Mito Domain
From 1863 to 1864, the Kōdōkan was the epicenter of the Mito rebellion, a civil war within Mito Domain which involved an uprising and terrorist actions against the central power of the Shogunate by proponents of more rapid and direct action against the foreign powers. In April 1868, Tokugawa Yoshinobu (who was himself a native of Mito Domain and once a student at the Kōdōkan), abdicated his position as Shogun and was ordered by the new Meiji government to retire under house arrest to a building within the Kōdōkan. However, the situation in Mito Domain was very unstable during the Boshin War, and he was ordered to relocate to Shizuoka a few months later. The Meiji government's fears were well-founded, as only a few months after he relocated, survivors of the Battle of Aizu barricaded themselves within the Kōdōkan. In the ensuing battle with government troops, many of the structures in the school were damaged or destroyed.