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Boshin War 戊辰戦争 (1868–1869)
Photograph of Samurai of the Satsuma Domain by Felice Beato
Date 27 January 1868 – 27 June 1869 Location Japan Result Imperial victory End of the shogunate Restoration of imperial rule
Belligerents
1868 Imperial Court Tozama: Satchō Alliance Satsuma Domain Chōshū Domain Other tozama daimyōs: Tosa Domain Hiroshima Domain Tsu Domain Saga Domain Ōgaki Domain Hirosaki Domain Kuroishi Domain Yodo Domain	1868 Shogunate Aizu Domain Takamatsu Domain Northern Alliance Jōzai Domain Tsuruoka Domain Kuwana Domain Matsuyama Domain Defected: Tsu Domain Yodo Domain Ōgaki Domain
1869  Empire of Japan Supported by:  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	1869 Republic of Ezo Supported by:  French Empire
Commanders and leaders
1868–1869 Emperor: Meiji CIC: Prince Komatsu Akihito Army: Saigō Takamori Kuroda Kiyotaka Ōmura Masujirō Yamagata Aritomo Kirino Toshiaki	1868 Shōgun: Tokugawa Yoshinobu Commander: Katsu Kaishū Enomoto Takeaki Matsudaira Katamori Shinoda Gisaburō † Matsudaira Sadaaki Tanaka Tosa † Kondō Isami  Hijikata Toshizō † 1869 President: Enomoto Takeaki Army: Ōtori Keisuke Navy: Arai Ikunosuke Advisors: Jules Brunet Eugène Collache
Casualties and losses
8,200 killed and 5,000+ wounded[1]

Campaign map of the Boshin War (1868–69). The western domains of Satsuma, Chōshū and Tosa (in red) joined forces to defeat the shogunate forces at Toba–Fushimi, and then progressively took control of the rest of Japan until the final stand-off in the northern island of Hokkaidō.

The Boshin War (戊辰戦争, Boshin Sensō, "War of the Year of the Yang Earth Dragon"),^[2] sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution, 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.

The war found its origins in dissatisfaction among many nobles and young samurai with the shogunate's handling of foreigners following the opening of Japan during the prior decade. Increasing Western influence in the economy led to a decline similar to other Asian countries at the time. An alliance of western samurai, particularly the domains of Chōshū, Satsuma and Tosa, and court officials, secured control of the Imperial Court and influenced the young Emperor Meiji. Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the sitting shōgun, realizing the futility of his situation, abdicated political power to the emperor. Yoshinobu had hoped that by doing this, the Tokugawa house could be preserved and participate in the future government.

However, military movements by imperial forces, partisan violence in Edo, and an imperial decree promoted by Satsuma and Chōshū abolishing the house of Tokugawa led Yoshinobu to launch a military campaign to seize the emperor's court in Kyoto. The military tide rapidly turned in favor of the smaller but relatively modernized imperial faction, and after a series of battles culminating in the surrender of Edo, Yoshinobu personally surrendered. Those loyal to the Tokugawa retreated to northern Honshū and later to Hokkaidō, where they founded the Ezo republic. Defeat at the Battle of Hakodate broke this last holdout and left the imperial rule supreme throughout the whole of Japan, completing the military phase of the Meiji Restoration.

Around 120,000 men were mobilised during the conflict, and of these about 3,500 were killed.^[3] In the end, the victorious imperial faction abandoned its objective to expel foreigners from Japan and instead adopted a policy of continued modernization with an eye to eventual renegotiation of the unequal treaties with the Western powers. Due to the persistence of Saigō Takamori, a prominent leader of the imperial faction, the Tokugawa loyalists were shown clemency, and many former shogunate leaders and samurai were later given positions of responsibility under the new government.

When the Boshin War began, Japan was already modernizing, following the same course of advancement as that of the industrialized Western nations. Since Western nations, especially the United Kingdom and France, were deeply involved in the country's politics, the installation of Imperial power added more turbulence to the conflict. Over time, the war has been romanticized as a "bloodless revolution", because of the small number of casualties.

