There was an opposition between the Hitotsubashi-party that included Nariaki, Masahiro ABE and the Chief of Satsuma-han Clan, Nariakira SHIMAZU, who recommended Yoshinobu, and the Nanki-party primarily consisting of the Chief of Hikone-han Clan, Naosuke II, and the Ooku members headed by Iesada's birth-mother, Honjuin, who recommended the Chief of Kii-han Clan, Yoshitomi TOKUGAWA.
慶喜を推す斉昭や阿部正弘、薩摩藩主・島津斉彬ら一橋派と、紀州藩主徳川慶福を推す彦根藩主・井伊直弼や家定の生母・本寿院を初めとする大奥の南紀派が対立した。