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Rebels in the north The Republic of Ezo (????? Ezo Kyōwakoku) was a short-lived breakaway state of Japan with its capital at Hakodate. After the defeat of the forces of the Tokugawa Shogunate in the Boshin War (1868-1869), a part of the Shogun's navy led by Admiral Enomoto Takeaki fled to the northern island of Ezo (now known as Hokkaidō). On 25 December 1868, the Ezo Republic declared its independence, and elected Enomoto as its president. However, Imperial forces soon consolidated their hold on mainland Japan, and in May 1869 dispatched a fleet to Ezo. With no prospect of victory, Enomoto decided to destroy his arms, and on 18 May 1869, the Republic surrendered without a fight and accepted the Meiji Emperor's rule. Enomoto was sentenced to a brief prison sentence, but was freed in 1872 and accepted a post as a government official in the newly renamed Hokkaidō Land Agency. |