previous contact with foreigners, he remained composed during official meetings and was willing to engage directly with his counterparts. On several occasions, American observers mistakenly assumed that he led the mission. When questioned about his position as a metsuke, a title sometimes translated as "inspector", he reportedly described himself as a "censor", successfully conveying the office's senior supervisory nature rather than allowing it to be interpreted as that of a government spy.

The embassy spent several months in the United States, visiting San Francisco, Washington, Philadelphia and New York. During the journey, Oguri met President James Buchanan (1791–1868) and toured several government institutions and industrial facilities. Among the places that made the deepest impression on him was the Washington Navy Yard, where he witnessed modern methods of ironworking, shipbuilding and mechanical engineering. According to later accounts, he picked up an ordinary metal screw as a souvenir, regarding it as a symbol of the industrial technology Japan urgently needed to acquire to preserve its independence. The delegation returned to Japan by continuing westwards across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, effectively completing a circumnavigation of the globe before arriving back in Edo in November 1860.

The currency negotiations

Less well known than the ceremonial exchange of the treaty ratifications was another task entrusted to Oguri. The embassy also sought to address the serious monetary problems created by the unequal treaties with the Western powers.

Under the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, foreign merchants were permitted to exchange Japanese and foreign coins based on equal weight and metal content. In practice, this created a severe imbalance because Japan's domestic gold-to-silver ratio differed markedly from that prevailing on international markets. Foreign traders could therefore exchange silver for Japanese gold coins at highly favourable rates before exporting the gold overseas for substantial profit. Within a short time, large quantities of Japanese gold were leaving the country, threatening both the shogunate's finances and monetary stability.

Oguri was assigned responsibility for negotiating a revision of these exchange arrangements with the American government. After the formal treaty ceremonies had concluded, he opened discussions with Secretary of State Lewis Cass that continued for approximately two weeks. He argued that the Japanese one-bu silver coin (ichibu gin) functioned primarily as a fiduciary currency rather than a bullion coin, and therefore should not be exchanged solely by weight in silver. To support his case, Japanese and American coins were examined at the Philadelphia Mint, where their metallic composition was analysed in detail. The tests demonstrated that the Japanese gold coins contained substantially greater intrinsic value than the exchange system recognised.

Although the American authorities acknowledged the logic of Oguri's arguments, they ultimately declined to alter the treaty provisions. The negotiations, therefore, failed to resolve the underlying problem, and the Tokugawa government was later forced to debase its gold coinage by issuing the Man'en koban to reduce the outflow of precious metals. The measure eased the immediate crisis but contributed to sharp inflation within Japan.

Despite the lack of a diplomatic breakthrough, Oguri earned considerable respect during the negotiations. American newspapers commented on his quick calculations using the abacus and his firm but measured negotiating style, describing him as an exceptionally capable and determined representative. The mission also broadened his understanding of industrial society, banking and public finance. Returning to Japan, he brought back books on economics and finance as well as practical observations that would shape many of the reforms he introduced during the final decade of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Senior official of the Tokugawa government

On his return to Japan in late 1860, Oguri was rewarded for the success of the American mission. His stipend was increased by 200 koku, bringing the family's income to 2,700 koku, and he was appointed Commissioner of Foreign Affairs (外国奉行 gaikoku bugyō). During the remaining years of the Tokugawa shogunate, he held a succession of senior offices, including Commissioner of Finance (勘定奉行 kanjō bugyō), Commissioner of Naval Affairs (軍艦奉行 gunkan bugyō), Commissioner of Infantry (歩兵奉行 hohei bugyō), and Magistrate of Edo (江戸町奉行 Edo machi bugyō). His repeated appointments reflected both his exceptional administrative ability and his often difficult relationship with colleagues. Oguri frequently resigned or was removed after clashing with other officials, only to be recalled because few men possessed his combination of financial expertise, political judgement and technical knowledge. Contemporary accounts claimed that he changed office around seventy times during his career.

