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In the Bakumatsu era, how would one refer to a shogun (when talking about him with someone else) or address him directly if talking to him? Is it just name + -sama suffix?

I am interest in the answer from both a shogun loyalist perspective (e.g a member of the Shinsengumi) and from an anti-shogunal/pro-imperialist perspective.

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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it would fit better to japanese.stackexchange.com
    – CsBalazsHungary
    May 13 '16 at 13:07
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    Sorry, I was asking here because I asked a native Japanese speaker and she didn't know because she wasn't familiar with the historical details.
    – user232670
    May 13 '16 at 13:28
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    @user232670 sadly it is a very grammatical question, and I doubt many people can speak Japanese here. I don't think your question is bad, but relates less to history, you will have way better chance to get a good answer on the japanese stackexchange than here. Good luck there!
    – CsBalazsHungary
    May 13 '16 at 14:21
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    Can we not leave this open, as it is historical, and interesting? or must we close EVERYthing? Just because one doesn't know the answer doesn't mean someone else might, and there are actually one or two knowledgable people about the Japanese history here....
    – CGCampbell
    May 13 '16 at 17:19
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    Indeed, this close-mania of this site only reminds us that the community is its own greatest enemy. @CGCampbell
    – kubanczyk
    May 13 '16 at 18:21
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There are two forms of address that might be used: oyakata-sama and tono. Tono is somewhat less formal.

If speaking about him in the third person, a person might say watakushitachi no tono ("our lord"), or even his name with -sama. In some cases, well-known figures had popular nicknames.

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    Thank you, that answers most of what I was after. What about when the anti-shogunal imperialist were to talk about him (during the end of the bakumatsu period when he was unpopular)? would they have still used the same forms of address out of habit (or fear) or would they have dropped any formality and just openly call him by name?
    – user232670
    May 16 '16 at 8:57
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    I doubt that the Shogun would have been admitting any commoners into his presence. Even after they took over the imperial palace and held some kangaroo court to strip him of his lands, he just sent a protest message. He did not appear in person.
    – Tyler Durden
    May 16 '16 at 13:03
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Oyakata-sama is what his/her troops would most likely call the Lord, it is something people below the Lord would refer to him/her as.

When it's came to the Shogun himself it would vary but I'm sure -sama would be included with their last name such as Tokugawa-sama, Ieyasu-sama, etc. It is a sign of superiority, then again they can go with the full title of Sei-i Taishogun, even being given the chance to see the Shogun through multitudes of guards and schedules you'd be expected to do something.

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    Sources / links would improve your answer and get you more upvotes.
    – Lars Bosteen
    Nov 2 '19 at 23:57

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