Goryōkaku
{{Short description|Star fort in Hakodate, Japan}}
{{Expand Japanese|topic=struct|五稜郭|date=January 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox military installation
|name = Goryōkaku
|native_name = 五稜郭
| partof = Boshin War
|nearest_town = Hakodate
|country = Japan
|built = 1866
|image = Hakodate Goryokaku Panorama 1.JPG
|caption = Goryōkaku viewed from Goryōkaku Tower
|image2 = Hakodate Magistrate's Office 1868.png
|caption2 = Governmental hall of the Republic of Ezo
|type = Star fort
|coordinates = {{coord|41|47|49|N|140|45|25|E|region:JP_type:landmark|display=title}}
|image3= GoryokakuPlanLarge.jpg
|caption3 = 19th century map of Goryōkaku
|builder = Takeda Ayasaburō
|pushpin_map=Japan
|battles = Boshin War
}}
{{nihongo|Goryōkaku|五稜郭||{{lit|five-point fort}}}} is a star fort in the Japanese city of Hakodate on the island of Hokkaido.{{cite book|author=Hinago, Motoo|title=Japanese Castles|publisher=Kodansha International Ltd. and Shibundo|year=1986|isbn=0870117661|pages=131–133}} The fortress was completed in 1866. It was the main headquarters of the short-lived Republic of Ezo.
History
Goryōkaku was designed in 1855 by Takeda Ayasaburō, a scholar of Dutch.{{cite book|author=Schmorleitz, Morton S.|year=1974|url=https://archive.org/details/castlesinjapan00schm/page/144|title=Castles in Japan|page=144|publisher=C. E. Tuttle Company |isbn=0-8048-1102-4}}
He studied the fortified cities of Europe in the early modern period to design a fort that could protect against battles using guns and cannons. It took nearly seven years for the construction.url=https://www.goryokaku-tower.co.jp/en/history/ The fortress was completed in 1866, two years before the collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate. It is shaped like a five-pointed star. This allowed for greater numbers of gun emplacements on its walls than a traditional Japanese fortress, and reduced the number of blind spots where a cannon could not fire.
The fort was built by the Tokugawa shogunate, he ordered Takeda Ayasaburō to design the fort for the purpose of protecting Tsugaru Strait.url=https://www.goryokaku-tower.co.jp/en/history/ It became the capital of the Republic of Ezo, a state that existed only in 1869. It was the site of the last battle of the Boshin War between the Republic and the Empire of Japan. The fighting lasted for a week (June 20–27, 1869).
Park
Today, Goryōkaku is a park declared as a Special Historical Site, being a part of the Hakodate city museum and a citizens' favorite spot for cherry-blossom viewing in spring.
See also
- List of Special Places of Scenic Beauty, Special Historic Sites and Special Natural Monuments
- Benten Daiba, another key fortress of the Republic of Ezo
- Citadel Hill, a similar shaped fortress in Nova Scotia, Canada
- Fort Bourtange, a similarly shaped fortress in the Netherlands
- List of foreign-style castles in Japan
- Palmanova
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite book |title=Japan's Castles: Citadels of Modernity in War and Peace | last=Benesch |first=Oleg and Ran Zwigenberg |year=2019 |pages=374 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=9781108481946}}
- {{cite book |title=An Encyclopedia of Japanese Castles | last=De Lange |first=William |year=2021 |pages=600 |publisher=Toyo Press |location=Groningen |isbn=978-9492722300}}
- {{cite book|title=Castles in Japan|author=Schmorleitz, Morton S.|year=1974|publisher=Charles E. Tuttle Co.|location=Tokyo|isbn=0-8048-1102-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/castlesinjapan00schm/page/144 144]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/castlesinjapan00schm/page/144}}
External links
{{Commons category|Goryokaku}}
- [http://web-japan.org/atlas/historical/his01.html Japan Atlas: Goryokaku Fort]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20061010191327/http://www.city.hakodate.hokkaido.jp/english/$sight/guide/area/goryou.htm Sightseeing in Hakodate: Goryokaku Area]
- [http://www.goryokaku-tower.co.jp/ Goryokaku Tower]
{{100 Fine Castles of Japan}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:Special Historic Sites
Category:Buildings and structures in Hakodate
Category:Coastal fortifications
Category:19th-century fortifications in Japan
Category:Hanami spots of Japan