「教導立志基」 「四十四」「徳川慶喜」

Number forty-four in the Kyōdō Risshi no Motoi series, this print depicts Tokugawa Yoshinobu (徳川慶喜, 1837–1913), the fifteenth and final Tokugawa shogun, who in 1867 formally returned governing authority to Emperor Meiji, enabling the Meiji Restoration without triggering full-scale civil war. His inclusion in this didactic series — published just years after these events — is significant, framing his resignation of power as an act of selfless statesmanship rather than defeat. Kiyochika likely renders him in a dignified formal posture, possibly in Western military uniform reflecting his actual Meiji-period appearance. The print represents the series at its most politically charged, presenting a living figure whose decisions had reshaped the country as a moral exemplar for the new generation.