French Officers in the End of the Shogunate and the Boshin War (1867-1869)

In 1866, the shōgun requested from France a military mission to train his army, then undergoing rapid modernization. fifteen French officers and non-commissioned officers sailed to the other side of the world to help train Japanese counterparts. However, the civil war (known as the "Boshin War") broke out less than a year after their arrival and the French men found themselves plunged into the conflict which pitted the forces loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate, whom they had helped train, and those loyal to the young Emperor Meiji. This extensive study covers the work of the French military mission in Japan, the start of the civil war and the diplomatic activity of French officers, and finally the armed involvement of certain elements of the military mission, such as Captain Jules Brunet (often cited as the inspiration for the main character in the movie The Last Samurai).