Katsu Kaishu and the end of the Bakufu

Despite what the movie "The Last Samurai" (made by a large greedy American company) claimed, large greedy American companies were not responsible for the ending of the Samurai era. In reality most of the leaders of the rapid evolution away from feudalism were patriotic Samurai who realized to varying levels that Japan needed to modernize if it was to exist as an independent nation. Reports from Japanese envoys that major Asian countries like India and China were now weakened colonies lent an urgency to the need for transformation.

Katsu Kaishu was one of these leaders, a scholar and historian, visionary of modernization and architect of the Japanese Navy.
Kaishu was one of the young men sent by Japan to learn from the West, studying naval technology in Holland and later establishing a naval academy in Kobe. His experiences abroad convinced him that Japan must give up its feudal system and unify across caste and clan boundaries to avoid colonial subjugation.

Kaishu captained the first Japanese ship to travel to America, visiting San Francisco as part of a group negotiating trade with the United States. In his two months there, Kaishu was impressed by America’s egalitarianism and mentioned how well he was treated on this trip, by everyone from political leaders to everyday people he met on the street.

Disliked by the Shogun for his oft stated views that the Shogunate should be abolished, he was still made Commander of the Shogun's forces due to his abilities when the Imperial forces surrounded Edo. Wishing to avoid the massive civilian casualties that a siege would have caused, Kaishu negotiated the peaceful surrender of the city to Saigo Takamori, preventing the destruction of Edo and saving countless lives. The best summation of Kaishu’s accomplishments in English I’ve found is this article originally published in the Tokyo Journal.

As impressive as his public achievements were his personal merits as exemplified by his motto:

“Detached from self, in harmony with others,
settled during calm, resolute during action,
composed in thought and firm during setbacks”