| Goryōkaku | |
| Native Name: | 五稜郭 |
| Partof: | Boshin War |
| Nearest Town: | Hakodate |
| Country: | Japan |
| Built: | 1866 |
| Type: | Star fort |
| Coordinates: | 41.7969°N 140.7569°W |
| Image3: | GoryokakuPlanLarge.jpg |
| Caption3: | 19th century map of Goryōkaku |
| Builder: | Takeda Ayasaburō |
| Pushpin Map: | Japan |
| Battles: | Boshin War |
is a star fort in the Japanese city of Hakodate on the island of Hokkaido.[1] The fortress was completed in 1866. It was the main headquarters of the short-lived Republic of Ezo.
Goryōkaku was designed in 1855 by Takeda Ayasaburō, a scholar of Dutch. [2] He studied the fortified cities of Europe in the early modern period to design a fort that could protect against battles using guns and cannons. It took nearly seven years for the construction.[3] The fortress was completed in 1866, two years before the collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate. It is shaped like a five-pointed star. This allowed for greater numbers of gun emplacements on its walls than a traditional Japanese fortress, and reduced the number of blind spots where a cannon could not fire.
The fort was built by the Tokugawa shogunate, he ordered Takeda Ayasaburō to design the fort in purpose to protect Tsugaru Strait.[4] It became the capital of the Republic of Ezo, a state that existed only in 1869. It was the site of the last battle of the Boshin War between the Republic and the Empire of Japan. The fighting lasted for a week (June 20–27, 1869).
Today, Goryōkaku is a park declared as a Special Historical Site, being a part of the Hakodate city museum and a citizens' favorite spot for cherry-blossom viewing in spring.