The Toba-Fushimi battlefield of January 1868 was where the Tokugawa shogunate's army met the imperial loyalist forces in the first engagement of the Boshin War. The loyalist victory here effectively ended 265 years of Tokugawa rule and opened the way for the Meiji Restoration. A small memorial stone marks the main engagement site.
Adjacent to the battlefield, the remains of the Toba Imperial Villa -- used by successive emperors from the late Heian period -- preserve a garden layout and some original walls. The area is rarely visited by tourists and provides a quiet contrast to central Kyoto.