The Provisional Ezo Government at Goryōkaku

Enomoto’s northern army occupied Goryōkaku in December 1868 and established a provisional administration through an officers’ election in January 1869. Enomoto became president and Matsudaira Tarō vice-president. This military electorate supplied the leadership; the vote was not an election by Ezo’s population.

Orders to villages show how the administration operated beyond the fort. Furuya Sakuzāemon’s headquarters at Mori required compliance with extraordinary military duties. One notice prohibited unlawful borrowing by soldiers and directed villagers to bring complaints to Mori. The prohibition shows a problem the authorities sought to control, rather than proof that abuses ceased.

Another notice addressed dried sea cucumber and abalone, valuable products in foreign trade. It complained of tax avoidance and transactions in which advances had been paid but goods not delivered, and directed trade through the Products Office. The administration was trying to regulate an existing fishing and commercial economy while maintaining its army.

Government forces defeated the northern army in June, and Goryōkaku surrendered on June 27. A notice from the restored authorities announced that customs business would resume the following day. Military government, village obligations and port commerce passed back under a different authority; the provisional regime did not survive its army’s defeat.