The Battles for Shimonoseki (Japanese:下関戦争/ 馬関戦争, Shimonoseki Sensō/ Bakan Sensō) refers to a series of military engagements in 1863 and 1864, fought to control Shimonoseki Straits by joint naval forces from the Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and the United States, against the Japanese feudal domain of Chōshū, which took place off and on the coast of Shimonoseki, Japan.
Despite efforts of appeasement by the Tokugawa shogunate to establish...
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The Battles for Shimonoseki (Japanese:下関戦争/ 馬関戦争, Shimonoseki Sensō/ Bakan Sensō) refers to a series of military engagements in 1863 and 1864, fought to control Shimonoseki Straits by joint naval forces from the Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and the United States, against the Japanese feudal domain of Chōshū, which took place off and on the coast of Shimonoseki, Japan.
Despite efforts of appeasement by the Tokugawa shogunate to establish an atmosphere of peaceful solidarity, many feudal daimyos remained bitterly resentful of the shogunate's open-door policy to foreign trade. Belligerent opposition to European and American influence erupted into open conflict when the Emperor Kōmei, breaking with centuries of imperial tradition, began to take an active role in matters of state and issued on March 11th and April 11th 1863 his "Order to expel barbarians" (攘夷実行の勅命 – Jōi jikkō no chokumei).
The Shimonoseki-based Chōshū clan, under Lord Mori Takachika, began to take actions to...
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