One of his earliest challenges came in 1861 with the Tsushima Incident, when Russian naval forces attempted to establish a base on Tsushima Island. Oguri took part in the negotiations with the Russian representatives but concluded that the shogunate lacked an effective diplomatic strategy for dealing with the Western powers. He urged the senior councillors to place Tsushima under direct shogunal administration, conduct the negotiations through formal diplomatic channels, appeal to international opinion, and, if necessary, seek assistance from the Royal Navy. His recommendations were rejected, and he resigned from the post of Commissioner of Foreign Affairs. The crisis was eventually resolved peacefully after British intervention persuaded the Russians to withdraw.

In 1862, Oguri became Commissioner of Finance, the office with which he is most closely associated. At the same time, he received the court title Kōzuke-no-suke (上野介), by which he has generally been known ever since. He inherited responsibility for a government facing severe financial strain. The shogunate had already spent more than three million dollars purchasing modern warships abroad. At the same time, the opening of the treaty ports and the outflow of precious metals continued to undermine public finances. Rather than relying indefinitely on foreign suppliers, Oguri argued that Japan needed to establish its own heavy industry and become capable of manufacturing modern weapons and ships domestically.

His views found a sympathetic listener in Léon Roches (1809–1900), the French Consul-General and later Minister to Japan. The two men developed a close working relationship founded on their shared belief that the Tokugawa government should modernise rapidly with French assistance. Roches provided diplomatic support and helped recruit French engineers, military advisers and technical specialists, while Oguri secured political backing within the shogunate despite considerable opposition from more conservative officials. Their cooperation marked the beginning of a particularly close Franco-Japanese relationship during the final years of Tokugawa rule.

Oguri's programme extended well beyond military reform. He regarded industrialisation as essential to national security. He believed that Japan required modern financial institutions, efficient administration and state-supported economic development if it was to remain independent in an age of expanding Western imperialism. His proposals included the reorganisation of the government's finances, tariff reform, the creation of large commercial enterprises capable of competing with foreign merchants, and the development of domestic mining, iron production and shipbuilding. Unlike many contemporaries, he viewed these projects as parts of a single programme rather than isolated reforms.

One of his most ambitious ideas was the creation of a large trading company backed by leading merchants from Edo, Kyōto and Ōsaka. Oguri believed that Japanese merchants remained at a disadvantage because their capital was fragmented, leaving foreign firms to dominate international trade. In 1867, he proposed establishing the Hyōgo Trading Company (兵庫商社), capitalised with one million ryō provided by prominent merchant houses, including Mitsui and Kōnoike. Although the collapse of the shogunate prevented the company from developing fully, historians have often regarded the scheme as a precursor to Japan's later general trading companies (sōgō shōsha).

During the same period, Oguri also supervised negotiations to revise customs tariffs with the treaty powers, strengthened economic ties with France and promoted the construction of modern infrastructure. His influence extended even to hospitality: in 1867, he supported the construction of the Tsukiji Hotel, one of Japan's first Western-style hotels, intended to accommodate foreign visitors and facilitate international commerce. Together, these initiatives reflected his broader vision of a modern industrial state rather than a simple programme of military expansion.

Industrial and military modernisation

Oguri's most enduring achievement was his determination to establish a modern industrial base capable of supporting Japan's defence and economic independence. The shogunate had already spent vast sums importing steamships and weapons from Europe and the United States, but Oguri argued that this policy could never provide long-term security. Unless Japan acquired the ability to build and repair modern vessels itself, it would remain dependent upon foreign powers for both technology and national defence. His experience at the Washington Navy Yard had convinced him that heavy industry, rather than the purchase of finished products, would determine the country's future.

To realise this vision, Oguri turned to France, whose government had become the Tokugawa shogunate's principal Western partner during the 1860s. Working closely with the French minister Léon Roches and his advisers, he persuaded the shogunate to embark on an ambitious programme of industrial development despite considerable financial and political opposition. In 1863, he formally proposed the construction of a modern ironworks and shipyard, arguing that Japan required facilities capable of producing domestically engines, machinery, artillery, and warships. Shōgun Tokugawa Iemochi (徳川家茂, 1846–1866) approved the project after extensive debate within the government.

