Republic of Ezo

Infobox Former Country
native_name = 蝦夷共和国
conventional_long_name = Republic of Ezo
common_name = Ezo
continent = moved from Category:Asia to East Asia
region = East Asia
country = Japan
era = Bakumatsu
status = Secessionist state
status_text =
empire = Japan
government_type = Republic|

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year_start = 1868
year_end = 1869|
year_exile_start =
year_exile_end = |
event_start =
date_start = December 15
event_end =
date_end = June 27|
event1 = Surrender
date_event1 = May 17, 1869
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p1 = Tokugawa shogunate
flag_p1 = Mitsubaaoi2.svg
image_p1 =
p2 =
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p3 =
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s1 = Hokkaidō
flag_s1 = Flag of Hokkaido.svg|20px
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image_map_caption = Ezo's location in Japan|
capital = Hakodate
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common_languages = Japanese, Ainu
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leader1 = Enomoto Takeaki
leader2 =
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title_leader = President
representative1 = Matsudaira Taro
representative2 =
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title_representative = Vice President
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legislature =
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The nihongo|Republic of Ezo|蝦夷共和国|Ezo Kyōwakoku was a short-lived state formed by former Tokugawa retainers in what is now known as Hokkaidō, the northernmost, large but sparsely populated island in modern Japan.

Background

After the defeat of the forces of the Tokugawa Shogunate in the Boshin War (1868–1869) of the Meiji Restoration, a part of the former Shogun's navy led by Admiral Enomoto Takeaki fled to the northern island of Ezo (now known as Hokkaidō), together with several thousand soldiers and a handful of French military advisors and their leader, Jules Brunet. Enomoto made a last effort to petition the Imperial Court to be allowed to develop Hokkaidō and maintain the traditions of the samurai unmolested, but his request was denied. [Hillsborough, Shinsengumi, page 4 ]

Establishment of the Republic

On December 15, 1868, the independent "Republic of Ezo" was proclaimed, with a government organization based on that of the United States, with Enomoto elected as its first president ("sosai"). This was the first election ever held in Japan, where a feudal structure under an emperor with military warlords was the norm. Through Hakodate Magistrate Nagai Naoyuki, they tried to reach out to foreign legations present in Hakodate. The French and British extended conditional diplomatic recognition, but the Meiji government did not.

The Ezo Republic had its own flag, a chrysanthemum (symbol of Imperial rule) and a red star with seven points (symbol of the new Republic) on a sky-blue background. The treasury included 180,000 gold "ryō" coins Enomoto retrieved from Osaka Castle following Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu's precipitous departure after the Battle of Toba-Fushimi in early 1868. [Onodera, Eikō. "Boshin Nanboku Sensō to Tōhoku Seiken", Sendai: Kita no Sha, 2004, p. 97 ]

During the winter of 1868-9, the defenses around the southern peninsula of Hakodate were enhanced, with the star fortress of Goryōkaku at the center. The troops were organized under a joint Franco-Japanese command, Commander-in-chief Otori Keisuke being seconded by the French captain Jules Brunet, and divided into four brigades, each commanded by a French officer (Fortant, Marlin, Cazeneuve, and Bouffier). The brigades were themselves divided into eight half-brigades, each under Japanese command.

Brunet demanded - and received - a signed personal pledge of loyalty from all officers and insisted they assimilate French ideas. An anonymous French officer wrote that he had taken charge of everything,

Defeat by Imperial forces

Imperial troops soon consolidated their hold on mainland Japan, and in April 1869 dispatched a fleet and an infantry force of 7,000 men to Hokkaidō. The Imperial forces progressed swiftly and won the Battle of Hakodate, until the Goryōkaku fortress was surrounded. Enomoto surrendered on May 17, 1869, turning the Goryōkaku over to Satsuma staff officer Kuroda Kiyotaka on May 18, 1869. [Ibid, p. 196] Kuroda is said to have been deeply impressed by Enomoto's dedication in combat, and is remembered as the one who spared the latter's life from execution. As per the arrangements for the surrender, the Ezo Republic ceased to exist on June 27, 1869. On August 15 of the same year, the island was given its present name, Hokkaidō ("Northern Sea District"). [Ibid.]

Perspectives

While later history texts were to refer to May 1869 as being when Enomoto accepted the Meiji Emperor's rule, the Imperial rule was never in question for the Ezo Republic, as is evidenced by part of Enomoto's message to the Nihongo|Dajōkan|太政官|"Dajōkan" (the Imperial governing council) at the time of his arrival in Hakodate:

Thus from Enomoto's perspective, the efforts to establish a government in Hokkaidō were not only for the sake of providing for the Tokugawa house on the one hand (burdened as it was with an enormous amount of redundant retainers and employees), but also as developing Ezo for the sake of defense for the rest of the country, something which had been a topic of concern for some time. Recent scholarship has noted that for centuries, Ezo was not considered a part of Japan the same way that the other "main" islands of modern Japan were, so the creation of the Ezo Republic, in a contemporary mindset, was not an act of secession, but rather of "bringing" the politico-social entity of "Japan" formally to Ezo. [Suzuki, Tessa Morris. "Re-inventing Japan: Time, Space, Nation", New York: M.E. Sharpe, 1998, p. 32]

Enomoto was sentenced to a brief prison sentence, but was freed in 1872 and accepted a post as a government official in the newly renamed Hokkaido Land Agency. He later became ambassador to Russia, and held several ministerial positions in the Meiji Government.

References

*Ballard C.B., Vice-Admiral G.A. "The Influence of the Sea on the Political History of Japan". London: John Murray, 1921.
*Black, John R. "Young Japan: Yokohama and Yedo", Vol. II. London: Trubner & Co., 1881.
*Onodera Eikō, "Boshin Nanboku Senso to Tohoku Seiken". Sendai: Kita no Sha, 2004.
*cite book
last = Hillsborough
first = Romulus
coauthors =
year = 2005
title = Shinsengumi: The Shogun's Last Samurai Corps
publisher = Tuttle Publishing
location =
id = ISBN 0804836272
*Suzuki, Tessa Morris. "Re-Inventing Japan: Time Space Nation". New York: M.E. Sharpe, 1998.
*Yamaguchi, Ken. "Kinsé shiriaku A history of Japan, from the first visit of Commodore Perry in 1853 to the capture of Hakodate by the Mikado's forces in 1869." Trans. Sir Ernest Satow. Wilmington, Del., Scholarly Resources 1973

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