Goryōkaku
五稜郭
Part of Boshin War
Near Hakodate in Japan
Goryōkaku viewed from Goryōkaku Tower
Governmental hall of the Republic of Ezo
Goryōkaku is located in Japan
Goryōkaku
Goryōkaku
Coordinates41°47′49″N 140°45′25″E / 41.79694°N 140.75694°E / 41.79694; 140.75694
TypeStar fort
Site history
Built1866
Built byTakeda Ayasaburō
Battles/warsBoshin War
19th century map of Goryōkaku

Goryōkaku (五稜郭, lit. 'five-point fort') is a star fort in the Japanese city of Hakodate on the island of Hokkaido.[1][2] The fortress was completed in 1866. It was the main headquarters of the short-lived Republic of Ezo.

History

Goryōkaku was designed in 1855 by Takeda Ayasaburō. His plan was based on the work of the French architect Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban.[1] The fortress was completed in 1866, two years before the collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate. It is shaped like a five-pointed star. This 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.

The fort was built by the Tokugawa shogunate to protect Tsugaru Strait against a possible invasion by the Russian fleet.[1] It became the capital of the Republic of Ezo, a state that existed only in 1869. It was the site of the last battle of the Boshin War between the Republic and the Empire of Japan. The fighting lasted for a week (June 20–27, 1869).[1]

Park

Today, Goryōkaku is a park declared as a Special Historical Site, being a part of the Hakodate city museum and a citizens' favorite spot for cherry-blossom viewing in spring.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2002). Goryōkaku. Translated by Kathe Roth. London, England: Harvard University Press. p. 259. ISBN 0-674-00770-0. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  2. ↑ Hinago, Motoo (1986). Japanese Castles. Kodansha International Ltd. and Shibundo. pp. 131–133. ISBN 0870117661.

Further reading

  • Benesch, Oleg and Ran Zwigenberg (2019). Japan's Castles: Citadels of Modernity in War and Peace. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 374. ISBN 9781108481946.
  • De Lange, William (2021). An Encyclopedia of Japanese Castles. Groningen: Toyo Press. p. 600. ISBN 978-9492722300.
  • Schmorleitz, Morton S. (1974). Castles in Japan. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Co. p. 144. ISBN 0-8048-1102-4.
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