of power in the Meiji Restoration. Although sympathetic to the anti-Tokugawa cause, Katsu remained loyal to the Tokugawa bakufu during the Boshin War. After the collapse of the Tokugawa forces in late 1867, Katsu negotiated the surrender of Edo castle to Saigō Takamori on 11 April 1868. Later years Katsu relocated to Shizuoka after the new Imperial government took control of the shogun's former capital, which was renamed Tokyo ("Eastern Capital"). He returned briefly to government service as Vice Minister of the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1872, followed by first Minister of the Navy from 1873 until 1878. As Katsu Yasuyoshi, he was the most prominent of the former Tokugawa retainers who found employment within the new Meiji government, and was between 1869 and 1885 who did not come from one of the four paramount domains. Although his influence within the navy was minimal, as the Navy was largely dominated by a core of Satsuma officers, Katsu served in a senior advisory capacity on national policy. During the next two decades, Katsu served on the Privy Council and wrote extensively on naval issues. He also made efforts to restore the honor of Tokugawa Yoshinobu and Saigō Takamori. In 1887, he was elevated to the title of hakushaku (count) in the kazoku peerage system. Katsu recorded his memoirs in the book Hikawa Seiwa. Death In 1891, through a connection of Tsuda Sen, the father of Tsuda Ume, Katsu Yasuyoshi purchased a plot of land at , and built his retirement home there. Following his death in 1899, he was buried with his wife Tami near the site of their home, on the shores of Senzoku Pond, in what is today in Tokyo. Honours Translated from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia Count (9 May 1887) Order of precedence Fourth rank (15 June 1872) Senior fourth rank (18 February 1874) Third rank (December 1887) Senior third rank (October 1888) Junior Second rank (30 June 1894) Senior second rank (20 January 1899; posthumous) Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure (December 1889) Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (26 February 1898) Gallery Notes References Hillsborough, Romulus. Samurai Revolution: The Dawn of Modern Japan Through the Eyes of the Shogun's Last Samurai. Tuttle, 2013. Jansen, Marius B. (1961). Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration. Princeton: Princeton University Press. OCLC 413111 Katsu, Kokichi; translated by Teruko Craig. Musui's Story: