After the death of Ii, Hirokane KUZE (the lord of the Sekiyado clan) and Nobumasa ANDO (the lord of the Iwakitaira clan), both senior councilors, led the government, trying to unite the Imperial Court and the Shogunate (kobu-gattai [integration of the imperial court and the shogunate]), in order to restore the power of the bakufu government.
井伊死後、老中の久世広周（関宿藩主）・安藤信正（磐城平藩主）らが幕政を主導し、失墜した幕府の権力を復活させるため、朝廷との提携（公武合体）を模索する。