島津斉彬
Nagahiro succeeded his adoptive father in 1834. Much like his birth father, Nagahiro was a serious proponent of technological modernization, especially with regards to his domain's military. After Commodore Perry's arrival, Nagahiro (like his close relative, Shimazu Nariakira) was a proponent of opening the country. He greatly encouraged learning amongst his retainers, and sent them to the best schools of Edo, Osaka, and Nagasaki to absorb the Western knowledge and technical expertise which was entering the country at the time. He himself also engaged in similar efforts, listening to the anatomy lectures of Philipp Franz von Siebold in 1859.