Battle of Futamata
On April 9, 1869, 1,500 Japanese troops landed in Otobe and began marching toward Hakodate from three routes. One of them, Futamata, was the shortest route to Hakodate, and was the only place that crossed the pass from Inakuraishi between Futamata to Onomura. The commander of the expeditionary forces was Masagorō Komai, a Choshu samurai. They marched to the route with 500 men, consisting of Matsumae and Choshu clan soldiers. The former Shogunate Army, which will be greeted by a Vice-CommanderHijikata Toshizo, will lead 300 samurais consisting of two platoons of the Shinsengumi and two regiments of the Ezo training infantry (衝鋒隊 The Impulse Corps), and will arrive in two days on April 10 and set up the headquarters in Daibayama.