After surveying several possible locations, Yokosuka was selected as the most suitable site because of its deep natural harbour. Construction of the Yokosuka Iron Works (横須賀製鉄所 Yokosuka Seitetsujo) began in November 1865 under the supervision of the French naval engineer François Léonce Verny (1837–1908). The project represented one of the largest industrial undertakings of the late Tokugawa period, with an estimated cost of 2.4 million dollars spread over four years. Although critics regarded the expenditure as excessive for a government already facing severe financial difficulties, Oguri insisted that the investment was indispensable if Japan hoped to compete with the industrial powers of the West.

The iron works formed only one part of a broader industrial programme. Anticipating the demand for raw materials, Oguri also promoted the development of iron ore deposits at Nakasaka in present-day Gunma Prefecture. Surveys confirmed both the abundance and the quality of the ore, and plans were drawn up to construct blast furnaces fuelled initially by charcoal because local coal supplies remained insufficient. These projects reflected Oguri's conviction that modern industry required secure domestic sources of both raw materials and technical expertise rather than continued reliance on imports.

Verny's appointment also introduced new methods of industrial organisation to Japan. The Yokosuka works adopted Western management systems, including clearly defined divisions of labour, formal employment regulations, monthly salaries, overtime payments, technical education, and double-entry bookkeeping. In conjunction with the project, the shogunate established the Yokohama French Language School (横浜仏蘭西語伝習所 Yokohama Furansu-go Denshūjo), the first institution in Japan devoted to the systematic teaching of French. Many of its graduates later entered government service during the Meiji period, illustrating how expertise developed under the Tokugawa administration continued to benefit the successor administration.

Oguri pursued similar reforms in military production. Believing that imported weapons alone could not guarantee national security, he promoted the domestic manufacture of rifles, artillery and ammunition. After assuming responsibility for arms production in 1862, he reorganised the shogunate's existing foundries and appointed technically capable engineers, including Takeda Ayasaburō (武田斐三郎, 1827–1880). He introduced more efficient manufacturing methods to reduce defects. Machinery imported from Belgium was installed at the Takinogawa Reverberatory Furnace, where Japan's first Western-style gunpowder factory was established.

Military reform extended beyond industrial production. In 1867, the First French Military Mission arrived in Japan to train the shogunate's forces in accordance with contemporary European practice, a development that Oguri had actively supported. At roughly the same time, the shogunate ordered large quantities of modern equipment from France, including Chassepot rifles, artillery and uniforms for thousands of soldiers. These purchases complemented rather than replaced his broader objective of creating a self-sufficient military-industrial base in Japan.

Not all of Oguri's projects reached completion before the collapse of the Tokugawa regime. Nevertheless, many survived the political upheaval of the Meiji Restoration. The Yokosuka Iron Works was taken over by the new government and, in 1871, was completed as the Yokosuka Shipyard. It later developed into the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, becoming one of the principal centres of Japanese naval construction. The institution that Oguri had fought so hard to establish ultimately served the very government that had ordered his execution, illustrating the extent to which his vision of industrial modernisation outlived the political system that had produced it.

The fall of the shogunate

By 1867, the political crisis that had engulfed Japan for more than a decade was reaching its climax. Foreign pressure, growing opposition from powerful Western domains and mounting financial difficulties had steadily weakened the Tokugawa government. On 9 November 1867, Shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu formally returned governing authority to the imperial court in the event known as the Restoration of Imperial Rule (Taisei Hōkan). Although the move was intended to preserve Tokugawa influence within a new political order, tensions soon escalated into open conflict. The Battle of Toba–Fushimi in January 1868 marked the beginning of the Boshin War and ended in a decisive defeat for the shogunate's forces.

Following Yoshinobu's withdrawal to Edo, senior Tokugawa officials debated whether further resistance was still possible. Oguri emerged as one of the strongest advocates of continued military action. Together with Enomoto Takeaki (榎本武揚, 1836–1908), Ōtori Keisuke (大鳥圭介, 1833–1911) and several other senior retainers, he argued that the shogunate still possessed substantial military resources and should not abandon the struggle after a single defeat.

