The Imperial faction was able to prevent the fall of
Kyoto with Dutch arms and munitions, but barely. The Dutch navy had little ability or interest in taking on the Russians, however. However, the British were willing to back the Imperial faction in return of trade concessions. In 1859, the Russians were thwarted again and again by Royal Navy ships. While the Russians had looked to the Far East as a way to some speedy victories after the relative failure of the Liberal War, they were not looking to come into direct conflict with the British Empire again. Therefore, the British and Russians essentially played a game of nerve along the coasts of Japan, seeing who would flinch first. This allowed the Imperial and Shogunate factions on land to fight it out with less foreign interference. In the end, a sort of stalemate developed, with the Tokugawa Shogun in control of Northern Japan (including the 'new' capital city of
Edo and the Russian occupied island of
Ezochi) and the Emperor in control of the South (including the 'old' imperial capital of Kyoto). Between the two lay the much disputed
Chūbu region, especially the mountainous eastern part of the region. Eventually, the British and Russians tired of this game, and came to an agreement to split the Japanese islands between them in terms of access, with the 138th meridian as the dividing line. While neither faction fighting in Japan were pleased with this action, neither could afford to lose patronage from their erstwhile foreign allies, as this might cause the other to pull forward.