Goryokaku: Japan’s First Western-Style Fortification
Goryokaku was constructed between 1857 (Ansei 4) and 1864 (Genji 1) as Japan’s first full-scale Western-style star fort. Designed by Takeda Hisaburo using Vauban (French) fortification principles, its five bastions eliminated the blind spots of traditional Japanese castle walls. The fort was built to defend the treaty port of Hakodate against foreign threats and Russian southward expansion. The irony is that its only actual combat use came in the Boshin War — an internal Japanese conflict.
Following the defeat at Toba-Fushimi and the fall of Edo in 1868, naval vice-admiral Enomoto Takeaki refused to surrender and led the former shogunate’s fleet north to Ezo (Hokkaido). In January 1869 (Meiji 2), an election was held at Goryokaku, and Enomoto was elected Sosai (president/director-general). The Ezo Republic is noted as one of the earliest Japanese adoptions of republican political concepts, reflecting Enomoto’s Dutch-trained familiarity with Western political theory. However, it was in practice a military government organizing resistance against the Meiji government, not a modern republic with citizen suffrage.
In April 1869, the Meiji government launched its Hokkaido campaign. Shogunate forces could not reverse their deteriorating position without naval supremacy, and Goryokaku surrendered in May 1869. Enomoto was spared execution through the intervention of Kuroda Kiyotaka (later Japan’s second Prime Minister), who argued that Enomoto’s expertise should be utilized for Hokkaido development. Enomoto subsequently served as Navy Minister, Foreign Minister, and Minister of Education in the Meiji government.
Hakodate Hachimangu was founded in 1457 (Choryaku 1). As the main tutelary shrine of Hakodate, its records include references to shogunate military personnel including Enomoto visiting for prayers during the Hakodate War. Hakodate Morning Market illustrates the economic foundation of Hakodate as a port city. Yahiko Jinja (Sapporo) is a branch shrine of Yahiko Jinja (Echigo’s ichinomiya), established by migrants from Niigata Prefecture — an artifact of the social history of the Hokkaido development period. Hakodate Tachimachi Cape overlooks the Tsugaru Strait where naval engagements occurred during the Hakodate War.