Behind the Story of Blood and Tears - Battle of Ueno

Behind the Story of Blood and Tears – Battle of Ueno

This image shows a map of the Kaneiji Temple grounds and surrounding neighborhoods in Edo. The map is labeled "Battle of Ueno-May 15, 1868". Also labeled on the map are the main temple building , Kuromon Gate (front, southern), and Yanakamon Gate (rear, northern). War banners bearing domain crests indicate troop deployments. Chōshū troops engage Shogitai troops near Yanakamon Gate. Satsuma, Kumamoto, and Tottori troops engage Shogitai troops around Kuromon Gate. Southwest of the temple, Okayama, Tsu, and Saga artillery troops are stationed with cannons. Between the artillery troops and the temple is a large pond.

sabakuINK 2017 CC-BY-SA 4.0
Source: East Asian Library, University of California, Berkeley

This image shows the Shogitai war banner. Visible on the banner is a large, solid red circle above Japanese kanji characters spelling out "number one" and "Shogi".

Shogitai Banner
Credit: sabakuINK CC-BY-SA 4.0

This image shows two war banners bearing domain crests. On the left, the Satsuma crest is a circle divided into quarters. On the right, the Chōshū crest is a horizontal line above three small dots.

Satsuma, Choshu Banners
Credit: sabakuINK CC-BY-SA 4.0
Source: 家紋DB

This image shows two rows of war banners bearing domain crests.

Pro-Imperial Troops Banners
Credit: sabakuINK CC-BY-SA 4.0
Source: 家紋DB

The Battle of Ueno took place on May 15, 1868 (lunar date) at the Toeizan Kaneiji Temple complex on Mt. Ueno in Edo. Pro-imperial troops, spearheaded by the Satsuma and Choshu domains, launched an early morning attack against the Shogitai and other pro-shogunate fighters. Details of the battle are described in Blood and Tears, episode 12 (13AUG).

Kaneiji Temple had been commandeered as the Shogitai headquarters—the mountaintop location and heavy walls provided an ideal fortress. Nonetheless, the bloody battle lasted only one day and was the last gasp for pro-shogunate factions located in Edo. The deciding factor was heavy artillery provided by the Saga, Okayama and Tsu forces. Stationed on the west bank of Shinobazuike Pond, they used British-made Armstrong cannons to launch a non-stop bombardment of shells into the complex.

By battle’s end the entire temple complex was destroyed, save for a handful of buildings. The fires raged out of control and destroyed large sections of the surrounding neighborhoods. Declared traitors to the emperor, the bodies of pro-shogunate fighters were left where they fell, to bake under the summer sun. A mandate prohibited the retrieval, burial and memorializing of the dead. Following this decisive defeat, the remaining pro-shogunate factions fled to the northeastern regions seeking to regroup for another battle.

New episode every Monday!

Follow on Twitter
Follow on the Everyst app

Behind the Story blog Blood and Tears history Japan

Behind the Story of Blood and Tears – Battle of Ueno