Political background

Early discontent against the shogunate

For the two centuries prior to 1854, Japan had severely limited exchange with foreign nations, with the notable exceptions of Korea via Tsushima, Qing China via the Ryūkyūs, and the Dutch through the trading post of Dejima.^[4] In 1854, Commodore Perry opened Japan to global commerce with the implied threat of force, thus initiating a period of rapid development in foreign trade and Westernization. In large part due to the humiliating terms of the unequal treaties, as agreements like those conveyed by Perry are called, the shogunate soon faced internal hostility, which materialized into a radical movement, the sonnō jōi ("revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians").^[5]

The shogunate's Kanrin Maru, Japan's first screw-driven steam warship, 1855. The shogunate actively pursued modernization, but was faced by growing internal discontent against the harm to national sovereignty brought on by contact with Westerners.

Emperor Kōmei agreed with such sentiments, and—breaking with centuries of imperial tradition—began to take an active role in matters of state: as opportunities arose, he fulminated against the treaties and attempted to interfere in the shogunal succession. His efforts culminated in March 1863 with his "Order to expel barbarians". Although the shogunate had no intention of enforcing it, the order nevertheless inspired attacks against the shogunate itself and against foreigners in Japan: the most famous incident was that of the English trader Charles Lennox Richardson, for whose death the Tokugawa government had to pay an indemnity of one hundred thousand British pounds.^[6] Other attacks included the shelling of foreign shipping in Shimonoseki.^[7]

During 1864, these actions were successfully countered by armed retaliations by foreign powers, such as the British bombardment of Kagoshima and the multinational Shimonoseki Campaign. At the same time, the forces of Chōshū, together with rōnin, raised the Hamaguri rebellion trying to seize the city of Kyoto, where the Emperor's court was held, but were repelled by shogunate forces under the future shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu. The shogunate further ordered a punitive expedition against Chōshū, the First Chōshū expedition, and obtained Chōshū's submission without actual fighting. At this point initial resistance among the leadership in Chōshū and the Imperial Court subsided, but over the next year the Tokugawa proved unable to reassert full control over the country as most daimyōs began to ignore orders and questions from Edo.^[8]

Foreign military assistance

Bakufu troops near Mount Fuji in 1867. The painting by French officer Jules Brunet shows an eclectic combination of Western and Japanese equipment.

Despite the bombardment of Kagoshima, the Satsuma Domain had become closer to the British and was pursuing the modernization of its army and navy with their support.^[9] The Scottish dealer Thomas Blake Glover sold quantities of warships and guns to the southern domains.^[10] American and British military experts, usually former officers, may have been directly involved in this military effort.^[11] The British ambassador Harry Smith Parkes supported the anti-shogunate forces in a drive to establish a legitimate, unified Imperial rule in Japan, and to counter French influence with the shogunate. During that period, southern Japanese leaders such as Saigō Takamori of Satsuma, or Itō Hirobumi and Inoue Kaoru of Chōshū cultivated personal connections with British diplomats, notably Ernest Mason Satow.^[12]

The shogunate also was preparing for further conflict by modernizing its forces. In line with Parkes' designs, the British, previously the shogunate's primary partner, proved reluctant to provide assistance.^[13] The Tokugawa thus came to rely mainly on French expertise, comforted by the military prestige of Napoleon III at that time, acquired through his successes in the Crimean War and the War of Italy.^[14]

The shogunate took major steps towards the construction of a modern and powerful military: a navy with a core of eight steam warships had been built over several years and was already the strongest in Asia.^[15] In 1865, Japan's first modern naval arsenal was built in Yokosuka by the French engineer Léonce Verny. In January 1867, a French military mission arrived to reorganize the shogunal army and create the Denshūtai elite force, and an order was placed with the United States to buy the French-built ironclad warship CSS Stonewall,^[16] a relic of the American Civil War. Due to the Western powers' declared neutrality, the Americans refused to release the ship, but once neutrality was lifted, the imperial faction obtained the vessel and employed it in engagements in Hakodate under the name Kōtetsu ("Ironclad").^[17]

Coups d'état

Samurai in Western clothing

Following a coup within Chōshū which returned to power the extremist factions opposed to the shogunate, the shogunate announced its intention to lead a Second Chōshū expedition to punish the renegade domain. This in turn prompted Chōshū to form a secret alliance with Satsuma. In the summer of 1866, the shogunate was defeated by Chōshū, leading to a considerable loss of authority. In late 1866, however, first shōgun Iemochi and then Emperor Kōmei died, respectively succeeded by Yoshinobu and Emperor Meiji. These events, in the words of historian Marius Jansen, "made a truce inevitable".^[18]

