The was a short-lived separatist state established in 1869 on the island of Ezo, now

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

, by a part of the former military of the

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 ...

at the end of the ''

Bakumatsu were the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate Meiji Restoration, ended. Between 1853 and 1867, under foreign diplomatic and military pressure, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a Feudali ...

'' period in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It was the first government to attempt to institute

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

in Japan, though voting was allowed only to the

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

. The Republic of Ezo existed for five months before being annexed by the newly established

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

Background

left, Troops of the former ''bakufu'' being transported to Ezo (Hokkaido) in 1868 After the overthrow of the

(''bakufu'') in 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 ...

by 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, a part of the former ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers 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, except during parts of the Kamak ...

''s navy, led by Admiral

Enomoto Takeaki Viscount was a Japanese samurai and admiral of the Tokugawa navy of Bakumatsu period Japan, who remained faithful to the Tokugawa shogunate and fought against the new Meiji government until the end of the Boshin War. He later served in the ...

, retreated from the capital

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 ...

(Tokyo) in October 1868, sailing north to continue the fight against the advancing Imperial army. Along with Enomoto were many other former Tokugawa officers, including the Commander-in-Chief of the shogunate's army, Matsudaira Tarō, and French officers

Jules Brunet Jules Brunet (2 January 1838 – 12 August 1911) was a French military officer who served the Tokugawa shogunate during the Boshin War in Japan. Originally sent to Japan as a horse artillery instructor with the French military mission of 1867, ...

and André Cazeneuve, former members of a military training mission to Japan, who had refused to leave the country after being recalled to France in late September. Shortly before midnight on 4 October, the ships left the port of

Shinagawa is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The Ward refers to itself as Shinagawa City in English. The Ward is home to ten embassies. , the Ward had an estimated population of 380,293 and a population density of 16,510 persons per ...

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan spanning the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, on the southern coast of the island of Honshu. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. Th ...

. Enomoto's fleet consisted of four

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is used for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the navy branch of the armed forces of a nation, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations. As well as b ...

s ('' Kaiyō maru'' (

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

), '' Kaiten maru'', '' Banryū maru'' and '' Chiyodagata maru'') and four

transport ship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable to land troops directly on shore, typic ...

s ('' Kanrin maru'', '' Shinsoku maru'', '' Chōgei maru'' and '' Mikaho maru''). The fleet first arrived in

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan. ...

, where they were joined by three more French defectors,

Arthur Fortant Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

François Bouffier François Bouffier (c. 1844–1881) was a French non-commissioned officer of the 19th century, a sergeant of the 8th Battalion of infantrymen. He was a member of the first French Military Mission to Japan in 1867, in which he accompanied Jules Br ...

and Jean Marlin. Enomoto's goal was to gather military support from the

clans A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

of the disbanded ''

Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei The was a Japanese military-political coalition established and disestablished over the course of several months in early to mid-1868 during the Boshin War. Its flag was either a white interwoven five-pointed star on a black field, or a black ...

'' (also known as "Northern Alliance"), but this ended in failure after a major clan defected to the Imperial side. After one month in Sendai the fleet sailed further north, arriving in

Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 househol ...

, Ezo, on 3 December, which was captured five days later by a force of 4,000 shogunate troops. With support from the French advisers led by Brunet, Enomoto's army continued the conquest of Ezo, capturing

Matsumae Castle is a castle located in Matsumae, Hokkaido, Japan, and is the northernmost castle in Japan. The only traditional style Edo period castle in Hokkaidō, it was the chief residence of the '' han'' (estate) of the Matsumae clan. History First built i ...

(18 December) and Esashi (28 December), and by the end of the year the region was under full control of the rebels. Enomoto made a last effort to petition the Imperial Court to be allowed to develop Hokkaido and maintain the traditions of the samurai unmolested, but his request was denied.

