Members of French Military Mission to Japan in 1867

FrenchOfficersDrillingShogunTroopsOsaka1867

Training of Japanese troops by the French

The French military mission of 1867-1868 was one of the first foreign military training missions to Japan, and the first sent by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It was formed by emperor Napoléon III following a request from the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

through its emissary to Europe,

Shibata Takenaka was an emissary for Japan who visited France in 1865 to help prepare for the construction of the Yokosuka arsenal with French support. Also known as as well as "Shadow" because of his reconnaissance work. Life Takenaka was born in Edo ...

, with the goal of modernizing the

Japanese military The Japan Self-Defense Forces ( ja, 自衛隊, Jieitai; abbreviated JSDF), also informally known as the Japanese Armed Forces, are the unified ''de facto''Since Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution outlaws the formation of armed forces, th ...

. Shibata was already negotiating the final details of the French support for the construction of the

Yokosuka Shipyard was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was located at Yokosuka, Kanagawa prefecture on Tokyo Bay, south of Yokohama. History In 1866, the Tokugawa shogunate government established the ...

, and had additionally requested both the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and France to send a military mission for training in Western warfare. The United Kingdom provided support to the

Bakufu , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakura ...

naval forces through the

Tracey Mission The Tracey Mission was a Naval mission of the Royal Navy sent to Japan in 1867–1868. Taking place immediately prior to the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the mission had been requested by the Shogunate in order to help develop its Navy, and more spec ...

. The French foreign minister Drouyn de Lhuys transmitted the agreement of the French government to provide training to the Shōgun's land based armed forces.

History

The mission left

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

on November 19, 1866, and arrived in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

on January 14, 1867. They were welcomed on their arrival by

Léon Roches Léon Roches (September 27, 1809, Grenoble – 1901) was a representative of the French government in Japan from 1864 to 1868. Léon Roches was a student at the Lycée de Tournon in Grenoble, and followed an education in Law. After only 6 mo ...

and the commander of the French Far East Squadron Admiral

Pierre-Gustave Roze Pierre-Gustave Roze (28 November 1812 – November 1883) was a French admiral. He was born in Toulon, France, and throughout his adult life served as a career naval officer. As a young rear admiral (contre-amiral) he served in Mexico during th ...

. The military mission was able to train an elite corps of ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamak ...

'' Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the

Denshūtai The was a corps of elite troops of the Tokugawa Bakufu during the Bakumatsu period in Japan. The corps was founded by Ōtori Keisuke with the help of the 1867–68 French Military Mission to Japan. The corps was composed of 800 men. They w ...

, for a little more than one year, before the

lost to the Imperial forces in 1868 in the Boshin War. The French military mission was then ordered to leave Japan by decree of the newly installed

Meiji Emperor , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figure ...

in October 1868. TokugawaYoshinobu

In contravention of the agreement for all foreign powers to remain neutral in the conflict, Jules Brunet and four of his non-commissioned officers (Fortant, Marlin, Cazeneuve, Bouffier), chose to remain in Japan and continue supporting the

side. They resigned from the French army, and left for the north of Japan with the remains of the Shogunate's armies in the hope of staging a counter-attack. The conflict continued until the rebels' defeat at the

Battle of Hakodate The was fought in Japan from December 4, 1868 to June 27, 1869, between the remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate army, consolidated into the armed forces of the rebel Ezo Republic, and the armies of the newly formed Imperial government (composed ...

in May 1869.

Members

Image:French Military Advisors Jules Brunet and Japanese Allies Boshin War 1868-1869.png, The French military advisers and their Japanese allies in Hokkaido - use a cursor to investigate poly 0 350 18 341 48 315 47 304 36 305 22 283 22 246 36 220 65 210 69 194 62 171 66 136 94 132 109 152 104 201 140 219 150 231 156 285 145 369 118 391 68 391 54 433 49 462 10 457 Hosoya Yasutaro poly 224 555 152 405 172 353 186 294 184 237 216 224 219 202 211 165 229 146 250 146 267 156 271 168 284 171 272 182 273 216 304 224 323 289 323 349 333 388 339 431 326 450 339 529 306 552 Captain Jules Brunet poly 324 560 355 524 348 388 337 375 334 343 342 299 369 265 393 230 410 224 404 202 404 185 392 185 399 175 399 163 435 150 454 159 463 169 463 205 468 224 498 241 509 257 517 308 519 330 496 394 473 558 Commander in chief Matsudaira Taro poly 548 372 531 327 528 285 529 244 545 231 575 212 558 192 558 175 556 175 554 147 560 138 577 131 594 131 609 159 605 165 610 187 610 212 646 227 679 261 708 299 670 363 666 383 657 387 664 396 671 449 716 503 714 517 658 453 654 534 528 535 Tajima Kintaro poly 162 365 148 235 109 184 117 144 135 106 164 92 175 78 169 49 169 31 178 24 195 24 208 35 215 41 215 47 207 55 208 72 217 82 225 91 253 104 263 141 193 365 Captain André Cazeneuve poly 265 227 267 150 272 139 297 129 293 106 287 91 294 66 305 60 321 60 333 71 338 78 344 81 344 89 340 97 336 103 334 122 360 139 365 139 376 149 391 179 398 226 358 245 371 305 315 362 Sargeant Jean Marlin poly 380 222 386 171 404 151 405 134 399 116 403 114 396 99 410 86 444 97 451 104 451 109 442 115 444 133 441 142 460 170 Fukushima Tokinosuke poly 457 166 461 121 475 104 503 89 509 82 499 72 496 48 489 21 523 17 539 37 541 48 534 71 534 78 547 91 565 99 580 104 627 185 623 210 545 307 577 481 469 493 Sergeant Arthur Fortant rect 0 0 713 561 Use button to enlarge or cursor to investigate desc none The mission consisted of 17 members, under the authority of the Minister of War General

