It was also historically significant and it had been the location of the Siege of Osaka, the decisive battle which established the power of the Tokugawa more than two centuries before.At Osaka Castle, Tokugawa Yoshinobu gathered his advisors and military leaders to plan strategy and, to boost morale, advised that he would personally take to the field as commander of bakufu forces.However, on that evening, Tokugawa Yoshinobu slipped away from Osaka Castle accompanied by the daimyōs of Aizu and Kuwana to escape back to Edo on the shogunate warship Kaiyō maru.As Kaiyō maru had not arrived, he took refuge for the night on an American warship, USS Iroquois, anchored in Osaka Bay.[2] Once the Osaka Castle was burnt and reduced to ruins by the new government, it was later used as a ground for military barracks.
Osaka Castle rampart in 1865
Tokugawa Yoshinobu leaving for Edo, looking at the fire at Osaka castle in the background.
