Battle of Toba - Fushimi The occurred between pro - Imperial and Tokugawa shogunate forces during the Boshin War in Japan . The battle started on 27 January 1868 ( or Keiō - 4 year , 1 - month , 3 - day , according to the Japanese calendar ) , when the forces of the Tokugawa shogunate and the allied forces of Chōshū , Satsuma and Tosa Domain s clashed near Fushimi , Kyoto . The battle lasted for four days , ending in a decisive defeat for the Tokugawa shogunate . Background . On 4 January 1868 , the restoration of Imperial rule was formally proclaimed . Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu had earlier resigned his authority to the emperor , agreeing to " be the instrument for carrying out " imperial orders . The Tokugawa Shogunate had ended . However , while Yoshinobu ' s resignation created a nominal void at the highest level of government , his apparatus of state continued to exist . Moreover , the Tokugawa family remained a prominent force in the evolving political order , a prospect hard - liners from Satsuma and Chōshū found intolerable . Although the majority of fifteen - year - old Emperor Meiji ’ s consultative assembly was happy with the formal declaration of direct rule by the Court and tended to support a continued collaboration with the Tokugawa , Saigō Takamori physically threatened members of the assembly into ordering the confiscation of Yoshinobu ' s lands . Although he initially agreed to the Court ’ s demands , on 17 January 1868 , Yoshinobu declared " that he would not be bound by the proclamation of the Restoration and called on the Court to rescind it . " On 24 January , after considerable provocation by Satsuma " ronin " in Edo , Yoshinobu , from his base at Osaka Castle decided to prepare an attack on Kyoto , ostensibly to dislodge the Satsuma and Chōshū elements dominating the Court and “ freeing ” young Emperor Meiji from their influence . Preparations . The battle started with Shogunal forces moved in the direction of Kyoto to deliver a letter from Yoshinobu , warning the Emperor of the intrigues plotted by Satsuma and the court nobles who supported it , such as Iwakura Tomomi . The 15 , 000 - strong Shogunal army outnumbered the Satsuma - Chōshū army by 3 : 1 , and consisted mostly of men from the Kuwana and Aizu domains , reinforced by " Shinsengumi " irregulars . Although some of its members were mercenaries , others , such as the " Denshūtai " , had received training from French military advisers . Some of the men deployed in the front lines were armed in archaic fashion , with pikes and swords . For example , the troops of Aizu had a combination of modern soldiers and samurai , as did the troops of Satsuma to a lesser degree . The Bakufu had almost fully equipped troops and Chōshū troops were the most modern and organized of all . According to Conrad Totman : " In terms of army organization and weaponry , the four main protagonists probably rank in this order : Chōshū was best ; Bakufu infantry was next ; Satsuma was next ; and Aizu and most liege vassal forces were last " . There was no clearly defined intent to fight on the part of the Shogunate troops , attested by the many empty rifles of the men in the vanguard . Motivation and leadership on the part of the Shogunate also seems to have been lacking . Although the forces of Chōshū and Satsuma were outnumbered , they were fully modernized with Armstrong howitzers , Minié rifle s and one Gatling gun . The Shogunate forces had been slightly lagging in term of equipment , although a core elite force had been recently trained by the French military mission to Japan ( 1867 – 1868 ) . The Shogun also relied on troops supplied by allied domains , which were not necessarily as advanced in terms of military equipment and methods , making up an army that had both modern and outdated elements . The British Navy , generally supportive of Satsuma and Chōshū , maintained a strong fleet in Osaka harbour , a factor of uncertainty which forced the Shogunate to maintain the garrison at Osaka with a significant part of its forces in rather than commit them to the offensive in Kyōto . This foreign presence was related to the very recent opening of the ports of Hyōgo ( modern Kobe ) and Ōsaka