The task of the mission was to help reorganize the
Imperial Japanese Army, and establish the first
draft law, enacted in January 1873. This draft was originally described as a which led to the
blood tax riots by alarmed
peasants. The law established
military service for all males, for a duration of three years, with an additional four years in the reserve. The French mission was essentially active at the
Ueno Military School for non-commissioned officers. Between 1872 and 1880, various schools and military establishments were set up under the direction of the mission, including: (市ヶ谷陸軍士官学校) at
Ichigaya, Tokyo. It was built by the second French Military Mission to Japan, on the ground of today's
Japan Ministry of Defense (1874 photograph) • Establishment of the Toyama Gakko, the first school to train and educate officers and noncommissioned officers. • A shooting school, using French rifles. • An arsenal for gun and munition manufacture, equipped with French machinery, which employed 2500 workers. •
Artillery batteries in the suburbs of Tokyo. • A
gunpowder factory. • A Military Academy for Army officers in
Ichigaya, inaugurated in 1875, on the ground of today's
Ministry of Defense. Between 1874 and the end of their term, the mission was in charge of building Japan's coastal defenses. The mission occurred at the time of a tense internal situation in Japan, with the revolt of
Saigō Takamori in the
Satsuma rebellion, and contributed significantly to the modernization of Imperial forces before the conflict. Some members of the mission also endeavoured to learn Japanese
martial arts: Villaret and Kiehl were members of the
dojo of
Sakakibara Kenkichi, a master of
Jikishinkage-ryu, a form of swordsmanship (
Kenjutsu), making them some of the first western students of Japanese martial arts. ==Legacy==