The was a battle of the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

of the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, which occurred in 1868 in the northwestern part of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, in the area of modern

Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,227,496 (1 July 2019) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...

Background

The Boshin War erupted in 1868 between troops favourable to the restoration of political authority to the Emperor and the government of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

. The new

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji o ...

defeated the forces of

Shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

Tokugawa Yoshinobu Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned of his position as shogun in late 1867, while aiming ...

(mostly from the western domains of

Satsuma Satsuma may refer to: * Satsuma (fruit), a citrus fruit * ''Satsuma'' (gastropod), a genus of land snails Places Japan * Satsuma, Kagoshima, a Japanese town * Satsuma District, Kagoshima, a district in Kagoshima Prefecture * Satsuma Domain, a sou ...

and Chōshū) at the

Battle of Toba–Fushimi The occurred between pro-Imperial and Tokugawa shogunate forces during the Boshin War in Japan. The battle started on 27 January 1868 (or fourth year of Keiō, first month, 3rd day, according to the lunar calendar), when the forces of the shog ...

, and afterwards divided into three armies to advance on the Shogun’s capital of Edo. The imperial army marching up the coast of the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

was commanded by

Yamagata Aritomo '' Gensui'' Prince , also known as Prince Yamagata Kyōsuke, was a senior-ranking Japanese military commander, twice-elected Prime Minister of Japan, and a leading member of the '' genrō'', an élite group of senior statesmen who dominated J ...

and

Kuroda Kiyotaka Count , also known as , was a Japanese politician of the Meiji era. He was Prime Minister of Japan from 1888 to 1889. He was also vice chairman of the Hokkaido Development Commission ( Kaitaku-shi). Biography As a Satsuma ''samurai'' Kur ...

Summary

Makino Tadakuni was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the late Edo period, who ruled the Nagaoka Domain. Born the son of Matsudaira Munehide, he was adopted as heir by Makino Tadayuki was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the late Edo period.Meyer, Eva-Maria"Gouverneure ...

, the ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

'' of Nagaoka, in Echigo Province (modern day

) was a supporter of the

, and refused to submit to the new government even after the fall of

Edo Castle is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. In modern times it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Tokyo and is therefore also known as . Tokugawa Ieyasu established the ...

to the imperial armies. With the assistance of two

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

n businessmen (the brothers Edward and Henry Schnell) as

military advisor Military advisors, or combat advisors, advise on military matters. Some are soldiers sent to foreign countries to aid such countries with their military training, organization, and other various military tasks. The Foreign powers or organizations m ...

s, he purchased two

Gatling gun The Gatling gun is a rapid-firing multiple-barrel firearm invented in 1861 by Richard Jordan Gatling. It is an early machine gun and a forerunner of the modern electric motor-driven rotary cannon. The Gatling gun's operation centered on a cyc ...

s (only one other existed in Japan at the time), 2,000 French rifles, and various other armaments. On May 4, 1868, Nagaoka joined the Northern Coalition against the Imperial government. The Imperial army was intent on seizing Niigata harbour to facilitate the supply of weapons and troops in the campaign against Aizu and Shōnai, the two main centers of the revolt. In the ensuing campaign, Imperial troops suffered heavy losses on land, especially due to the action of Nagaoka's Gatling guns. In the meantime, a small commando team reached Nagaoka Castle by sea, and set it on fire. The castle fell on July 8, 1868. A secondary action occurred two months later, when surviving Nagaoka troops, together with troops from Aizu, managed to take the

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

back on September 10, throwing the Imperial side in disarray. However, the attacking side also suffered serious losses, including its leader

Kawai Tsugunosuke was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period, who served the Makino clan of Nagaoka Domain, Nagaoka. Kawai was a senior military commander of Nagaoka forces during the Boshin War of 1868–1869. He escaped to nearby Aizu after his domain's fall; ...

, who was wounded during the battle and later died of

gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

in Aizu. The castle was retaken by the Imperial troops on September 15.

Aftermath

The Battle of Hokuetsu ended the last resistance to the new Meiji government on the Sea of Japan coast of

Honshū , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separa ...

, and isolated the remaining center of resistance: Aizu. After an unsuccessful effort at stopping the progress of the Imperial armies at the Battle of Bonari Pass, the next key battle in the Boshin War was the Battle of Aizu.

External links

The Boshin War
(Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hokuetsu, Battle Of Battles involving Japan Boshin War 1868 in Japan Battles of the Boshin War Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei Conflicts in 1868 History of Niigata Prefecture Nagaoka, Niigata March 1868 events

Background

Summary

Aftermath

Further reading

External links