Conscription - 1873

Directions: Read the information below and study the images to answer the following questions.

Prior to the Meiji Restoration, Japan was considered militarily weak. Each daimyo had his own army of samurai warriors, but there was no strong national army.

The conscription laws which replaced samurai-warriors with Japanese citizens created a strong national army. The emperor also made it clear that when a soldier was given an order from his commander, it was as if the order came from the emperor himself.

Conscription was so revolutionary during the Meiji Restoration that its greatest supporter, OmuraMasujiro, was assassinated in 1869 while Vice-Minister of War by outraged reactionary samurai of his own clan.

The terms of conscription in Meiji Japan 1873 (these changed over time)

Men must be seventeen to thirty-five years of age One must serve for four years The Imperial Court will be responsible for the furnishing of uniforms, salaries and

board You can be exempt from serving if you pay a fee of 270 Yen (a large amount of money

at the time, most farmers could not pay this much)

In 1876, the government prohibited the wearing of samurai swords. Many of the former samurai cut off their top knots in favor of Western-style haircuts and took up jobs in business and traveled overseas as students to gain knowledge in order to modernize Japan. Others volunteered to join the new military and became officers.

Questions:

1. Why would the samurai object to general conscription?2. What did many samurai do after they were no longer allowed to be warriors and carry swords in

public?3. After studying the pictures, explain some of the differences you see between the conscripted

soldiers and the samurai.4. How could conscription create a more powerful military for Japan?

Conscription- mandatory enlistment in the military

A samurai prepares for battle

A SHORT SLEEVED A SHORT SLEEVED KIMONOKIMONO, or “armor robe,” was

A COTTON BREECH A COTTON BREECH CLOUTCLOUT that extended up over the chest was the basic

BILLOWINGBILLOWING PANTALOONS,PANTALOONS,

worn over the armor robe, fitted loosely in the legs to allow freedom of movement

STURDY SHINGUARDSSTURDY SHINGUARDS of cloth or leather were reinforced with strips of iron to give protection from the front Full SamuraiFull Samurai

Samurai ChargingSamurai Charging

Image from

the Sino-Japanese

War 1894-1895