Editing Meiji era (section)

===Early Meiji period (1868–77)===
In 1854, after [[United States Navy|US Navy]] Commodore [[Matthew C. Perry]] forced the signing of the [[Treaty of Kanagawa]], Japanese elites took the position that they needed to modernize the state's military capacities, or risk further coercion from Western powers.<ref>Gordon (2000).</ref> 
[[File:ShiroyamaBattle.jpg|thumb|The defeat at the [[Battle of Shiroyama]] in 1877 effectively ended the samurai class.|alt=1877 painting of the Battle of Shiroyama]]
In 1868, the Japanese government established the Tokyo Arsenal. The same year, [[Ōmura Masujirō]] established Japan's first military academy in Kyoto. Ōmura further proposed military [[billets]] be filled by all classes of people including farmers and merchants. The ''shōgun'' class,{{clarify|reason=Thre was a "shōgun class"?|date=January 2018}} not happy with Ōmura's views on conscription, assassinated him the following year.<ref>Shinsengumihq.com, n.d.</ref>

In 1870, Japan expanded its military production base by opening another arsenal in Osaka. The Osaka Arsenal was responsible for the production of machine guns and ammunition.<ref>National Diet Library (2008).</ref> Also, four gunpowder facilities were opened at this site. Japan's production capacity gradually expanded.

In 1872, Yamagata Aritomo and [[Saigō Jūdō]], both new field marshals, founded the Corps of the Imperial Guards. Also, in the same year, the hyobusho (war office) was replaced with a War Department and a Naval Department. The samurai class suffered great disappointment the following years, when in January the Conscription Law of 1873 was passed. This monumental law, signifying the beginning of the end for the samurai class, initially met resistance from both the peasant and warrior alike. The peasant class interpreted the term for military service, ketsu-eki (blood tax) literally, and attempted to avoid service by any means necessary. Avoidance methods included maiming, self-mutilation, and local uprisings.{{sfn|Kublin|1949|p=32}}

In conjunction with the new conscription law, the Japanese government began modeling their ground forces after the French military. Indeed, the new Japanese army used the same rank structure as the French.{{sfn|Kublin|1949|p=31}} The enlisted corps ranks were: private, noncommissioned officers, and officers. The private classes were: jōtō-hei or upper soldier, ittō-sotsu or first-class soldier, and nitō-sotsu or second-class soldier. The noncommissioned officer class ranks were: gochō or corporal, gunsō or sergeant, sōchō or sergeant major, and tokumu-sōchō or special sergeant major.

[[File:Soldiers of the Japanese expedition in Taiwan.jpg|thumb|Commander-in-chief [[Saigō Tsugumichi]] pictured with leaders of [[Paiwan people|Seqalu]] (Native tribe) in [[Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1874)|Taiwan Expedition 1874]]]]

[[File:鳥居龍藏所攝眉原社泰雅族男人.jpg|thumb|upright|Photograph of [[Atayal people|Atayal]] men taken by Torii Ryūzō in 1900]]
Despite the Conscription Law of 1873, and all the reforms and progress, the new Japanese army was still untested. That all changed in 1877, when [[Saigō Takamori]] led the last rebellion of the samurai in Kyūshū. In February 1877, Saigō left Kagoshima with a small contingent of soldiers on a journey to Tokyo. Kumamoto castle was the site of the first major engagement when garrisoned forces fired on Saigō's army as they attempted to force their way into the castle. Rather than leave an enemy behind him, Saigō laid siege to the castle. Two days later, Saigō's rebels, while attempting to block a mountain pass, encountered advanced elements of the national army en route to reinforce Kumamoto castle. After a short battle, both sides withdrew to reconstitute their forces. A few weeks later the national army engaged Saigō's rebels in a frontal assault at what now is called the Battle of Tabaruzuka. During this eight-day-battle, Saigō's nearly ten thousand strong army battled hand-to-hand the equally matched national army. Both sides suffered nearly four thousand casualties during this engagement. Due to conscription, however, the Japanese army was able to reconstitute its forces, while Saigō's was not. Later, forces loyal to the emperor broke through rebel lines and managed to end the siege on [[Kumamoto Castle]] after fifty-four days. Saigō's troops fled north and were pursued by the national army. The national army caught up with Saigō at Mt. [[Enodake]]. Saigō's army was outnumbered seven-to-one, prompting a mass surrender of many samurai. The remaining five hundred samurai loyal to Saigō escaped, travelling south to Kagoshima.  The rebellion ended on September 24, 1877, following the final engagement with Imperial forces which resulted in the deaths of the remaining forty samurai including Saigō, who, having suffered a fatal bullet wound in the abdomen, was honorably beheaded by his retainer. The national army's victory validated the current course of the modernization of the Japanese army as well as ended the era of the samurai.