Perry Expedition
After being appointed daimyō, Yoshikatsu made administrative changes, primarily to trim costs. Meanwhile, information about the arrival of the Perry Expedition and the Bakufu's accommodation of foreign demands was reaching all the domains, and particularly disturbed Tokugawa Nariaki, Shimazu Nariakira (daimyō of the Satsuma Domain), Date Munenari (daimyō of the Uwajima Domain), and others, who expressed their displeasure with the actions of high functionaries such as Abe Masahiro. With a strong sense of duty as the head of the three collateral branches of the shogunal family, Yoshikatsu felt that the bakufu could only be assisted by paradoxically criticizing its policy.