Second Chōshū expedition
The Second Chōshū expedition (Japanese:第二次長州征討) was a punitive military expedition led by the Tokugawa Shogunate against the Chōshū Domain. It followed the First Chōshū expedition of 1864.
The Second Chōshū expedition was launched on 6 March 1865.[1]
The Second Chōshū expedition was a military disaster for the Shogunate troops, as Chōshū forces were modernized, whether Shogunate troops were a combination of modern forces from the Bakufu and antiquated forces coming from various domains.[2]
Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the new Shogun, managed to negotiate a ceasefire motivated by the death of the previous Shogun, but the prestige of the Shogunate had been strongly affected by the defeat.[3]
The defeat stimulated the Bakufu in making numerous reforms to modernize its administration and army. Yoshinobu' younger bother Ashitake was sent to the 1867 Paris Exposition, Western dress replaced Japanese dress at the Shogunal court, and collaboration with the French was reinforces leading to the 1867 French military mission to Japan.[4]