From the Edo Period to Meiji Restoration in Japan

The modernization of the Japanese military during the Meiji period was a response to the growing presence and threat of Western colonial powers. It followed Western European military models, ending the centuries-long dominance of the samurai class.

Meiji Militarization Efforts

In 1854, after Admiral Matthew C. Perry forced the signing of the Treaty of Kanagawa, Japanese elites concluded that they needed to modernize the state's military capacities or risk further coercion from Western powers. The Tokugawa shogunate did not officially share this point of view, and not until the beginning of the Meiji Era in 1868 did the Japanese government begin to modernize the military.

In 1868, the Japanese government established the Tokyo Arsenal, in which small arms and associated ammunition were developed and manufactured. In 1870, another arsenal opened in Osaka. At that site, machine guns and ammunition were produced and four gunpowder facilities were opened. Also in 1868, Masujiro Omura established Japan's first military academy in Kyoto. 

Under the new Meiji government, Omura, regarded today as the father of the modern Japanese army, was appointed to the post equivalent to vice minister of war. He was tasked with the creation of a national army along western lines and sought to introduce conscription and military training for commoners, rather than rely on a hereditary feudal force. He also strongly supported the abolition of the han system (feudal domains) and with it the numerous private armies maintained by the feudal lords, which he considered a drain on resources and a potential threat to security.

Omura faced opposition from many of his peers, including most conservative samurai who saw his ideas on modernizing and reforming the Japanese military as too radical, ending not only the livelihood of thousands of samurai but also their privileged position in society. In 1869, a group of ex-samurai assassinated Omura.

When the Emperor Meiji assumed all the powers of state, he ordered the formation of Imperial Guard to protect himself, the Japanese imperial family, and their properties. In 1867, the Imperial Guard was formed from loyal retainers and former samurai. This unit would go on to form the nucleus of the new Imperial Japanese Army. By the 1870s the Imperial Guard, which had been organized and trained along French military lines, consisted of 12,000 officers and men. In 1873, the Conscription Law was passed, requiring every able-bodied male Japanese citizen, regardless of class, to serve a mandatory term of three years with the first reserves and two additional years with the second reserves.

This monumental law, signifying the beginning of the end for the samurai class, initially met resistance from both the peasants and warriors. The peasant class interpreted the term for military service, ketsu-eki (blood tax), literally and attempted to avoid service by any means necessary, including maiming, self-mutilation, and local uprisings. The samurai were generally resentful of the new, western-style military and at first refused to stand in formation with the lowly peasant class.

The Conscription Law was also a method of social control, placing the unruly samurai class back into their roles as warriors. The Meiji Restoration initially caused dissent among the samurai class and the conscription system was a way of stabilizing that dissent. Some of the samurai, more disgruntled than the others, formed pockets of resistance to circumvent the mandatory military service. Many committed self-mutilation or openly rebelled.

The law also allowed the military to educate the enlisted, providing opportunities for both basic (e.g., learning how to read) and advanced education and career advancement. The government realized that an educated soldier could be a more productive member of society, and education was seen as a path to the advancement of the state. Military service also required a medical examination. Those unable to pass the exam were sent back to their families. While there was no material penalty for failing the exam, the practice created a division between those able to serve the country and those who were not. The latter were often marginalized by society.

In conjunction with the new law, the Japanese government began modeling their ground forces after the French military, and the new Japanese army used the same rank structure as the French. The French government contributed substantially to the training of Japanese officers. Many were employed at the military academy in Kyoto and many more were feverishly translating French field manuals for use in the Japanese ranks.

Reception by the Meiji Emperor of the Second French Military Mission to Japan, 1872, from a drawing by Deschamps, Le Monde Illustre, February 1, 1873. The task of the mission was to help reorganize the Imperial Japanese Army and establish the first draft law, enacted in 1873. The law established military service for all males for a duration of three years, with additional years in the reserve.

End of the Samurai Class

An imperial rescript of 1882 called for unquestioning loyalty to the emperor by the new armed forces and asserted that commands from superior officers were equivalent to commands from the emperor himself. Thenceforth, the military existed in an intimate and privileged relationship with the imperial institution. Top-ranking military leaders were given direct access to the emperor and the authority to transmit his pronouncements directly to the troops. The sympathetic relationship between conscripts and officers, particularly junior officers who were drawn mostly from the peasantry, tended to bring the military closer to the people. In time, most people came to look for guidance in national matters from military commanders rather than from political leaders.

Despite the Conscription Law of 1873 and other reforms and progress, the new Japanese army was still untested. In 1871, a Ryukyuan ship was shipwrecked on Taiwan and the crew was massacred. In 1874, using the incident as a pretext, Japan launched a military expedition to Taiwan to assert their claims to the Ryukyu Islands. The expedition featured the first instance of the Japanese military ignoring the orders of the civilian government as the expedition set sail after being ordered to postpone.

At home, the decisive test for the new army came in 1877 when Saigō Takamori led the Satsuma Rebellion,  the last rebellion of the samurai. Its name comes from Satsuma Domain, which became home to unemployed samurai after military reforms rendered their status increasingly obsolete. Kumamoto castle was the site of the first major engagement when garrisoned forces fired on Saigō's army as they attempted to force their way into the castle. Two days later, Saigō's rebels, while attempting to block a mountain pass, encountered advanced elements of the national army en route to reinforce Kumamoto castle. After a short battle, both sides withdrew to reconstitute their forces. A few weeks later the national army engaged Saigō's rebels in a frontal assault at what now is called the Battle of Tabaruzuka.

During this eight-day battle, Saigō's nearly 10,000-strong army battled hand-to-hand the equally matched national army. Both sides suffered nearly 4,000 casualties. Due to conscription, however, the Japanese army was able to reconstitute its forces, while Saigō's was not. Later, forces loyal to the emperor broke through rebel lines and managed to end the siege on Kumamoto castle after 54 days. Saigō's troops fled north and were pursued by the national army.

The national army caught up with Saigō at Mt. Enodake. Saigō's army was outnumbered seven-to-one, prompting a mass surrender of many samurai. The rebellion ended following the final engagement with Imperial forces, which resulted in the deaths of the remaining 40 samurai including Saigō, who was honorably beheaded by his retainer after suffering a fatal bullet wound. The national army's victory validated the the modernization of the Japanese army and ended the era of the samurai.

Imperial Japanese Army officers of the Kumamoto garrison, who resisted Saigō Takamori's siege, 1877

Financially, crushing the Satsuma Rebellion cost the government greatly, forcing Japan off the gold standard and causing the government to print paper currency. The rebellion also effectively ended the samurai class, as the new Imperial Japanese Army built of conscripts without regard to social class had proven itself in battle.