History

On January 27, 1869, the independent "Republic of Ezo" was proclaimed, with its government structure based on the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

was limited to the samurai class. Votes were cast through open ballots and resulted in the election of Enomoto Takeaki as '' sosai'', an office variously translated as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

director-general A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

, and Matsudaira Tarō as ''fuku-sosai'' (

vice-president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

or assistant governor-general). Some

cabinet members This is a list of the offices of heads of state, heads of government, cabinet, and legislature, of sovereign states A sovereign state is a State (polity), state that has the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood th ...

were elected by the troops as well; Arai Ikunosuke was chosen as ''kaigun-

bugyō was a title assigned to ''samurai'' officials in feudal Japan. ''Bugyō'' is often translated as commissioner, magistrate, or governor, and other terms would be added to the title to describe more specifically a given official's tasks or jurisdi ...

'' (Navy minister) and Ōtori Keisuke as ''rikugun-bugyō'' (Army minister). This was the first

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

ever held in Japan, where a feudal structure under an Emperor with military

warlords Warlords are individuals who exercise military, economic, and political control over a region, often one without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over local armed forces. Warlords have existed throug ...

was the norm. Through Hakodate magistrate Nagai Naoyuki, attempts were made to reach out to foreign legations present in

to obtain international diplomatic recognition. Notably, due to the United States' involvement through Commodore Matthew Perry's expedition to forcefully end Japan's 220-year-old policy of isolation and open ports to American trade, the Western world had limited interest in supporting a breakaway state over the new Meiji government, which offered more stability and potential cooperation. On the same day, a celebration of the Ezo territory all-island settlement (Ezo territory declaration ceremony) was held, proclaiming the establishment of a provisional government with Enomoto as president. The treasury included 180,000 gold ''

ryō The was a gold currency unit in the shakkanhō system in pre- Meiji Japan. It was eventually replaced with a system based on the '' yen''. Origins The ''ryō'' was originally a unit of weight from China, the ''tael.'' It came into use in Ja ...

'' coins Enomoto retrieved from

Osaka Castle is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi–Momoyama period. Layout Th ...

following ''shōgun''

Tokugawa Yoshinobu Kazoku, 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 his position as shogun in late 1867, while ai ...

's precipitous departure after 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 ...

in early 1868. French Military Advisors Jules Brunet and Japanese Allies Boshin War 1868-1869

During the winter of 1868–1869, the defences around the southern peninsula of

were enhanced, with the star fortress of Goryōkaku at the centre. The land force was organised under a joint Franco-Japanese command, commander-in-chief Ōtori Keisuke being seconded by the French captain

. The troops were divided into four

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

s, each commanded by a French officer (

, Jean Marlin, André Cazeneuve and

). Each brigade was in turn divided into two

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

s, and these into four

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...

. Brunet demanded (and received) a signed personal pledge of loyalty from all officers and insisted they assimilate French ideas. An anonymous French officer wrote that Brunet had taken charge of everything:

Defeat by Imperial forces and aftermath

Imperial troops soon consolidated their hold on mainland Japan, and in April 1869 dispatched a fleet and an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

force of 7,000 men to Hokkaido. The Imperial forces progressed swiftly, won the

Battle of Hakodate The was fought in Japan from December 4, 1868 to June 27, 1869, between the remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate army, consolidated into the armed forces of the rebel Ezo Republic, and the armies of the newly formed Imperial government (composed ...

, and surrounded the fortress at Goryōkaku. Enomoto surrendered on June 26, 1869, turning the Goryōkaku over to

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 ...

staff officer

Kuroda Kiyotaka Count was a Japanese politician and general who served as prime minister of Japan from 1888 to 1889. He was one of the '' genrō'', or senior statesman of the Meiji era. Born in the Satsuma Domain to a samurai family, Kuroda was involved in t ...

on June 27, 1869.Onodera, 2004, p. 196. Kuroda is said to have been deeply impressed by Enomoto's dedication in combat and is remembered as the one who spared the latter's life from execution. On September 20 of the same year, the island was given its present name, Hokkaido (''Hokkaidō'', literally "Northern Sea Region"). Enomoto was sentenced to a brief prison sentence, but was freed in 1872 and accepted a post as a government official in the newly renamed Hokkaido Land Agency. He later became ambassador to Russia and held several ministerial positions in the

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 ...

