- Goryōkaku
nihongo|Goryōkaku|五稜郭| is a
star fort in the city of Hakodate in southernHokkaidō ,Japan . It was the main fortress of the short-livedRepublic of Ezo .History
Built by the
Tokugawa shogunate in1857 -1866 , it was located in the center of the port of Hakodate, on the island ofHokkaidō . Shaped like a five-pointed star, it allowed for greater numbers of gun emplacements on its walls than a traditional Japanese fortress, and reduced the number of "blind spots" where a cannon could not fire. In designing Goryokaku,Takeda Ayasaburō , aRangaku scholar, adopted elements of the designs of the French architectVauban , who developed fortresses responding to the spread of the use ofcannon inwar fare.Goryōkaku is famous as the site of the last battle of the
Boshin War . OnDecember 9 (lunar calendar October 26),1868 , Ōtori Keisuke andHijikata Toshizo and their troops entered the fort. A week after Hijikata's death, onJune 27 (lunar calendar May 18),1869 , Goryokaku fell to the new army of Japan, and much of it was reduced to ruin.Today, Goryōkaku is a park. It has been declared a Special Historical Site and is home to the Hakodate city museum. The grounds are a favorite spot for
hanami .See also
*
Benten Daiba , another key fortress of the Republic of Ezo.Literature
*cite book | title=Castles in Japan| last=Schmorleitz| first=Morton S.| date=1974| pages= pg. 144| publisher=Charles E. Tuttle Co.| location=Tokyo| id=ISBN 0-8084-1102-4
*cite book | title=Japanese Castles| last=Motoo| first=Hinago| date=1986| pages= 200 pages| publisher=Kodansha| location=Tokyo| id=ISBN 0-87011-766-1External links
* [http://web-japan.org/atlas/historical/his01.html Japan Atlas: Goryokaku Fort]
* [http://www.city.hakodate.hokkaido.jp/english/$sight/guide/area/goryou.htm Sightseeing in Hakodate: Goryokaku Area]
* [http://www.goryokaku-tower.co.jp/ Goryokaku Tower]
* National Archives of Japan: [http://jpimg.digital.archives.go.jp/kouseisai/category/emaki/boshin_e.html "Boshinshoyo Kinki oyobi Gunki Shinzu," precise reproduction of Imperial Standard and the colors used by Government Army during Battle of Goryōkaku (1869)]
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