Changes

*''Established: [[1872]]-[[1873]]''

*''Established: [[1872]]-[[1873]]''

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.

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.

*Norman, E.H. ''Soldier and Peasant in Japan: The Origins of Conscription''. New York: Institute for Pacific Relations, 1945. pp41-42, 49.

[[Category:Meiji Period]]

[[Category:Meiji Period]]

[[Category:Political Institutions]]

[[Category:Political Institutions]]