On November 9, 1867, a secret order was created by Satsuma and Chōshū in the name of Emperor Meiji commanding the "slaughtering of the traitorous subject Yoshinobu".^[19] Just prior to this however, and following a proposal from the daimyō of Tosa, Yoshinobu resigned his post and authorities to the emperor, agreeing to "be the instrument for carrying out" imperial orders.^[20] The Tokugawa shogunate had ended.^[21]

While Yoshinobu's resignation had created a nominal void at the highest level of government, his apparatus of state continued to exist. Moreover, the shogunal government, the Tokugawa family in particular, would remain a prominent force in the evolving political order and would retain many executive powers,^[22] a prospect hard-liners from Satsuma and Chōshū found intolerable.^[23] Events came to a head on January 3, 1868, when these elements seized the imperial palace in Kyoto, and the following day had the fifteen-year-old Emperor Meiji declare his own restoration to full power. Although the majority of the imperial consultative assembly was happy with the formal declaration of direct rule by the court and tended to support a continued collaboration with the Tokugawa (under the concept of "just government" (公議政体, kōgiseitai)), Saigō Takamori threatened the assembly into abolishing the title "shōgun" and ordering the confiscation of Yoshinobu's lands.^[24]

Although he initially agreed to these demands, on January 17, 1868, Yoshinobu declared that he would not be bound by the Restoration proclamation and called for its rescission.^[25] On January 24, he decided to prepare an attack on Kyoto, occupied by Satsuma and Chōshū forces. This decision was prompted by his learning of a series of arsons in Edo, starting with the burning of the outerworks of Edo Castle, the main Tokugawa residence. This was blamed on Satsuma rōnin, who on that day attacked a government office. The next day shogunate forces responded by attacking the Edo residence of the daimyō of Satsuma, where many opponents of the shogunate, under Takamori's direction, had been hiding and creating trouble. The palace was burned down, and many opponents killed or later executed.^[26]

Opening conflicts

Scene of the Battle of Toba–Fushimi. Shogunate forces are on the left, including battalions from Aizu. On the right are forces from Chōshū and Tosa. These are modernized battalions, but some of the forces were also traditional samurai (especially on the shogunate side).

On 27 January 1868, shogunate forces attacked the forces of Chōshū and Satsuma, clashing near Toba and Fushimi, at the southern entrance of Kyoto. Some parts of the 15,000-strong shogunate forces had been trained by French military advisers, but the majority remained samurai forces. Of those samurai forces there were the Shinsengumi. Meanwhile, the forces of Chōshū and Satsuma were outnumbered 3:1 but fully modernized with Armstrong howitzers, Minié rifles and a few Gatling guns. After an inconclusive start,^[27] on the second day, an Imperial banner was remitted to the defending troops, and a relative of the Emperor, Ninnajinomiya Yoshiaki, was named nominal commander in chief, making the forces officially an imperial army (官軍, kangun).^[28] Moreover, convinced by courtiers, several local daimyōs, up to this point faithful to the shōgun, started to defect to the side of the Imperial Court. These included daimyōs of Yodo on February 5, and the daimyō of Tsu on February 6, tilting the military balance in favour of the Imperial side.^[29]

On February 7, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, apparently distressed by the imperial approval given to the actions of Satsuma and Chōshū, fled Osaka aboard the Kaiyō Maru, withdrawing to Edo. Demoralized by his flight and by the betrayal by Yodo and Tsu, shogunate forces retreated, making the Toba–Fushimi encounter an Imperial victory, although it is often considered the shogunate forces should have won the encounter.^[30] Osaka Castle was soon invested on February 8 (on March 1, Western calendar), putting an end to the battle of Toba–Fushimi.^[31]

The killing of French sailors by Tosa soldiers in the Sakai incident, 8 March 1868, Le Monde Illustré

At the same time, on 28 January 1868, the naval Battle of Awa between the shogunate and elements of the Satsuma navy took place. This was Japan's second engagement between two modern navies.^[32] The battle, although small in scale, ended in favour of the shogunate.

