In early spring 1868, former Tokugawa retainers under Ōtori Keisuke and Hijikata Toshizō left the shōgun's capital of Edo en masse and gathered at Kōnodai [ja].

There were small numbers of men of Aizu under Akizuki Noborinosuke and Kuwana troops under Tatsumi Naofumi also present, as well as a handful of surviving shinsengumi, such as Shimada Kai.

[2] Upon his arrival in Ōtsu, Toda was met by Satsuma–Chōshū forces and placed under confinement, as such a message reaching the ears of Emperor Meiji might have resulted in a premature pardon that would have complicated the alliance's anti-Tokugawa military objectives.

[4] From the south, the imperial army, with Satsuma and Ōgaki forces leading the way,[4] swept up in a northeastward direction over the Mibu-kaidō road on May 14, launching a counterattack which resulted in the re-capture of Utsunomiya Castle on the same day.

Men such as senior councilor Saigō Tanomo and agriculture magistrate Kawahara Zenzaemon continued to push for allegiance and submission, however, they were not heard, and the clouds of war spread over northeastern Japan ...[7]In later years, Ōtori wrote an account of the battle, titled "Nanka Kikō" (南柯紀行), which appeared in Kyū Bakufu (舊幕府), a magazine he helped edit and which was devoted to documenting Bakumatsu history.