Two groups, the Nanki group that backed Iemochi TOKUGAWA, the lord of Kishu domain, and the Hitotsubashi group that backed Yoshinobu TOKUGAWA, head of the Hitotsubashi-Tokugawa family, opposed each other and intensified their activities in Edo and Kyoto to get an upper hand in politics, including the issue of whether Japan should ratify the treaties with foreign nations (the succession struggle over the heir of Shogun).
紀州藩主徳川家茂を推す南紀派と、一橋徳川家当主徳川慶喜を推す一橋派が激しく対立し、条約問題とともに江戸・京都での政治工作が熾烈化した（将軍継嗣問題）。