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Goryōkaku | |
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五稜郭 | |
Part of Boshin War | |
Near Hakodate in Japan | |
Coordinates | 41°47′49″N 140°45′25″E / 41.79694°N 140.75694°E |
Type | Star fort |
Site history | |
Built | 1866 |
Built by | Takeda Ayasaburō |
Battles/wars | Boshin 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.
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]
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.
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