Boshin War
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Samurai of the Satsuma clan, during the Boshin War period. Photograph by Felice Beato |
The
Boshin War (戊辰戦争
Boshin Sensō, literally "War of the Year of the Dragon") was fought in 1868"1869 between the
Tokugawa Shogunate and the pro-
Imperial forces in
Japan. The defeat of the shogunate led directly to the
Meiji Restoration.
Rivalry between the Shogun and the Emperor
Discontent between the
Shogunate on one side, and the
Imperialist and
xenophobic sonnō jōi (lit. "Revere the Emperor, expel the Barbarians") movement on the other side, had been brewing for years. The
Emperor Komei's
1863 "Order to expel barbarians" triggered a series of attacks against the
Bakufu and against foreigners in Japan (most famously the killing of the English trader
Charles Lennox Richardson, and the shelling of foreign shipping in
Shimonoseki). These actions were countered by armed retaliations by foreign powers, such as the
Bombardment of Shimonoseki and the
Bombardment of Kagoshima, and by punitive expeditions by the Bakufu, such as when the Shogun
Tokugawa Keiki successfully defeated
Choshu forces in their attempt to capture the Imperial gates in
Hamaguri in 1864.
A secret alliance against the shogunate was again formed in 1866 between
Chōshū and
Satsuma. In November 1867,
Emperor Meiji had given the rebellious provinces of
Satsuma and
Choshu the right to overthrow the
shogunate; however, reigning Shogun
Tokugawa Yoshinobu deftly sidestepped this by resigning his post (but not his power) the next day, committing to call a general assembly of
Daimyos to create a new government.
Seizure of the Imperial palace
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Destruction of the Palace of Satsuma, in Edo, on January 19th 1868. |
Events came to a head on
January 3,
1868 when the forces of Chōshū and Satsuma, unhappy with the turn of events, seized the imperial palace in Kyoto, and had the 15-year old Emperor declare his own restoration to full power.
Shogun
Tokugawa Yoshinobu declared the declaration "illegal" and decided to prepare an attack on
Kyoto, occupied by Satsuma and Choshu forces, and the seat of the emperor.
On January 19th, 1868, the Shogunate forces attacked the palace of the fief of Satsuma, located in Edo, where many opponents to the Bakufu had been hiding and creating trouble in the capital at the request of
Saigo Takamori. The palace was burnt down, and all opponents killed or later excecuted, thus starting the Boshin War.
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Battle scene at Toba-Fushimi. Shogunate forces are on the left, including battalions from Aizu. On the right are forces from Choshu and Tosa. |
On
January 27,
1868, the shogunate forces and the forces of Chōshū and Satsuma clashed near
Toba and
Fushimi. Some parts of the 15,000-strong shogunate forces had been trained by
French military advisors, but the majority remained medieval
samurai forces. Meanwhile the forces of Chōshū and Satsuma were outnumbered 3:1 but fully modernized. The
Battle of Toba-Fushimi was one-sided, and Yoshinobu was forced to flee to
Edo.
Naval battle of Awa
The following day, January 28th 1868, saw the
Naval Battle of Awa between the Bakufu and elements of the Satsuma Navy, and became Japan's first engagement between two modern navies. The battle, although small in scale, ended in favour of the Bakufu.
Saigo Takamori led the victorious imperial forces north and east through Japan, eventually leading to the unconditional surrender of
Edo in May 1868, by the Minister of the Shogun's army,
Katsu Kaishu.
Some groups continued to resist after the surrender. They regrouped in the area of
Ueno, where they were again defeated in the
Battle of Ueno.
In a final chapter to the war, the Commander-in-Chief of the Shogun's Navy
Enomoto Takeaki refused to remit his ships and escaped north with the remnants of the navy (Eight steam warships:
Kaiten,
Banryū,
Chiyodagata,
Chōgei,
Kaiyō Maru,
Kanrin Maru,
Mikaho and
Shinsoku), 2,000 members of the Navy, and a handful of faithful French military advisors (notably
Jules Brunet), in the hope of staging a counter-attack.
After Yoshinobu's surrender, most of Japan accepted the emperor's rule, but a core of shogunate supporters in the North, led by the
Aizu clan, continued the resistance.
Northern coalition
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Troops from Sendai, following their mobilization in April, joined a northern alliance against Imperial troops in May 1868. |
In May several northern
daimyos formed an Alliance to fight Imperial troops, the Northern Coalition (奥羽越列藩同盟) composed of the fiefs of
Sendai,
Yonezawa,
Aizu,
Shonai and
Nagaoka, with a total of 50,000 troops. The Bakufu fleet under the orders
Enomoto Takeaki reached
Sendai harbour on August 26.
Imperial troops nevertheless continued to progress north, taking the castle of
Wakamatsu, and making the position in Sendai untenable. The coalition crumbled, and on October 12th, 1868, the fleet left Sendai for
Hokkaido, after having acquired two more ships (the
Oe-大江 and the
Hou-Ou, previously borrowed by the Sendai fief from the Bakufu), and about 1,000 more troops: Bakufu troops under
Otori Keisuke,
Shinsengumi troops under
Hijikata Toshizo, Yugekitai under
Katsutaro Hitomi, as well as several more French advisors (Fortant, Garde, Marlin, Bouffier).
After a protracted month-long battle,
Aizu finally admitted defeat on
November 6, leading to the mass suicide of the
Byakkotai (White Tiger Corps) young warriors. A month later, Edo was renamed
Tokyo, and the
Meiji Era started.
Creation of the Ezo Republic
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The Imperial navy's revolutionary ironclad Kotetsu. |
In a final chapter to the war, the Commander-in-Chief of the Shogun's Navy
Enomoto Takeaki fled to
Hokkaido with the remnants of the navy and a handful of faithful French military advisors (notably
Jules Brunet), and established the
Republic of Ezo there on the American model on December 25.
During the winter they fortified their defences around the southern peninsula of
Hakodate, with the new fortress of
Goryokaku at the center. The troops were organized under a Franco-Japanese commandment, the commander-in-chief
Otori Keisuke being seconded by the French captain
Jules Brunet, and divided between four
brigades, each commanded by a French officer (Fortant, Le Marlin, Cazeneuve, Bouffier), themselves divided into eight half-brigades, each under Japanese command.
Naval battle of Miyako
The Imperial navy reached the harbour of
Miyako on March 20th. Anticipating the arrival of the Imperial ships, the rebels organized a daring plan to seize the powerful new warship
Kotetsu. Three warships were dispatched for a surprise attack, in what is known as the
Naval Battle of Miyako.
Battle of Hakodate
Imperial forces soon consolidated their hold on mainland Japan, and in April 1869 dispatched a fleet and an infantry force of 7,000 to Ezo, starting the
Battle of Hakodate. The Imperial forces progressed swiftly and won the
Naval Battle of Hakodate, Japan's first large-scale naval battle between modern navies, until the fortress of
Goryokaku was surrounded with 800 remaining men. Enomoto decided to surrender on
May 18,
1869, and accepted the
Meiji Emperor's rule " the Republic ceased to exist on
27 June 1869.
