Behind the Story of Blood and Tears – The Boshin War
Ōushū Alliance 奥羽越列同盟, sabakuINK 2018 CC-BY-SA 4.0
Blood and Tears is set during the Bōshin War, a tumultuous civil conflict that ends with the dissolution of Japan’s centuries-old governance by military families, the samurai.
Katamori Matsudaira, Lord of Aizu
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Tsurugajo Castle, Aizu Domain sabakuINK 2018 CC-BY-SA 4.0, Source: Wikimedia Commons
Although the Tokugawa shogun peacefully surrendered power to the emperor at the end of 1867, many samurai domains in the northeastern region of Japan continued to fight the changeover. Among the most powerful of these was the Aizu domain, ruled by Lord Katamori Matsudaira.
The Blood and Tears story begins in early May, shortly after the formation of the Alliance of Northeastern Clans and before the Battle of Ueno.
Boshin War Timeline
Year 1867 (all dates refer to Lunar calendar)
| 14OCT | Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu surrenders ruling authority to Emperor Mutsuhito (Meiji) and retires. |
Year 1868
| 03-06JAN | Boshin War begins, Battle of Toba Fushimi |
| 18FEB | Matsudaira Katamori leaves Kyoto, returns to Aizu |
| 06MAR | Battle of Koshu Katsunuma |
| 03APR | Shogitai occupy Kaneiji Temple |
| 11APR | Tokugawa Yoshinobu surrenders Edo Castle |
| 19-23APR | Battle of Utsunomiya Castle |
| 20APR | Battle of Imaichi (Nikko Guchi) |
| 25APR-01MAY | Battle of Shirakawa Castle |
| 03MAY | Creation of the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei (Alliance of Northeastern Clans) |
| 15MAY | Battle of Ueno |
| 17MAY | Kondo Isami executed |
| 02MAY-29JUL | Battle of Hokuetsu/Nagaoka Castle |
| 17JUL | Edo is renamed Tokyo |
| 29JUL | Battle of Nihonmatsu Castle |
| 21AUG | Aizu War begins, Battle of Bonari Pass |
| 23AUG | Invasion of Aizu, siege of Tsurugajo Castle |
| 27AUG | Meiji Emperor’s accession ceremony |
| 28AUG | Yonezawa domain surrenders |
| 08 SEP | Meiji Period begins |
| 15SEP | Sendai domain surrenders |
| 22SEP | Tsurugajo Castle surrenders, Aizu War ends |
| 23SEP | Shonai domain surrenders |
| 13OCT | Meiji Emperor arrives in Tokyo |
| 25OCT | Enomoto Takeaki occupies Goryōkaku Fortress in Hokkaido |
Year 1869
| 09APR-18MAY | Battle of Hakodate, Boshin War ends |
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