...Even before the Meiji period, the French government had begun to support Japan through the conclusion of the Franco-Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Amity on October 9, 1858....
...The First French Military Mission to Japan arrived on January 13, 1867 under the leadership of Charles Sulpice Jules Chanoine (1835-1915). Training of the military started at Oya Jinta (in the vicinity of present-day Hinode-cho, 1-chome, Naka-ku, Yokohama) with supplies and equipment which ahd been brought from France. This training ground proved inappropriate and was later moved to Edo. Due to the growing threat of revolution against their Tokugawa employers, this First Mission was forced to leave after only about 18 months of teaching had been completed. During that short time, Chanoine was credited with the initiation of a military penal code for the infantry based on the French code.
Not all of the advisors of this First Mission returned to France, however. Several remained to offer their assistance to the new government of Emperor Meiji and the lower ranking samurai who brought him to power. Two of these were Albert Charles Dubousquet and Eugene Jean Baptiste Marlin. ...Dubosquet is praised with having suggested the reorganization of the Japanese military along French lines. This was inaugurated on September 10, 1878. He, too, died in Japan, on June 18, 1882 and is buried at the Yamate International Cemetery.
The Second Mission arrived on April 11, 1872 with 15 members under the command of Charles Antoine Marquerie (1824-1894). The thire and final mission to be requested by the Japanese arrived on June 2, 1884 and consisted of five men.
The majority of the French were employed by the Japanese War Department.....
...The Toyama Gakko was the first school established with the sole aim of training and educating officers and noncommissioned officers.... The founding of Toyama Gakko was greatly aided by French officers...:
Armand Pierre Andre Echeman (April 11, 1872 - January 18, 1875). An Infantry Captain who...taught military exercises, shooting, physical training, and theory.
Joseph Auguste Cros (April 11, 1872 - February 29, 1876) ...an Infantry Sublieutnenat who ... taught military exercises, shooting, physical training and theory.
Francois Joseph Ducros (May 26 - April 10, 1877) ...an Infantry Sergeant who gave instruction in physical training.
Alexander Etienne Bouguin (October 29, 1875 - December 31, 1879) ...Infantry Lieutenant taught shooting theory.
Joseph Kiehl (September 27, 1884 - July 24, 1887). Kiehl was Master-at-Arms and Marshal of the Logis as well as a teacher of physical training and swordsmanship, presumably in the European manner. [emphasis added]
Etienne de Villaret (October 29, 1884 - October 28, 1887). This Lieutenant taught strategy, shooting theory and technique. He also supervised Kiehl's swordsmanship instruction [emphasis added]
Henri Berthaut (hired on October 29, 1884) Berthaut was the Lieutenant in charge of the Thire Military Mission to Japan. He was responsible for the organizing of the timetable of courses concentrating on those which pertained to the military arts and their practical application. He was rehired on October 29, 1886.
Henri Lefebvre (September 25, 1887 - January 26, 1889) An Infantry Captain, he taught strategy, shooting and theory of hpysical exercise....
...The majority of the French advisors who worked in Japan in the early modern period... were hired on a contract basis, with the average length of contract being three years. Each instructor was paid monthly with salaries ranging from ¥150 to ¥400.... [A]round 188 the salary of the Prime Minister was ¥500, while a newly graduated school teacher might receive only ¥5 ....
For at least some of these French soldiers, live in Japan was not limited solely to teaching western military methods and science, but also included the study and practide of Japanese martial arts. The book
Meiji Budo-shi [A History of Budo in the Meiji Period] records that
de Villared and Kiehl entered the dojo of Sakakibara Kenkichi, a master of Jikishin Kage Ryu, famous for its kenjutsu (combative swordsmanship.)[emphasis added] Considering that the Meiji Restoration had been underway for only about 20 years when they joined in November of 1887, their acceptance seems to make them the premier foreign martial arts pioneers of Japan. What was it that stimulated them to make their students their teachers? Had their expertise in the swordsmanship of their own country given them an insight into the many underlying benefits that are a part of martial arts training? Or was it that they felt that the Japanese themeselves were too prone to neglect their own traditions in favor of western imports. Just what was it that brought on their drive to join a dojo?...