The Battle of Toba-Fushimi

The Fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate, The Rise of Imperial Command

The four-day Battle of Toba-Fushimi pitting the Tokugawa Shogunate against the new Imperial Army commenced on January 27, 1868.

15,000 pro-Shogunate troops consisting of samurai mostly from Kuwana (Mie Prefecture) and Aizu (Fukushima Pref.) Domains along with Takamatsu (Kanagawa Pref) Tsu (Mie Pref.) Matsuyama (Ehime) and Ogaki (Gifu) Domains, and supported by mercenaries and members of the Shinsengumi, the shogunate’s special police force, faced an opposition of 5,000 men. The opposition were made up of anti-Tokugawa samurai from the Satsuma (Kagoshima) Choshu (Yamaguchi) and Tosa (Kochi Pref.) domains.