As the seishitsu (legal wife) of the thirteenth Shogun, Iesada TOKUGAWA, Tenshoin (Sumiko KONOE) was the person chiefly responsible for management of affairs inside Edo-jo Castle Ooku (the inner palace of Edo-jo Castle); in addition, she was from Satsuma Province and was the adopted daughter of Nariakira SHIMAZU, so she had connections with Satsuma (the new government side).
13代将軍徳川家定正室として江戸城大奥の総責任者であった天璋院（近衛敬子）は、薩摩国の出身で島津斉彬の養女であった縁がある。