Yamanouchi Toyoshige

Yamanouchi Toyoshige (1827–1872) was a Japanese feudal lord who headed the Yamanouchi family, rulers of the Tosa domain on Shikoku island from 1600 to 1868. During the Tokugawa shogunate, the Yamanouchi family remained loyal to the ruling Tokugawa clan. As agitation against the Tokugawa increased in the mid-19th century, Toyoshige attempted to negotiate a favorable settlement for them. When this failed, he joined the rebels who overthrew the Tokugawa rule, aiming to prevent rival fiefs from gaining too much influence in the new imperial government. Following the establishment of the imperial government in 1868, Tosa became Kōchi prefecture, and Toyoshige was granted the hereditary title of prince, though his feudal powers were abolished.1