Numazu Military Academy

Although the academy operated only from December 1868 to 1871, it made a major contribution to the development of public education in Japan.

The attempt was ultimately unsuccessful, and following the Boshin War of the Meiji restoration, the Tokugawa clan, formerly masters of the country with revenues of over eight million koku, were reduced to 700,000 koku, spread across the provinces of Suruga, Tōtōmi and Mikawa, with the head of the clan, Tokugawa Iesato, moving to reside at Numazu.

At this time, a group of hatamoto, led by Ebara Soroku, Abe Kuninosuke and Yatabori Keizō returned from studies in the Netherlands, and decided to establish a military academy along western lines within the grounds of Numazu Castle in December 1868.

The curriculum of the academy included English and French language and conversation, physics and chemistry, geography, astronomy, world history and economic theory.

The curriculum was also weighed towards mathematics, particularly geometry and trigonometry, where were regarded as essential military subjects due to their usage in navigation, artillery targeting and surveying.