Akita Campaign (Boshin War, 1868)

Overview

From the 11th day of the 7th month to the 17th day of the 9th month of Keiō 4 (lunar calendar; 28 August to 1 November 1868), this front of the Boshin War was fought across Dewa Province, in what is now the Mogami area of Yamagata Prefecture and almost all of Akita Prefecture. It is also called the Akita-Shōnai Boshin War. The government side consisted of the Satsuma, Chōshū, Saga, Ōmura and Kokura domains together with Shinjō, Kubota, Honjō, Kameda, Yashima and other domains; the allied side consisted of Shōnai, Morioka, Sendai, Kaminoyama and others. The main government figures were Kujō Michitaka, Sawa Tamekazu, Ōyama Kakunosuke, Satake Yoshitaka and the head of the Takeo Nabeshima house; on the allied side were Sakai Tadazumi and Narayama Sado.

The Mountain Road and the Coastal Road

On the mountain road, the tide turned in the Battle of the Oguni River on the 13th and 14th of the 7th month, and Shinjō Castle was occupied by Shōnai forces. From the 1st to the 15th of the 8th month, Innai, Yuzawa, Yokote, Kakunogawa and Ōmagari fell to the allied forces; an attack on Jingūji from the 18th to the 22nd failed. The Battle of Hanadate took place on the 23rd, and an attempt on Kakunodate on the 28th was abandoned on the third day because of the weather and the Morioka force's failure to take part. On the coastal road, Shōnai forces took Yashima on the 28th of the 7th month, Shiogoshi on the 1st of the 8th month and Hirasawa on the 2nd. Honjō Castle was taken on the 6th; Shōnai forces advanced into Kameda on the 13th and 14th and the Kameda domain surrendered to Shōnai; on the 17th the Kubota force was driven back to the area of Nagahama.

Karuwano, Tsubakidai and the Surrender of Shōnai

The great battle of Tsubakidai was fought from the 9th to the 12th of the 9th month. On the 13th the Sendai domain submitted to the government, on the 14th the Shōnai force decided to withdraw, and the fight to retake Karuwano took place on the 15th and 16th. On the 17th a domain council at Tsuruoka decided to surrender, and the surrender was signed at Tsuruoka Castle on the 27th, with Saigō Takamori and Kuroda Kiyotaka attending.

The Hinai Front with Morioka

On the 9th of the 8th month the Morioka domain gave notice that it would begin fighting, citing its withdrawal from the Shiroishi alliance. It advanced to Ōgita village on the 11th and 12th, and the village was burned in the Battle of Ōgita. Morioka occupied Ōdate Castle on the 22nd; after the Battle of Iwase on the 2nd of the 9th month, the Kubota domain retook Ōdate on the 6th and recovered Jūnisho on the 7th. Morioka's surrender was concluded at Sawajiri village on the 25th, ending the fighting on this front.

Casualties

The dead numbered 461 among the Kubota samurai and 56 among the Saga samurai; the Shōnai domain lost 332 dead and 412 wounded.