In 1865, when a roju (a member of the shogun's council of elders) named Masato ABE and a group his supporters were punished by the Chotei (Imperial Court) for making the decision to open the port in Hyogo, Iemochi offered his resignation from the shogunate to the Chotei on his own.
慶応元年（1865年）、兵庫開港を決定した老中・阿部正外らが朝廷によって処罰されると、自ら将軍職の辞意を朝廷に上申している。