The took place between pro-Imperial and

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

forces during 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 coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

in Japan. The battle followed 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 sho ...

on 29 March 1868 (

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

Prelude

After defeating the forces of the

at the

, the Imperial forces (consisting of the feudal armies of Chōshū,

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 ...

and Tosa domains) split into three columns, which progressed northeast towards the Tokugawa capital of

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

up each of the three main highways:

Tōkaidō (road) The , which roughly means "eastern sea route," was the most important of the Edo Five Routes, Five Routes of the Edo period in Japan, connecting Kyoto to the ''de facto'' capital of Japan at Edo (modern-day Tokyo). Unlike the inland and less hea ...

Nakasendō The , also called the ,Richard Lane, ''Images from the Floating World'' (1978) Chartwell, Secaucus ; pg. 285 was one of the centrally administered Edo Five Routes, five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected the ''de facto'' ...

and

Hokurikudō is a Japanese geographical term. It means both an ancient division of the country and the main road running through the old Japanese geographical region.Nussbaum, "''Hokurikudō''" in Both were situated along the northwestern edge of Honshū. ...

. Meanwhile,

Kondō Isami was a Japanese swordsman and samurai of the late Edo period. He was the fourth generation master of Tennen Rishin-ryū and was famed for his role as commander of the Shinsengumi. Background He was born Miyagawa Katsugorō to a farmer Miyagawa ...

, leader of the ''

Shinsengumi The was a small secret police organization, elite group of swordsmen that was organized by commoners and low rank samurai, commissioned by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was ac ...

'', withdrew to Edo after the Battle of Toba–Fushimi. Once back in Edo, he met with Shogunal military commander

Katsu Kaishū Count , born , best known by his nickname , was a Japanese statesman, naval engineer and military commander during the late Tokugawa shogunate and early Meiji period. Kaishū was a nickname which he took from a piece of calligraphy (Kaishū S ...

. Kondō created a new unit based on the surviving remnants of the ''Shinsengumi'', called the , and they departed Edo on 24 March.

The battle

The Imperial army reached the Tokugawa stronghold of

Kōfu is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 187,985 in 90,924 households, and a population density of 880 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Overview Toponymy Kōfu ...

first, and occupied it with a struggle. The Imperial army then met the Shogunal forces in battle at Katsunuma (now a part of

Kōshū, Yamanashi is a Cities of Japan, city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 29,659 in 13,141 households, and a population density of 120 persons per km². The total area of the city is . The city is the home of th ...

) on 29 March. Outnumbered 10:1, the Shogunal forces were defeated with 179 casualties. The survivors, including Kondō, attempted to flee to

Aizu is the westernmost of the three regions of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, the other two regions being Nakadōri in the central area of the prefecture and Hamadōri in the east. As of October 1, 2010, it had a population of 291,838. The princ ...

via

Sagami Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan located in what is today the central and western Kanagawa Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kanagawa''" at . Sagami Province bordered the provinces of Izu Province, Izu ...

, which was still controlled by Tokugawa ''

hatamoto A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the Shōgun, shogunates in History of Japan, Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred ...

'' loyalists.

Consequences

Kondō Isami narrowly escaped from this battle, but was captured soon after at

Nagareyama Nagareyama City Hall is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 211,620 in 89,751 households and a population density of 6,000 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Nagareyama is ...

, Chiba. He was beheaded by the new government at

Itabashi is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. In English, it is called Itabashi City. Itabashi has sister-city relations with Burlington, Ontario, in Canada; Shijingshan District of Beijing in the People's Republic of China; and Bolog ...

a short time later. The Battle of Kōshū-Katsunuma was the last significant military action in central

Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...

during the Boshin War, and the death of Kondō Isami further demoralized Tokugawa supporters, contributing to the surrender 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 th ...

without bloodshed later that year.

Prelude

The battle

Consequences

Further reading