to foreign trade three weeks earlier on 1 January 1868 . Tokugawa Yoshinobu himself was in bed with a severe chill , and could not participate directly in the operations . Combat of 27 January . On 27 January 1868 ( Japanese calendar : 正月３日 ) , Tokugawa Yoshinobu , based at Osaka Castle , south of Kyoto , started to move his troops north to Kyoto , through two main roads , one being the Toba road ( 鳥羽街道 ) , and the other the Fushimi road ( 伏見街道 ) . Altogether about 13 , 000 troops were moving forward , although they were widely spread out , leaving about 8 , 500 for the action at Toba - Fushimi . The overall commander ( " Rikugun Bugyō " ) of the operation was Takenaka Shigekata . Toba encounter . The Shogunal forces move in the direction of Toba under the command of vice - commander Ōkubo Tadayuki , making a total of about 2 , 000 to 2 , 500 troops . At around 1700 , the Shogunal vanguard , made up largely of about 400 men of the " Mimawarigumi " , armed with pikes and some firearms , under Sasaki Tadasaburo , approached a Satsuma - manned barrier post at the Koeda bridge ( 小枝橋 ) , Toba ( located in what is now part of Minami - ku , Kyoto ) . They were followed by two infantry battalions ( 歩兵 ) , rifles empty as they did not really expect a fight , under Tokuyama Kōtarō , and further south by eight companies from Kuwana with four cannons . Some Matsuyama and Takamatsu troops and a few others were also participating , but Bakufu cavalry and artillery seem to have been absent . In front of them were about 900 entrenched troops from Satsuma , with four cannons . After denying the Shogunal force permission to pass peacefully , the Satsuma force opened fire from the flank , the first shots of the Boshin War . A Satsuma shell exploded on a gun carriage next to the horse of Shogunal commander Takigawa Tomotaka , causing the horse to throw Takigawa and bolt . The startled horse ran wild , throwing the Shogunal column into panic and disarray . The Satsuma attack was forceful and quickly sent the Shogunal troops in disarray and retreat . Sasaki ordered his men to charge the Satsuma gunners , but since the Mimawarigumi was armed only with spears and swords , his men were killed en masse . However , the Kuwana forces and a unit under Kubota Shigeaki held their ground , making the skirmish rage on inconclusively . The Shogunal troops set fire to various houses as they retreated , but that allowed Satsuma snipers to aim more easily . The situation stabilized during the night , as troops from Kuwana arrived in reinforcement . The Toba battlefield has been transformed into a public park , Tobarikyūato - kōen ( 鳥羽離宮跡公園 ) , which contains a monument to the battle . It is located just between the Koeda bridge , where the Satsuma forces were stationed , and the Jōnangū temple ( 城南宮 ) , where the Imperial forces had their headquarters . Fushimi encounter . On the same day , Satsuma - Chōshū forces further to the southeast at Fushimi also inconclusively engaged Shogunal forces in their area . The Satsuma - Chōshū forces started firing on the Shogunal forces when they heard the firing of cannons from the area of Toba . The Shogunal forces were composed of Bakufu troops , Shinsengumi and Aizu troops . A violent encounter took place for the control of Bungobashi bridge ( 豊後橋 ) . Events of 28 January . On 28 January , Iwakura Tomomi gave Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi obtained orders from Emperor Meiji proclaiming Tokugawa Yoshinobu and his followers to be enemies of the Court , authorizing their suppression by military force , and granting use of the Imperial brocade banners . These brocade banners were prepared beforehand , having been made by Okubo Toshimichi a few months previously , and stored in Chōshū domain and in the Satsuma Kyoto residence until an appropriate opportunity presented itself . In addition , Imperial Prince Yoshiaki , a young man of 22 , who had lived as a Buddhist monk at the " monzeki " temple of Ninna - ji was named nominal Commander in Chief of the army . Although the Prince had no military experience , this nomination effectively transformed the Satsuma - Chōshū alliance forces into an Imperial army ( or " Kangun " ) , which proved to be a powerful