Greatest battles

Hokkaido, Japan, December 1868 – June 1869

Discover how the Battle of Hakodate unfolded step by step

When the US Navy Commodore Matthew C Perry ‘opened up’ Japan, it set off an chain of events that would revolutionise the country within a decade. Until this time, the Tokugawa shogunate, a hereditary military dictatorship, had largely ruled Japan for over 250 years, leaving the emperors to fill a secondary and more ceremonial role. Tokugawa Japan was largely a period of peace and stability but the country was entirely dependent on agriculture and extremely socially conservative. The four feudal classes — warriors, farmers, artisans and merchants — were rigid, with no mobility between them. Intense isolationism also banned foreign travel, trade or cultural exchange.

However, the Americans’ superior firepower convinced a group of Japanese leaders that the shogunate’s reign had left their country weak.

A sail-powered warship settles to the bottom of the sea as the battle progresses. The technology of steam revolutionised naval warfare and modern ships took part in the Battle of Hakodate. The presence of the sinking vessel serves as a prominent...