Site of the Battle of Toba-Fushimi

This site, Jonangu Shrine, was where the Battle of Toba-Fushimi started. This battle later grew into the Boshin War, which determined the outcome of the Meiji Restoration.
On January 3, 1868, the Restoration of Imperial Rule was announced, ending the Edo shogunate. The last shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, vacated Nijo Castle in Kyoto on the 6th, retreating to Osaka Castle. However, his supporters were outraged by the actions of Satsuma Domain, and on January 26, a large army made up of forces from the domains of Aizu and Kuwana, along with the former shogunate forces, left Osaka for Kyoto.
In response, the following day, January 27, the Imperial Court reinforced its forces, made up of soldiers from the domains of Satsuma, Choshu, Tosa, and more, in Gokonomiya-jinja Shrine and in the town of Fushimi. Satsuma forces were camped out at Toba along the West Road leading from Jonangu Shrine to Koeda Bridge on the Toba Highway, a bamboo thicket along the Kamo River, and in Aburanokoji Road to the east. Eventually, the shogunate forces, heading north towards the capital along the Toba Highway, reached Akaike, 500 meters south-southwest of Jonangu, and faced off against the Satsuma forces, who prevented their entry into the city for many hours. As dusk drew near, as the shogunate forces looked like they were attempting to charge through, at the sounding of a trumpet, the Satsuma cannon along the West Road to Jonangu started thundering, and a gun battle began. Both armies then clashed at Fushimi in a fierce battle.
On January 28, the battle raged from Shimotoba down to Fushimi. When a report that Prince Komatsu Akihito had set forth from the Imperial Palace under the brocade imperial banner, morale among the pro-imperialist army, now officially the government army, was boosted greatly.
On the 29th, the imperial banner moved south down the Toba Highway, and the shogunate forces retreated to Yodo and Yawata. This spelled victory for the new government’s army. Then on April 13, Emperor Meiji lunched in the Worship Hall of Jonangu before arriving at Osaka at the head of his army.