Republic of Ezo
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The Republic of Ezo was a short-lived separatist state established in 1869 on the island of Ezo, now Hokkaido, by a part of the former military of the Tokugawa shogunate at the end of the Bakumatsu period in Japan. It was the first government to attempt to institute democracy in Japan, though voting was allowed only to the samurai caste. The Republic of Ezo existed for five months before being annexed by the newly established Empire of Japan.
Leaders of the Republic of Ezo, with the President Enomoto Takeaki (seated, right).
Troops of the former bakufu being transported to Ezo (Hokkaido) in 1868
The Naval Battle of Hakodate Bay, May 1869; in the foreground, Kasuga and Kōtetsu of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
Ōtori Keisuke, Commander-in-Chief.
Hokkaido
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Hokkaido is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
Satellite image of Hokkaido by Terra, May 2001
Former Hokkaidō Government Office in Chūō-ku, Sapporo
The samurai and the Ainu, c. 1775
Matsumae Takahiro, a Matsumae lord of the late Edo period (December 10, 1829 – June 9, 1866)