Jacques Louis Randon Jacques Louis César Alexandre Randon, 1st Count Randon (25 March 1795 – 16 January 1871) was a French military and political leader, also Marshal of France and governor of Algeria. Early life He was born at Grenoble in Dauphiné, of a Protesta ...

, covering a wide range of expertise: four officers (representing infantry, artillery and cavalry), ten non-commissioned officers and two soldiers. The original mission composed of 15 members, arriving in Japan in January 1867, and was later supplemented with non-commissioned officers Cazeneuve, Jourdan and Michel (February 1868). The mission was headed by staff captain Charles Sulpice Jules Chanoine, at that time an attaché to the military staff of Paris. The members were:

Commander

* Charles Chanoine, captain of the general staff

Instructors

Infantry

* Charles Albert Dubousquet, lieutenant of the 31st line infantry regiment. * Édouard Messelot, lieutenant of the 20th battalion of ''

chasseurs à pied ''Chasseur'' ( , ), a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry () or light cavalry () to denote troops trained for rapid action. History This branch of the French Army origi ...

''. * Jean Marlin, sergeant of the 8th battalion of ''chasseurs à pied''. * François Bouffier, sergeant of the 8th battalion of ''chasseurs à pied''. * Henry Ygrec, sergeant of the 31st line infantry regiment.

Artillery

Jules Brunet Jules Brunet (2 January 1838 – 12 August 1911) was a French military officer who served the Tokugawa shogunate during the Boshin War in Japan. Originally sent to Japan as an artillery instructor with the French military mission of 1867, he refu ...

, lieutenant of the Horse Artillery Regiment of the

Imperial Guard An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, i ...

. * Arthur Fortant, '' maréchal des logis'' of the artillery regiment of the Imperial Guard.

Cavalry

* Léon Descharmes, lieutenant of the

Dragoons of the Imperial Guard The Empress's Dragoons of the Imperial Guard () was a heavy cavalry unit formed by Napoleon I through the decree of April 15, 1806. The " dragoon" regiments of the line had distinguished themselves in the German Campaign of 1805, and therefor ...

. * Emile Perussel, ''maréchal des logis''.

Non-Commissioned Officers

* Louis Guttig, corporal. * Charles Bonnet, chief armorer second class. * Barthélémy Izard, ''maréchal des logis'', chief artificier of the Horse Artillery Regiment of the Imperial Guard. * Frédéric Valette, ''maréchal des logis'', wood specialist. * Jean-Félix Mermet, brigadier, steel specialist. *

André Cazeneuve André Cazeneuve (December 10, 1817 - August 20, 1874) was a French soldier, a horse trainer in the Guard of Emperor Napoleon III with the rank of corporal. He was a member of the first French military mission to Japan in 1867. He served as a cava ...

, brigadier of the Haras impériaux, arrived in May 1867 bringing Napoleon III's gift of 26 arabian horses to ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Yoshinobu. Officially joined the mission in February 1868. * Claude Jourdan, captain of the

engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the ...

. * Charles Michel, sergeant-major of the engineers.

References

* ''End of the Bakufu and restoration in Hakodate'' (Japanese: 函館の幕末・維新) * ''French policy in Japan during the closing years of the Tokugawa regime'' (English), Meron Medzini * Polak, Christian. (2001). ''Soie et lumières: L'âge d'or des échanges franco-japonais (des origines aux années 1950).'' Tokyo: ''Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie Française du Japon,''

Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachett ...

Fujin Gahōsha (アシェット婦人画報社). * Polak, Christian. (2002). 絹と光: 知られざる日仏交流100年の歴史 (江戶時代-1950年代) ''Kinu to hikariō: shirarezaru Nichi-Futsu kōryū 100-nen no rekishi (Edo jidai-1950-nendai).'' Tokyo: Ashetto Fujin Gahōsha, 2002. ;

External links

The Land of Fire
{{DEFAULTSORT:French military mission to Japan (1867-1868) French Army Military history of Japan 1867 in France 1868 in France Military history of France Military Mission 1867 1867 in Japan 1868 in Japan 1867 in military history 1868 in military history