The Siege of Matsue occurred in early March 1865 when the army of the Choshu Domain captured the Matsue Domain's capital of Matsue, Izumo Province amid the leadup to the Boshin War. The capture of Matsue marked the end of the Matsue Domain's independence and consolidated the Choshu Domain's dominance in Chugoku.
Background[]
At the start of 1864, the Choshu Domain of Nagato Province formed an alliance with the Matsue Domain of Izumi Province to the north, as both domains supported the pro-Imperial faction against the pro-Shogunate faction. However, the Choshu Domain formed several other alliances during its eastward drive, including the Yonago Domain of Hoki Province and the Okayama Domain of Bizen Province. In late February 1865, the Matsue Domain declared war on the Yonago Domain in a bid to conquer Hoki Province for itself. This led to the fission of the Choshu-Matsue alliance, however, as the Choshu Domain decided to join the Okayama Domain and Tottori Domain in backing the Yonago Domain against the Matsue Domain's aggression.
Siege[]
Mori Takachika's 1,585-strong Choshu army had recently marched into Izumo Province with the intent of marching east through Hoki and further east to aid in the pro-Imperial faction's offensive against the forces of the Tokugawa Shogunate, so, when war was declared, Takachika was in a position to immediately retaliate against the Matsue. His army besieged Matsue Castle, which was held by Kennyo Nobukata's 600-strong garrison. The Choshu forces assaulted the castle and suffered only 98 casualties, while the garrison was overwhelmed and eliminated.
Aftermath[]
Matsue Castle's fall marked the nominal end of the Matsue Domain, although Yuki Sadayasu and Satomi Tadatoki's army was still active in the field. The Yonago daimyo Ikeda Yoshitaka and his generals Ogasawara Shigemoto and Anegakoji Yoshitsura led their army to crush the Matsue rebel army in battle, and its 172-strong remnants, led by Honjo Nobuaki, were massacred by Takachika's army (which suffered no losses) in late March 1865.