French military mission to Japan (1872–1880)

It followed the first French military mission to Japan (1867–68), which had ended with the Boshin War and the establishment of the rule of Emperor Meiji.

A famous member of the mission was Louis Kreitmann (1851–1914), an army engineer and captain ("Capitaine du Génie").

Kreitmann took about 500 photographs, which are now held at the Institut des Hautes Études Japonaises (Collège de France), Paris.

The task of the mission was to help reorganize the Imperial Japanese Army, and establish the first draft law, enacted in January 1873.

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.