Battle of Miyako Bay

The Imperial navy's revolutionary ironclad Kōtetsu was the main target of the Naval Battle of Miyako Bay

Date	6 May 1869
Location	Miyako Bay
Result	Imperial victory

Belligerents

Empire of Japan

Ezo Republic

Commanders and leaders

Masuda Toranosuke
Shirō Nakajima

Strength

8 steam warships

3 steam warships

Casualties and losses

3 ships damaged

Chōyō-maru scuttled

Empire of Japan

Ezo Republic

The Battle of Miyako Bay (宮古湾海戦^?, Miyakowan Kaisen) was a naval action on 6 May 1869. It was part of the overall Battle of Hakodate at the end of the Boshin War, a civil war in Japan between Imperial forces of the new government, and samurai rebels that wanted to maintain the feudal caste system.

After the remnants of the Bakufu army loyal to the former Tokugawa shogunate refused to surrender to the new Meiji government in the Battle of Ueno and Battle of Aizu, they fled north to occupy the island of Hokkaidō and established the Republic of Ezo. The navy of the Imperial forces also moved north to support the eventual invasion of Hokkaidō.

The Imperial navy departed Tokyo on 9 March 1869, and reached the harbor of Miyako, north of Sendai, on 20 March. The government fleet had been rapidly constituted around the French-built ironclad warship Kōtetsu, which had been purchased from the United States. Other ships included Kasuga, Hiryū, Teibō, Yōshun, and Mōshun, which had been supplied by the domains of Saga, Chōshū and Satsuma to the new central government in 1868. There were altogether eight Imperial ships: Kōtetsu, Kasuga, 3 small corvettes and 3 transport ships.

...
Wikipedia