Oguri proposed a coordinated counter-offensive centred on Hakone. His plan called for the shogunate's newly organised army to block the Satsuma-Chōshū forces' advance at Hakone Pass while Enomoto's fleet entered Suruga Bay to bombard their supply lines from the sea. By isolating the advancing army from its reinforcements, he hoped to destroy it before it could reach Edo. According to later tradition, the future Meiji general Ōmura Masujirō (大村益次郎, 1824–1869) remarked that, had Oguri's strategy been carried out, the imperial forces might well have suffered defeat. Whether or not the anecdote is authentic, it reflects the respect later military leaders held for his strategic thinking.

Yoshinobu, however, rejected the proposal. Although he had not entirely abandoned the possibility of armed resistance, he wished to demonstrate submission to the imperial court while avoiding actions that might further legitimise the Satsuma-Chōshū coalition. Katsu Kaishū's policy of negotiating a peaceful settlement therefore prevailed. Like many Tokugawa retainers, Oguri found himself deeply frustrated by what he regarded as the unnecessary abandonment of the shogunate's remaining military strength.

On 15 January 1868, Oguri was dismissed from office. Shortly afterwards, he requested permission to retire to Gonda Village in Gunma District, where the Oguri family held its estate. Friends urged him to leave Japan altogether. The wealthy merchant Minomura Rizaemon (三野村利左衛門, 1821–1877) reportedly offered him financial assistance and encouraged him to seek refuge in the United States, but Oguri declined. He also refused an invitation from Shibusawa Seiichirō (渋沢成一郎, 1838–1912) to assume command of the Shōgitai, arguing that without Yoshinobu's support, there could be no legitimate Tokugawa resistance. Rather than wage an independent war, he chose to withdraw from political life.

Travelling north-west from Edo in March 1868, Oguri reached Tōzen-ji Temple in Gonda after several days on the road. While waiting for the completion of a new residence on Mount Kannon, he lived quietly among the local villagers. Contemporary records describe him supervising irrigation works, opening a small school and generally avoiding political activity. Although rumours later circulated that he was training peasant soldiers and stockpiling weapons, surviving local accounts provide little support for these claims.

Nevertheless, suspicion soon fell upon the former commissioner. Reports that he possessed artillery and firearms, together with persistent rumours that he had hidden large sums of Tokugawa funds, the origin of the later legend of the "Tokugawa buried treasure," led the new government to regard him as a potential threat. None of these allegations has been substantiated by later historical research, but they formed the basis for the action taken against him in the spring of 1868.

On 25 May 1868, troops from the Takasaki, Annaka and Yoshii domains acting under orders of the imperial government arrested Oguri at Tōzen-ji. He had already agreed to surrender his weapons and had even sent his adopted son as proof of his compliance. Two days later, on 27 May, without a formal investigation or judicial hearing, he and three loyal retainers were taken to the banks of the Karasu River at Mizunuma and beheaded. He was forty years old. His adopted son Tadamichi (忠道) was executed the following day at Takasaki Castle.

According to later accounts, Oguri met his death with remarkable composure. When one of his retainers loudly proclaimed his innocence before the execution party, Oguri quietly urged him to remain calm. Asked whether he had any final words, he is said to have replied that he had nothing to say on his own behalf but requested clemency for his mother, wife and the women of his household, whom he had arranged to send to safety before his arrest. Whether embellished or not, these accounts contributed to his later image as a loyal Tokugawa retainer who accepted death with dignity rather than renouncing his convictions.



Oguri was executed on 27 May 1868 and was initially buried at Tōzen-ji Temple (東善寺 Tōzen-ji) in present-day Takasaki. A later family grave was established at Zōshigaya Cemetery (雑司ヶ谷霊園 Zōshigaya Reien) in Tōkyō, where he is commemorated today.

From "traitor" to visionary: changing historical reputation

Oguri was not known as "the Traitor of the Shogunate" during his lifetime. Following the Tokugawa defeat in the Boshin War, however, the victorious Meiji government branded him a gyakuzoku (逆賊), or rebel against the imperial cause. The designation served both political and symbolic purposes. As one of the Tokugawa shogunate's most capable senior officials and one of the strongest advocates of continued resistance, Oguri represented the old regime at its most determined and modern. Casting him as a traitor helped legitimise his execution and reinforced the new government's narrative that opposition to imperial rule was both unlawful and futile.