The rebels' French allies, some of them wounded, sailed from Hakodate on 9 June aboard the French vessel ''Coëtlogon'' to

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

, where Cazeneuve was admitted to the local naval hospital. Their leader Jules Brunet returned to France in September 1869. He was suspended from active duty in the French army in October, and was later put on trial but received only a light sentence of minor loss in seniority. In February 1870 Brunet was recalled to service, and back as a captain fought in the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

later that year. In 1871, Arthur Fortant, Jean Marlin, and François Bouffier signed an employment contract with professor Harada Ichido (father of

Harada Naojirō Harada Naojirō (; 12 October 1863 – 26 December 1899) was a Japanese painter who specialized in the ''yōga'' (Western) style. He was a friend of the novelist Mori Ōgai and served as the model for the protagonist in Ōgai's short ...

) and returned to Japan as civilians to teach at the military school of

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

Perspectives

While later history texts were to refer to May 1869 as being when Enomoto accepted

Emperor Meiji , posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...

's rule, the Imperial rule was never in question for the Ezo Republic, as made evident by part of Enomoto's message to the at the time of his arrival in Hakodate: Thus from Enomoto's perspective, the efforts to establish a government in Hokkaido were not only for the sake of providing for the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty which produced the Tokugawa shoguns who ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868 during the Edo period. It was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of ...

on the one hand (burdened as it was with an enormous amount of redundant retainers and employees) but also as developing Ezo for the sake of defence for the rest of Japan, something which had been a topic of concern for some time. Recent scholarship has noted that for centuries, Ezo was not considered a part of Japan the same way that the other "main" islands of modern Japan were, so the creation of the Ezo Republic, in a contemporary mindset, was not an act of secession, but rather of "bringing" the sociopolitical entity of "Japan" formally to the island of Hokkaido.Suzuki, 1998, p. 32. Takeaki_Enomoto.gif,

, President. Keisuke Otori 2.jpg, Ōtori Keisuke, Commander-in-Chief. AraiIkunosuke.jpg, Arai Ikunosuke, Commander of the Navy. Photo-Hijikata-Toshizo-c1869.png,

Hijikata Toshizō was a Japanese swordsman of the ''Bakumatsu'' period and of the ''Shinsengumi''. As Vice-Commander, he served the Tokugawa Shogunate and co-led his group in its resistance against the imperial rule brought about by the Meiji Restoration. He ...

, Commander 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 ...

Notes

References

*Ballard C. B., Vice-Admiral G.A. ''The Influence of the Sea on the Political History of Japan''. London: John Murray, 1921. *Black, John R. ''Young Japan: Yokohama and Yedo'', Vol. II. London: Trubner & Co., 1881. * * *Sims, Richard. ''French Policy towards the Bakufu and Meiji Japan 1854–1895, Richmond: Japan Library, 1998.'' * Suzuki, Tessa Morris. ''Re-Inventing Japan: Time Space Nation''. New York: M. E. Sharpe, 1998. *Yamaguchi, Ken. ''Kinsé shiriaku A history of Japan, from the first visit of Commodore Perry in 1853 to the capture of Hakodate by the Mikado's forces in 1869.'' Trans. Sir Ernest Satow. Wilmington, Del., Scholarly Resources, 1973. * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Republic of Ezo Political history of Hokkaido Meiji Restoration Boshin War 1868 in Japan 1869 in Japan Former countries in East Asia Ezo Island countries 1869 establishments in Japan 1869 disestablishments in Japan Ezo, Republic of Ezo, Republic of Samurai