was a Japanese daimyo

Daimyo

is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

 of the late Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

, who ruled the Jōzai Domain. Later in life, he was also known by his style

Style (manner of address)

A style of office, or honorific, is a legal, official, or recognized title. A style, by tradition or law, precedes a reference to a person who holds a post or political office, and is sometimes used to refer to the office itself. An honorific can also be awarded to an individual in a personal...

, . During the Boshin War

Boshin War

The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....

 of 1868, Hayashi led his domain's forces in support of the armies of the former shogun, and then the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei

Ouetsu Reppan Domei

-External links:**...

. Unlike the Tokugawa forces which went on to Ezo

Ezo

is a Japanese name which historically referred to the lands to the north of Japan. It was used in various senses, sometimes meaning the northern Japanese island of Hokkaidō, and sometimes meaning lands and waters further north in the Sea of Okhotsk, like Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands...

, Hayashi surrendered willingly when he received word that the Tokugawa family was to be granted a fief in Shizuoka

Shizuoka Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.- History :Shizuoka prefecture was formed from the former Tōtōmi, Suruga and Izu provinces.The area was the home of the first Tokugawa Shogun...

. During the Meiji period

Meiji period

The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...

 he worked in various occupations (even as a clerk for a business in Hakodate), before working for the government. In the Meiji era, his family was ennobled as part of the kazoku

Kazoku

The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan that existed between 1869 and 1947.-Origins:Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the ancient court nobility of Kyoto regained some of its lost status...

system. For a time he also served at Tōshō-gū in Nikkō

Nikko, Tochigi

is a city in the mountains of Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Approximately 140 km north of Tokyo and 35 km west of Utsunomiya, the capital of Tochigi Prefecture, it is a popular destination for Japanese and international tourists...

. Hayashi lived well into the 20th century, and was famous as "the last daimyo."　He died in early 1941, in an apartment run by his daughter Mitsu.

When asked for a death poem

Death poem

A death poem is a poem written near the time of one's own death. It is a tradition for literate people to write one in a number of different cultures, especially in Joseon Korea and Japan.-History:...

, he is reported to have said, "In the Boshin [War] I had one. I don't have one now."

Hayashi appears as a character in Ikenami Shōtarō's novel Bakumatsu Yūgekitai.