tool of psychological warfare , sending Shogunal forces into confusion and disarray , since anyone who fired on the army would automatically become a traitor to the Emperor . The Bakufu forces that had been to Toba retreated and regrouped with other Bakufu troops at Tominomori ( 富の森 ) , where they set up their command base . Meanwhile , the Naval Battle of Awa took place that same day in the nearby Inland Sea . It was the first naval battle between modern fleets in Japan , and ended with a small Shogunal victory over a Satsuma fleet , but was insignificant to the unfolding of the land battle . Events of 29 January . Tominomori encounter . The Shogunal forces which had regrouped at Tominomori ( 富の森 ) were attacked by the forces of Satsuma in the morning . Around noon , the Imperial brocade banner appeared from behind the Satsuma - Chōshū lines . At first , neither side recognized the strange banner . Messengers had to be sent to both sides to explain what it was . Shogunal forces were thrown into confusion and Satsuma - Chōshū forces , their morale boosted , drew swords and charged the Shogunal lines . The Shogunal forces attempted to counter - attack , but were forced to retreat in disarray . In the afternoon , the Shogunal forces had once again to retreat to the area of Nōsho ( 納所 ) , in the direction of the Yodo Castle . Takasegawa encounter . The forces which had been to Fushimi , consisting in Aizu troops , Shinsengumi and Yūgekitai ( 遊撃隊 ) guerilla troops were again attacked at Takasegawa ( 高瀬川 ) and Ujigawa ( 宇治川 ) on the morning of the 28th by the troops of Satsuma and Choshu , and were forced to retreat after a bitter fight . They too , retreated in the direction of Yodo Castle . Shogunal forces attempted to regroup at Yodo Castle , but were refused admission , as the " daimyo " of Yodo Domain had decided to defect to the Imperial side on the appearance of the Imperial banner and defeat of the Shogunal forces . The Daimyo of Yodo maintained his gates closed despite the supplication of the retreating army , thus denying them a major means of defense , forcing them to flee as far as Osaka castle . The " daimyo " of strategically located Tsu Domain followed two days later . Events of 30 January . The retreating Shogunal troops were progressively streaming into Osaka Castle . At Osaka Castle , Tokugawa Yoshinobu gathered his advisors and military leaders to plan strategy and , to boost morale , advised that he would personally take to the field as commander of " bakufu " forces . That evening however , he slipped away from Osaka Castle accompanied by the daimyō of Aizu and Kuwana to escape back to Edo on the shogunate warship " Kaiyō maru " . As " Kaiyō maru " had not arrived , he took refuge for the night on an American warship , USS " Iroquois " , anchored in Osaka Bay . The " Kaiyō maru " arrived the following day . When the remnants of his forces learned that the Shogun had abandoned them , they departed Osaka Castle , which was later surrendered to Imperial forces without resistance . Yoshinobu later claimed that he had been disturbed by the Imperial approval given to the actions of Satsuma and Chōshū , and , once the brocade banner had appeared , he had lost all will to fight . French advisors Jules Brunet and Cazeneuve , who were present at the battle , left Osaka and returned to Edo on 12 January , together with Enomoto Takeaki on board the " Fujisan " . Enomoto brought with him various documents and a treasure of 180 , 000 ryō . They arrived in Edo on 14 January . Consequences . The effects of the Battle of Toba - Fushimi were out of proportion to its small scale . The prestige and morale of the Tokugawa " bakufu " was seriously weakened , and many " daimyo " who had remained neutral now declared in favor of the Emperor and offered military support to prove their new loyalties . Even more significantly , the ill - conceived attempt by Tokugawa Yoshinobu to regain control silenced elements within the new imperial government who favored a peaceful resolution to the conflict . Osaka Castle , an important symbol of Tokugawa hegemony over western Japan , fell to Imperial forces . The victory set a course for a military settlement rather than a political compromise .