The judgement was closely linked to the events following the Battle of Toba-Fushimi in January 1868. While influential officials such as Katsu Kaishū concluded that further fighting would only bring unnecessary destruction, Oguri argued that the shogunate still possessed considerable military resources. He believed that the modern fleet under Enomoto Takeaki, together with the industrial infrastructure centred on the Yokosuka Iron Works and the newly organised army, offered a realistic chance of prolonging the conflict. His proposal to defend Hakone and launch a coordinated naval counter-offensive was rejected, and Tokugawa Yoshinobu instead accepted Katsu's policy of peaceful surrender.

After his dismissal, Oguri withdrew to his estate in Gonda and took no part in organised military resistance. Contemporary village records suggest that he devoted himself to local affairs while awaiting developments. Nevertheless, he was arrested in May 1868, accused of preparing a rebellion and executed without a formal judicial hearing. Contemporary allegations that he was training peasant soldiers, concealing Tokugawa funds or preparing an armed uprising have never been substantiated, and many modern historians regard them as politically motivated accusations designed to justify his elimination.

For much of the Meiji period, this official interpretation dominated historical writing. His political defeat largely overshadowed Oguri's achievements as a reformer, while the modernisation of Japan came to be associated almost exclusively with the Meiji government. During the twentieth century, however, historians increasingly re-evaluated the final decades of the Tokugawa shogunate. They recognised that many of the institutions inherited by the new government had originated before the Restoration. In this reassessment, Oguri emerged as one of the principal architects of Japan's transition to a modern industrial state.

His contributions extended far beyond military affairs. He promoted the development of heavy industry, encouraged domestic shipbuilding and iron production, supported financial and commercial reform, negotiated with foreign governments, fostered Western technical education, and played a central role in establishing the Yokosuka Iron Works, which later developed into the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal. Ironically, one of the institutions most closely associated with the Imperial Japanese Navy had been conceived and initiated by a man condemned as an enemy of the imperial state.

This reversal of reputation has become increasingly visible in recent decades. Historians now frequently describe Oguri as a visionary technocrat whose political loyalty to the Tokugawa house obscured the significance of his reforms. Rather than seeing him simply as one of the losers of the Meiji Restoration, many regard him as one of the politicians who laid the foundations upon which the modern Japanese state was ultimately built.

This reassessment is reflected in NHK's decision to make Oguri the protagonist of its 2027 Taiga drama, Gyakuzoku no Bakushin (逆賊の幕臣). The title deliberately invokes the Meiji-era label gyakuzoku, inviting viewers to reconsider whether Oguri was truly a "traitor" or simply a loyal Tokugawa statesman whose achievements were eclipsed by political defeat.

Legacy in popular culture

For many decades after his execution, Oguri Tadamasa remained a comparatively obscure figure in Japanese popular culture. Official Meiji historiography portrayed him primarily as an unyielding Tokugawa loyalist whose opposition to the imperial government justified his execution. As a result, he rarely appeared as a central character in historical fiction, where the Bakumatsu was instead dominated by figures such as Sakamoto Ryōma, Saigō Takamori and Katsu Kaishū.

Interest in Oguri gradually increased during the second half of the twentieth century as historians reassessed the achievements of the late Tokugawa government. Research increasingly emphasised his role in promoting industrialisation, financial reform and military modernisation, arguing that many institutions traditionally credited to the Meiji government had their origins in projects initiated under his direction. This revisionist interpretation was reinforced by remarks attributed to leading Meiji politicians, including Ōkuma Shigenobu, who reportedly observed that many of the Meiji government's modernisation policies closely followed plans already developed by Oguri.

His legacy has also been preserved through regional commemorative activities. Yokosuka, where he initiated the construction of the Yokosuka Iron Works, honours him with a statue alongside the French engineer François Léonce Verny in Verny Park and holds an annual Verny–Oguri Memorial Ceremony each November. In Takasaki, Tōzen-ji Temple, where he spent his final weeks and where his original grave is located, remains an important place of remembrance. Museums and historical societies in both Gunma and Kanagawa Prefectures regularly organise exhibitions devoted to his life and achievements.

