Refine your search

The results of your search are listed below alongside the search terms you entered on the previous page. You can refine your search by amending any of the parameters in the form and resubmitting it.

Select all Deselect all Add selection to lightbox
Large Small
Thumbnails per page
The Boshin War (戊辰戦争 Boshin Sensō) was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court.<br/><br/> The war found its origins in dissatisfaction among many nobles and young samurai with the shogunate's handling of foreigners following the opening of Japan during the prior decade. An alliance of western samurai (particularly the domains of Chōshū, Satsuma and Tosa) and court officials secured control of the imperial court and influenced the young Emperor Meiji. Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the sitting shogun, realizing the futility of his situation, abdicated political power to the emperor. Yoshinobu had hoped that by doing this, the Tokugawa house could be preserved and participate in the future government.<br/><br/> However, military movements by imperial forces, partisan violence in Edo, and an imperial decree promoted by Satsuma and Choshu abolishing the house of Tokugawa led Yoshinobu to launch a military campaign to seize the emperor's court at Kyoto. The military tide rapidly turned in favor of the smaller but relatively modernized imperial faction, and after a series of battles culminating in the surrender of Edo, Yoshinobu personally surrendered. Those loyal to the Tokugawa retreated to northern Honshū and later to Hokkaidō, where they founded the Ezo republic. Defeat at the Battle of Hakodate broke this last holdout and left the imperial rule supreme throughout the whole of Japan, completing the military phase of the Meiji Restoration.
The Satsuma Rebellion was a revolt that occurred nine years into the Meiji Era. After various military reforms had led to the lessening of samurai power and resulted in many unemployed samurai in the Satsuma Domain, Saigo Takamori, one of the senior Satsumi leaders, became worried about political corruption and the future role of samurai warriors.<br/><br/> Saigo and his men eventually revolted in January 29, 1877, leading 20,000 to 30,000 samurai against the Japanese Imperial Army. The rebellion was decisvely crushed nine months later in September during the Battle of Shiroyama, the samurai outnumbered 60-to-1 by the Imperial Army. Saigo committed seppuku and killed himself rather than surrender, thus ending the last of a series of armed uprisings against the new government and effectively ending the samurai class.