Netherlands, and the United States, who insisted that Hyōgo should be opened for trade according to the provisions of the Edo treaties, and that the treaties should be ratified by the emperor. The shōgun, after reference to the sovereign, declined to entertain this demand, and the foreign representatives thereupon threatened to prefer it in person to the throne. The emperor, much incensed at the course events were taking, severely punished the chief officials of the shōgun who were directly responsible for the treaties, and this having been done without reference to the shōgun himself, placed the latter in such an embarrassing position that he laid his resignation at the foot of the throne and asked that Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu, of Mito, be appointed in his stead. He accompanied this document with a memorial praying for the imperial sanction to the treaties with foreign powers. The emperor declined to accept the shōgun's resignation, but gave his sanction to the treaties, the immediate opening of Hyōgo to foreign trade being, however, refused. Subsequent to these events the expedition against Chōshū was again put in motion, but the Chōshū men inflicted a crushing defeat upon it, inasmuch as this was the first occasion of a shōgun's taking the field in person since two hundred and fifty years before, the consequences were disastrous to the prestige of the Tokugawa, many of the feudal barons openly renouncing allegiance to them. While the campaign was still in progress the Shōgun Iyemochi died in the castle of Ōsaka, August, 1866, and was succeeded by Yoshinobu in December of the same year. The Emperor Kōmei also died shortly after. Owing to this sad event the expedition against Chōshū was finally abandoned. Thereafter the shōgun found himself confronted by such difficulties both at home and abroad that further tenure of office became impossible, and finally, acting on the advice of the lord of Tosa, resigned the office as the feudal overlord of Japan, and restored the administrative power into the hands of the sovereign. This memorable event occurred on October 14, 1867.