At the time now under review Kōmei, the father of the present emperor, occupied the imperial throne. He had succeeded to this dignity in 1847 at the age of eighteen, and he died in 1866 at the age of thirty-seven. The shōgun was Iemochi, who in 1858 had been chosen from the family of Kii, because of the failure of an heir in the regular line. At the time of his election he was a boy of twelve years of age, and was placed under the guardianship of the prime minister Ii Kamon-no-kami. After the assassination of the prime minister in 1861, Hitotsubashi Gyōbukyō, a son of the daimyō of Mito, was appointed guardian, and served in this capacity until the shōgun’s death. Around the court of the emperor were gathered many discordant elements. The party of the shōgun was always represented, and the daimyō of Aizu, its ardent friend and champion, had the honorable distinction of guarding the imperial palace. By invitation many other daimyōs were at Kyōto with retinues of officers and attendants, and with guards of troops. The southern and western daimyōs were present in imposing numbers, and although they did not always agree among themselves, they were in harmony in the general purpose to discredit the government at Yedo and to promote the imperial authority. The expulsion of foreigners was the common subject of discussion and agitation. Although again and again it had been assured that it was impossible to dislodge the treaty powers from their position in the country, the court still continued to direct its efforts to this object. For the first time in two hundred and thirty years,(298) when Iemitsu went up to the imperial court, the Shōgun Iemochi visited Kyōto in 1863 in order to consult about the affairs of the country. In accordance with the precedent set by Iemitsu, the shōgun distributed on this occasion rich presents to the emperor and the officers of his court. He also scattered among the townspeople his largesses, until “the whole populace, moistened in the bath of his mercy and goodness, were greatly pleased and gratified.”(299) Conferences(300) were held between the daimyōs who were present in Kyōto and the officials of the court, and in spite of the objections and remonstrances of the Yedo official, an imperial edict was issued and entrusted to the shōgun for execution, to expel from the country the hated foreigners. This edict was notified to the representatives of the treaty powers by the Yedo officials. They seemed, however, to regard their duty fully done when this notice was given. No serious steps were ever taken to carry out these expulsive measures, unless the obstruction of navigation of the Shimonoseki straits by the daimyō of Chōshū be regarded of this character.