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Military conscription was first established in [[Meiji period]] Japan by a set of Conscription Acts in [[1872]]-[[1873]], and later revised in [[1883]]. This established the first citizen army in Japan - the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] - and the first organized in service to the nation-state in the modern sense of the term. Men of all classes were conscripted into service for a period of three years.
Military conscription from the peasantry, for the formation of a standing army loyal to the central Imperial government, was chiefly only practiced in Japan in the [[Asuka period|Asuka]] and [[Nara period]]s, and again from the [[Meiji period]] into the 20th century; during the [[Heian period|Heian]] through [[Edo period]]s, government relied on [[samurai]] forces (either hired, or called up by feudal obligations) for military action.
==Asuka & Nara Periods==
The [[Yamato state|Yamato court]] introduced a Chinese-style militia by the end of the 7th century, along with its adoption of many other features of [[Tang Dynasty]]-style government. Each [[provinces|province]] had one militia commanded by the provincial governor, formed by drawing upon the peasantry through a corvée system connected to the [[equal-field system]] for infantry, and drawing upon prominent families for cavalry. Most provinces had only one militia group per province, but extra units were stationed in Kyushu to defend against possible invasion from the continent (in the aftermath of the wars with Tang & [[Silla]]).<ref name=debary>William de Bary, ''Sources of Japanese Tradition'', vol 1, Columbia University Press (2001), 266.</ref>
During this period, the militias chiefly saw battle against the [[Emishi]], skilled horsemen against whom the Chinese-style system of ranks of infantry, armed chiefly with [[crossbow]]s, was cumbersome and not particularly effective. Conscription, furthermore, proved a heavy burden on the peasantry, and was ultimately abolished in [[792]].<ref name=debary/>
==Meiji Period==
Military conscription was first established in Meiji period Japan by a set of Conscription Acts in [[1872]]-[[1873]], and later revised in [[1883]]. This established the first citizen army in Japan - the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] - and the first organized in service to the nation-state in the modern sense of the term. Men of all classes were conscripted into service for a period of three years.
The chief figures involved in pushing for the institution of conscription included [[Omura Masujiro|Ômura Masujirô]] and [[Yamada Kengi]] of [[Choshu han|Chôshû]], and [[Tani Kanjo|Tani Kanjô]] of [[Tosa han|Tosa]]. They saw conscription not only as a means by which to strengthen the country's defenses against outside attack, but also as a means of strengthening it against uprisings against [[Meiji government|the new government]]. A centralized military would also help guard against regional governors gathering power and becoming regional warlords.
The chief figures involved in pushing for the institution of conscription included [[Omura Masujiro|Ômura Masujirô]] and [[Yamada Kengi]] of [[Choshu han|Chôshû]], and [[Tani Kanjo|Tani Kanjô]] of [[Tosa han|Tosa]]. They saw conscription not only as a means by which to strengthen the country's defenses against outside attack, but also as a means of strengthening it against uprisings against [[Meiji government|the new government]]. A centralized military would also help guard against regional governors gathering power and becoming regional warlords.
==References==
==References==
*Norman, E.H. ''Soldier and Peasant in Japan: The Origins of Conscription''. New York: Institute for Pacific Relations, 1945. pp41-42, 49.
*Norman, E.H. ''Soldier and Peasant in Japan: The Origins of Conscription''. New York: Institute for Pacific Relations, 1945. pp41-42, 49.
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[[Category:Asuka Period]]
[[Category:Nara Period]]
[[Category:Meiji Period]]
[[Category:Meiji Period]]
[[Category:Political Institutions]]
[[Category:Political Institutions]]
