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Ōishi Yoshio, leader of the 47 rōnin, leads his men on their raid of Kira's mansion. (Public Domain) On this day in 1701, 47 rōnin (leaderless samurai) killed Kira Yoshinaka, an Edo government official, in revenge for the death of their leader Asano Naganori. Asano had met with Kira at Edo castle in 1700 and…
The battle at the Fushimi Bridge. The Imperial forces, at right, absolutely ruined the shogunate troops (at left) with cannon and rifle fire. (Wikimedia Commons) On this day in 1868, 5,000 Imperial Japanese soldiers engaged over 15,000 Tokugawa Shogunate men during the Battle of Toba-Fushimi. Taking place near modern-day Kyoto, the battle - which lasted…
