Enomoto Takeaki and the Civil War

I will not expand on the events that led to and followed Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu's resignation or even the resignation itself as this would deserve a dedicated article, if not multiple. Let me, however, talk a bit more about the role of Enomoto in the civil war.

Following the Battle of Toba-Fushimi (considered to be the starting point of the Boshin War), Enomoto took wounded people on a ship stationed in Osaka Bay and returned to Edo. He could not have taken the Kaiyō Maru, however, because the former Shogun - who had not waited for its captain - had fled with it a few days prior. The self-proclaimed Imperial army was marching towards the eastern capital and the Bakufu troops were gathering back in the hope of preventing them from taking over Edo Castle.

Despite their intentions, the Castle was surrendered in April. Enomoto and the loyalists refused to surrender the ships and left Edo to join the core of the resistance in the north, the Ouestu Reppan Domei coalition. Enomoto had members of the army that the Bakufu was training on board, as well as some of their training officers, French soldiers who had deserted the French army to support their Japanese students.

The ships docked in Sendai Bay, but following the Battle of Aizu, they set sail for Ezo (Hokkaido). Enomoto entered the Goryokaku fortress in November but lost the Kaiyō Maru when it ran aground in Esashi. On December 15, he declared the pacification of Ezo and became the president by election. From there, they started planning their defence. Under the cover of the harsh winter, they expected to have a few months until the arrival of the Imperial army, if it ever arrived! They sent a letter to the government, which was badly received by Kido Takayoshi, demanding they be recognised as an independent Republic. They would remain loyal to the Imperial House and cultivate the northern island for the Emperor, but his men shall not be imprisoned nor charged for having simply wanted to protect the Tokugawa family. It is important to note that they were not willing to work under the administration of Satsuma and Choshu, thus the alternative offer.

I will talk about the Republic of Ezo in my next post!