Bakumatsu and Beyond
Many fudai daimyo were involved in the vigorous political activity of the Bakumatsu, as well as the renewed military activities which occurred in that period. Two such men of fudai daimyo background were Ogasawara Nagamichi and Itakura Katsukiyo, who were two of the last rōjū, and actively worked for reform and strengthening of the ailing shogunate. Others, such as Matsudaira Munehide, were involved in diplomacy and foreign affairs.
In the Boshin War of 1868-69, some fudai houses such as the Toda of Ogaki and the Tōdō of Tsu sided with the Shogunate during the first battle at Toba-Fushimi. However, after the shogunate's loss there, many fudai houses did not side with the shogunate or with the shogun's former army which moved northward and eventually set up the Ezo Republic. Some remained neutral, while others (like the lords of Ogaki and Tsu) switched allegiances and openly supported the Imperial Japanese Army. Ogasawara Nagamichi and Itakura Katsukiyo led small groups of their retainers during the fight against the imperial forces. However, their domains had already been occupied by the imperial army, and were forced to participate in the war on the imperial army's behalf. Only one fudai daimyo, Hayashi Tadataka of the Jōzai Domain, willingly left his domain early in 1868, and led most of his retainer force on behalf of the armies of the former shogun, in the fight against the imperial army. Also, a handful of fudai in the far north formed part of the Northern Alliance, fighting for the Alliance but not for the now-retired shogun.
Most of the fudai in the country entered the Meiji era peacefully, and ruled their domains until the domains' dissolution in 1871. After this, the former families of fudai daimyo became peers in the new Japanese nobility system.
Today the term Fudai is used colloquially to refer to the children of the Chinese wealthy upper class who have known nothing but wealth from birth. see Ka-Ching Dynasty documentary available on Youtube.
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