In 1868, on this day Tokugawa shogunate forces defeated an Imperial Army commanded by Satsuma and Ōgaki at the Battle of Utsunomiya Castle.

Battle of Utsunomiya CastleThe Shogunate had been retreating north towards the Aizu, a domain which had previously advocated surrender and peaceful negotiation first and resistance second. But the entrance of a massive number of loyalists forced its hand firmly into the realm of armed resistance.

And then a peasants revolt had enabled the forces commanded by the Tokugawa retainer Ōtori Keisuke to occupy Utsunomiya; they promptly emptied out the rice stored in the castle and handed it out to the townsfolk. Four days later, an Imperial Army swept up in a northeastward direction over the Mibu-kaidō road and launched an unsuccessful counterattack.

The combinations of result was a set back to the nobles and young samurai who were seeking to return political power to the imperial court. And the Boshin War was far from over.