Battle of Aizu
The Battle of Aizu was fought in northern Japan from October to November throughout autumn 1868, as part of the Boshin War. The feudal domain of Aizu was a big target for the Imperial Court as it was a stronghold for the Tokugawa shogunate renowned for its martial tradition in addition to being the birthplace of daimyo Matsudaira Katamori. The Imperial forces laid siege to Aizu to starve out the local defenders and force a surrender. After two months of constant attacks, the Tokugawa forces surrendered and sealed the fate of the samurai. The battle also resulted in the deaths of Katamori and Nakano Takeko, an onna-musha who led an ad hoc battalion of female soldiers known as the Joshitai and was a member of the Japanese Brotherhood of Assassins.
As with the Battle of Toba–Fushimi, the Shiba family fought on the side of the Tokugawa shogunate. Shiba Atsuko was sent to infiltrate the Imperial camp to obtain the attack plans at the behest of the Brotherhood. Although her mission was successful, she had to flee in a hurry after being unmasked by a camp sentinel. However, Atsuko was later caught by "Masajiro", secretly the Assassin spy Matsuo, who decided to spare her life as a sign of gratitude for the same deed done last time. Atsuko was also forced to cut the head of her mentor Takeko after she was fatally shot. She also fought British Templar William Lloyd but lost and was almost killed by him. Luckily for Atsuko, her brother Shiba Ibuka would save her and kill Lloyd but succumbed to his wounds after carrying her away from the battlefield with the last of his strength.[1]
Behind the scenes
Historically, Takeko was said to have been beheaded by her younger sister Yūko with the help of Ainu soldier Ueno Yoshisaburō. Additionally, Katamori survived the Battle of Aizu and later became the head kannushi of the Nikko Tosho-gu Buddhist shrine until his death in 1893 as opposed to being killed in The Blade of Aizu.
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