Involving ships of the Tokugawa shogunate and Satsuma vessels loyal to the imperial court in Kyoto, the battle was the second naval battle in Japanese history between modern naval forces (after the 1863 Battle of Shimonoseki Straits).
The battle involved ships from the Tokugawa shogunate and those loyal to the imperial court in Kyoto, which was the second recorded instance of a modern naval clash in Japanese history following the 1863 Battle of Shimonoseki Straits.