Goryokaku

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Goryokaku viewed from Goryokaku Tower.

Map of Goryokaku.

Goryokaku (五稜郭, Goryōkaku^?) is a star fort in the city of Hakodate in southern Hokkaido, Japan. It was the short-lived Republic of Ezo's main fortress.

Built by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1857-1866, it was located in the center of the port of Hakodate, on the island of Hokkaido. Shaped like a five-pointed star, it 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. In designing Goryokaku, Takeda Ayasaburō, a Rangaku scholar, adopted elements of the designs of the French architect Vauban, who developed fortresses responding to the spread of the use of cannon in warfare.

The governmental hall, inside Goryokaku.

Goryokaku is famous as the site of the last battle of the Boshin War. On December 9 (lunar calendar October 26), 1868, Ōtori Keisuke and Hijikata Toshizo and their troops entered the fort. A week after Hijikata's death, on June 27 (lunar calendar May 18), 1869, Goryokaku fell to the new army of Japan, and much of it was reduced to ruin.

Today, Goryokaku is a park. It has been declared a Special Historical Site and is home to the museum of the city of Hakodate. The grounds are a favorite spot for hanami.

Another key fortress of the Republic of Ezo was Benten Daiba, built on the site formerly occupied by a shrine to Benten, the goddess of fortune. Much of the remnants of the famous Shinsengumi fought their last battle and surrendered there.