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Goryōkaku

Coordinates: 41°47′49″N 140°45′25″E / 41.79694°N 140.75694°E / 41.79694; 140.75694
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Goryōkaku
五稜郭
Part of Boshin War
Near Hakodate in Japan
Goryōkaku viewed from Goryōkaku Tower
Governmental hall of the Republic of Ezo
Goryōkaku is located in Japan
Goryōkaku
Goryōkaku
Coordinates41°47′49″N 140°45′25″E / 41.79694°N 140.75694°E / 41.79694; 140.75694
TypeStar fort
Site history
Built1866
Built byTakeda Ayasaburō
Battles/warsBoshin 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] The fortress was completed in 1866. It was the main headquarters of the short-lived Republic of Ezo.

History

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Goryōkaku was designed in 1855 by Takeda Ayasaburō, a scholar of Dutch. [2] He studied the fortified cities of Europe in the early modern period to design a fort that could protect against battles using guns and cannons. It took nearly seven years for the construction.[3] 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, he ordered Takeda Ayasaburō to design the fort for the purpose of protecting Tsugaru Strait.[3] 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).

Park

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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.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Hinago, Motoo (1986). Japanese Castles. Kodansha International Ltd. and Shibundo. pp. 131–133. ISBN 0870117661.
  2. ^ Schmorleitz, Morton S. (1974). Castles in Japan. C. E. Tuttle Company. p. 144. ISBN 0-8048-1102-4.
  3. ^ a b url=https://www.goryokaku-tower.co.jp/en/history/

Further reading

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  • Benesch, Oleg and Ran Zwigenberg (2019). Japan's Castles: Citadels of Modernity in War and Peace. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 374. ISBN 9781108481946.
  • De Lange, William (2021). An Encyclopedia of Japanese Castles. Groningen: Toyo Press. p. 600. ISBN 978-9492722300.
  • Schmorleitz, Morton S. (1974). Castles in Japan. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Co. p. 144. ISBN 0-8048-1102-4.
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