The Battle of Shirakawa was a battle of the Boshin War which was fought in late October 1867 between the pro-Imperial Choshu Domain and the pro-Shogunate Kanazawa Domain. The combined Choshu armies of Takasugi Shinsaku and Nanbu Motoharu destroyed a Kanazawa field army, clearing the way for the Choshu Domain to invade Shinano Province and press deeper into Chubu.
Background[]
In the aftermath of the Battle of Lake Biwa in July 1867 and the Siege of Otsu in September, the pro-Shogunate Nagaoka Domain was pushed back by the pro-Imperial Choshu Domain, weakening their hegemony over central Chubu. The Choshu armies of Takasugi Shinsaku and Nanbu Motoharu proceeded to advance eastward to continue Choshu's drive on the Shogunal-held eastern half of Honshu, and, in October 1867, they found a Kanazawa Domain army blocking their path at Shirakawa on the east bank of the Hida River.
Battle[]
The two Choshu armies decided to attack the Kanazawa army near Shirakawa, and Shinsaku's army was the first to take to the battlefield. His army met the Kanazawa army in battle, holding them off until Nanbu Motoharu's reinforcement army could arrive. The Choshu armies proceeded to form an "L" shape and fire on the Kanazawa army from both sides, showering their ranks with gunfire and massacring them. The Choshu hatamoto cavalry pursued the fleeing Kanazawa soldiers, destroying the Shogunate army and killing its generals.
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