Shimazu Nariakira
The Satsuma "daimyō" of the 1850s, Shimazu Nariakira, was very interested in Western thought and technology, and sought to open the country. At the time, contacts with Westerners increased dramatically, particularly for Satsuma, as Western ships frequently landed in the Ryukyus and sought not only trade, but formal diplomatic relations. To increase his influence in the shogunate, Nariakira engineered a marriage between "Shōgun" Tokugawa Iesada and his adopted daughter, Atsu-hime (later Tenshō-in).