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Japan: 'Samurai troops in the Second Choshu expedition'. Anonymous painting, 1865

Japan: 'Samurai troops in the Second Choshu expedition'. Anonymous painting, 1865

The Second Choshu expedition, also known as the Summer War, was a punitive expedition led by the Tokugawa shogunate against the Choshu Domain, following the First Choshu expedition of 1864. The expedition was announced on 6 March 1865 but did not commence until 7 June 1866, starting with the bombardment of Suo-Oshima in Yamaguchi Prefecture.

The expedition was a military disaster for the shogunate troops, with the Choshu forces being more modernised and better organised while the shogunate army was feudal and antiquated. A ceasefure was negotiated by the new shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, after the death of his predecessor, though the shogun's prestige was already fatally weakened by then.

The disastrous campaign is seen by many as sealing the fate of the Tokugawa shogunate, their military prowess revealed to be a paper tiger.

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