He is the father of Tokugawa Yoshinobu or Keiki, the final Tokugawa Shogun and was a member of the Mito branch of the Tokugawa family and daimyo of Mito.
Nariaki was put in charge of bakufu efforts to defend the country against the encrouching foreigners. His own view was that the bakufu should strengthen its military and fight the foreigners, and was at odds with Ii Naosuke on the issue.
He was pro-emperor and favored restoration.
Nariaki and Naosuke fought over who would succeed the Shogun Iesada, with Nariaki championing his son Keiki. Naosuke, who eventually prevailed, favored Iemochi.
This article contains material from OpenHistory