On the diplomatic front, the ministers of foreign nations, gathered in the open harbor of Hyōgo (present day Kobe) in early February, issued a declaration according to which the shogunate was still considered the only rightful government in Japan, giving hope to Tokugawa Yoshinobu that foreign nations (especially France) might consider an intervention in his favour. A few days later however an Imperial delegation visited the ministers declaring that the shogunate was abolished, that harbours would be open in accordance with International treaties, and that foreigners would be protected. The ministers finally decided to recognize the new government.^[33]

The rise of anti-foreign sentiment nonetheless led to several attacks on foreigners in the following months. Eleven French sailors from the corvette Dupleix were killed by samurai of Tosa in the Sakai incident on March 8, 1868. Fifteen days later, Sir Harry Parkes, the British ambassador, was attacked by a group of samurai in a street of Kyoto.^[34]

Surrender of Edo

Kondō Isami, leader of the pro-shogunate Shinsengumi, facing soldiers from Tosa (distinctive "Red bear" (赤熊, Shaguma)) wigs of the officers) at the Battle of Kōshū-Katsunuma

Beginning in February, with the help of the French ambassador Léon Roches, a plan was formulated to stop the Imperial Court's advance at Odawara, the last strategic entry point to Edo, but Yoshinobu decided against the plan. Shocked, Léon Roches resigned from his position. In early March, under the influence of the British minister Harry Parkes, foreign nations signed a strict neutrality agreement, according to which they could not intervene or provide military supplies to either side until the resolution of the conflict.^[35]

Saigō Takamori led the victorious imperial forces north and east through Japan, winning the Battle of Kōshū-Katsunuma. He eventually surrounded Edo in May 1868, leading to its unconditional defeat after Katsu Kaishū, the shōgun's Army Minister, negotiated the surrender.^[36] Some groups continued to resist after this surrender but were defeated in the Battle of Ueno on 4 July 1868.

Meanwhile, the leader of the shōgun's navy, Enomoto Takeaki, refused to surrender all his ships. He remitted just four ships, among them the Fujiyama, but he then escaped north with the remnants of the shōgun's navy (eight steam warships: Kaiten, Banryū, Chiyodagata, Chōgei, Kaiyō Maru, Kanrin Maru, Mikaho and Shinsoku), and 2,000 members of the navy, in the hope of staging a counter-attack together with the northern daimyōs. He was accompanied by a handful of French military advisers, notably Jules Brunet, who had formally resigned from the French Army to accompany the rebels.^[37]

Resistance of the Northern Coalition

Troops from Sendai, following their mobilization in April, joined a northern alliance against Imperial troops in May 1868.

After Yoshinobu's surrender,^[38] most of Japan accepted the emperor's rule, but a core of domains in the North, supporting the Aizu clan, continued the resistance.^[39] In May several northern daimyōs formed an Alliance to fight Imperial troops, the coalition of northern domains composed primarily of forces from the domains of Sendai, Yonezawa, Aizu, Shōnai and Nagaoka, with a total of 50,000 troops.^[40] An Imperial Prince, Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa had fled north with partisans of the Tokugawa shogunate and was made the nominal head of the Northern Coalition, with the intention of naming him "Emperor Tobu".

In May 1868, the daimyō of Nagaoka inflicted high losses on the Imperial troops in the Battle of Hokuetsu, but his castle ultimately fell on May 19. Imperial troops continued to progress north, defeating the Shinsengumi at the Battle of Bonari Pass, which opened the way for their attack on the castle of Aizuwakamatsu in the Battle of Aizu in October 1868, thus making the position in Sendai untenable.

Enomoto's fleet joined Sendai harbour on August 26. Although the Northern Coalition was numerous, it was poorly equipped, and relied on traditional fighting methods. Modern armament was scarce, and last-minute efforts were made to build cannons made of wood and reinforced with roping, firing stone projectiles. Such cannons, installed on defensive structures, could only fire four or five projectiles before bursting.^[41] On the other hand, the daimyō of Nagaoka managed to procure two of the three Gatling guns in Japan and 2,000 modern French rifles from the German weapons dealer Henry Schnell.

Wooden cannons used by the Sendai fief during the Boshin War, Sendai City Museum

The coalition crumbled, and on October 12, 1868, the fleet left Sendai for Hokkaidō, after having acquired two more ships (Oe and Hōō, previously borrowed by Sendai from the shogunate), and about 1,000 more troops: remaining shogunate troops under Ōtori Keisuke, Shinsengumi troops under Hijikata Toshizō, the guerilla corps (yugekitai) under Hitomi Katsutarō, as well as several more French advisers (Fortant, Garde, Marlin, Bouffier).^[37]

On October 26, Edo was renamed Tokyo, and the Meiji period officially started. Aizu was besieged starting that month, leading to the mass suicide of the Byakkotai (White Tiger Corps) young warriors.^[42] After a protracted month-long battle, Aizu finally admitted defeat on November 6.

Hokkaidō campaign

Creation of the Ezo Republic