The Battle of Kihoku was a major battle of the Boshin War which was fought in early June 1867 between the armies of the pro-Imperial Choshu Domain and the pro-Shogunate Wakayama Domain in Ise Province (present-day Mie Prefecture). The battle resulted in the destruction of the Wakayama Domain's last field army, its other army having been destroyed at the previous Battle of Matsusaka; the battle also put an end to the Tokugawa Shogunate's offensive into Ise Province and enabled the Imperial forces to press deeper into Chubu.
Background[]
In the spring of 1867, the pro-Shogunate Wakayama Domain of Kii Province launched an offensive into Ise Province, which had been captured by the pro-Imperial Choshu Domain in November 1866. Two Wakayama armies, one led by daimyo Kishu Munehide and his general Ota Shigetsune, and the other led by Asai Mitsutsune and his subordinate Shiji Shigehisa, invaded Ise, with Asai's army marching north on the provincial capital of Tsu and Munehide's army serving as the rearguard. While the Wakayama armies enjoyed temporary numerical superiority, they faced the disadvantage of facing Choshu armies approaching from two sides: Choshu daimyo Mori Takachika led his army southwest from Chubu to repel the invasion, while Takasugi Shinsaku led a Choshu army from Osaka and eastward through the Kii Peninsula before turning north and into southern Ise Province. Shinsaku's army succeeded in destroying Munehide's army at the April 1867 Battle of Matsusaka, and Shigetsune assumed command of his slain lord's army and marched north to join the other Wakayama army. Mitsutsune and Shigehisa succeeded in taking Tsu from its small garrison, but they quickly abandoned the town and marched south to join Shigetsune's remnants. This enabled Takachika's army to recapture Tsu, while Shinsaku moved to intercept the Wakayama army as it marched southward along the coast of Ise Province (now Mie Prefecture). Shinsaku's army confronted the Wakayama army near the coastal town of Kihoku (47.7 miles south of Tsu and 37.5 miles south of Matsusaka) in early June, with his 2,308 troops facing the Wakayama Domain's 1,866 troops.
Battle[]
The two armies meeting at Kihoku
The Choshu and Wakayama armies both included a mixture of modern and traditional units; the Choshu army included 427 yari kachi and levy spearmen, 1,434 rifle-wielding and uniformed levy infantry, 252 European-style line infantry, and 177 highly-disciplined and elite kihetai rifle infantry, while the Wakayama Domain had around 380 levy spearmen, 156 sabre cavalry, 429 line infantry, and 267 levy infantry in their army. While the Wakayama Domain had the advantage in cavalry, the Choshu army outgunned its Shogunate opponents.
The Wakayama army breaking and fleeing
When the battle began, the Choshu line infantry - arrayed in a long line - opened fire on the spearmen sent to charge them. The Wakayama samurai fought bravely with katanas and presented a great challenge to the peasants serving in the Choshu Domain's uniformed army, and the Wakayama sabre cavalry also delivered a shock to the Choshu ranks with their charge. However, the larger Choshu army was able to repel the cavalry with bayonets and spears, and the Choshu army also outflanked the Wakayama army and inflicted heavy losses on its flanks. The bravery of the Wakayama spearmen came to nothing in the face of their opponents' modern weaponry and superior numbers, and Shigetsune and Mitsutsune were both killed in the battle. Shigehisa fled with his few remaining bodyguards, while the retreating Wakayama soldiers were showered with bullets as they attempted to flee on foot. Nearly 80% of the Wakayama army was lost at Kihoku, while the Choshu army suffered 38% losses.
Aftermath[]
Choshu troops firing on fleeing Wakayama soldiers
Shinsaku promptly gave chase to the 361 surviving Wakayama soldiers under Shigehisa that same day and annihilated them in a skirmish which cost his army a mere 36 men. The destruction of the consolidated Wakayama field army spelled disaster for the Wakayama Domain, which was reduced to its capital of Wakayama in Kii Province. Nevertheless, the Wakayama Domain would hold out for a few more months due to the Choshu Domain's preoccupation with the Nagaoka Domain in the east, and it was not until late summer that the Takatori Domain captured Wakayama and destroyed the clan.
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