Oguri has appeared in several television documentaries dealing with the Bakumatsu, Japan's early industrialisation and the origins of the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal. NHK and other broadcasters have increasingly presented him not simply as a defeated Tokugawa official but as a visionary administrator whose contributions were long overshadowed by the political outcome of the Meiji Restoration. Local documentary productions have likewise helped introduce his story to wider audiences beyond academic circles.

The most significant turning point in Oguri's public profile came in March 2025, when NHK announced that he would be the protagonist of its 2027 Taiga drama, Gyakuzoku no Bakushin (逆賊の幕臣, "The Traitor of the Shogunate"). The series stars Tori Matsuzaka as Oguri and is written by Naoko Adachi. It will be the first Taiga drama centred on a senior Tokugawa bureaucrat rather than a military leader or revolutionary, reflecting the growing historical interest in the administrative and economic reforms that shaped Japan's transition to the modern age.

The title deliberately draws attention to the contradiction at the heart of Oguri's career. The word gyakuzoku ("traitor" or "rebel against legitimate authority") was the label applied by the victorious Meiji government to Tokugawa loyalists who continued to resist the Restoration. Modern scholarship, however, increasingly regards that judgement as a political construction rather than an objective assessment. By choosing this provocative title, NHK signals that the drama will re-examine the traditional narrative and invite viewers to reconsider whether Oguri was truly a "traitor" or simply one of the principal losers in Japan's political transformation.

The production also reflects a broader reassessment of the Bakumatsu itself. Rather than portraying the Meiji Restoration solely as a triumph of reformers over an outdated regime, recent scholarship has drawn greater attention to the modernising efforts undertaken within the Tokugawa government. Oguri has emerged as perhaps the clearest embodiment of this reinterpretation: a technocrat who recognised the need for industrialisation, military reform and international engagement, yet remained committed to the Tokugawa house. This paradox—an architect of modern Japan who was executed by the government that ultimately benefited from many of his ideas—forms the central theme of the drama.

News of the series prompted renewed interest in Oguri throughout Japan. Local governments in Yokosuka and Takasaki, together with museums and historical organisations, announced plans for exhibitions, lectures and commemorative events in advance of the broadcast. Historians have also welcomed the opportunity to introduce a wider audience to a figure who, despite his considerable influence on Japan's industrial and administrative development, has long remained in the shadow of better-known contemporaries such as Sakamoto Ryōma and Katsu Kaishū. The 2027 Taiga drama is therefore expected not only to dramatise Oguri's life but also to reshape public understanding of his place in Japanese history.

Links:

• Oguri Tadamasa (小栗忠順). From Japanese Wikipedia.
• Verny-Oguri Ceremony 2017 (in French)
• Peririn (ぺリリン) & Ogurin (オグリン) (cartoon characters used by the Yokosuka Tourism Association)

References:

• Beasley, W. G., The Meiji Restoration, Stanford University Press, 1972
• Beasley, W. G., Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853–1868, Oxford University Press, 1955
• Frost, Peter, The Bakumatsu Currency Crisis, Harvard East Asian Monographs, 1970
• Jansen, Marius B., The Making of Modern Japan, Harvard University Press, 2000
• Jansen, Marius B., Sakamoto Ryōma and the Meiji Restoration, Princeton University Press, 1961
• Keene, Donald, Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852–1912, Columbia University Press, 2002
• Mass, Jeffrey P. and Hauser, William B. (eds.), The Bakufu in Japanese History, Stanford University Press, 1993
• Ravina, Mark, To Stand with the Nations of the World: Japan's Meiji Restoration in World History, Oxford University Press, 2017
• Sims, Richard, Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Renovation, 1868–2000, Hurst, 2001
• Toby, Ronald P., State and Diplomacy in Early Modern Japan: Asia in the Development of the Tokugawa Bakufu, Stanford University Press, 1991
• Totman, Conrad D., The Collapse of the Tokugawa Bakufu, 1862–1868, University of Hawai'i Press, 1980
• Waters, Neil L., Japan's Local Pragmatists: The Transition from Bakumatsu to Meiji in the Kawasaki Region, Harvard University Asia Center, 1983
• Wert, Michael, Meiji Restoration Losers: Memory and Tokugawa Supporters in Modern Japan, Harvard University Asia Center, 2013

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