Jules Brunet

Jules Brunet (2 January 1838 – 12 August 1911) was a French officer who played an active role in Mexico and Japan, and later became a General and Chief of Staff of the French Minister of War in 1898. He was sent to Japan with the French military mission of 1867, and after the defeat of the Shogun, had an important role in the latter part of Boshin War between the Imperial forces and the Shogun's army.

Early life
Brunet was born in Belfort, in the Franche-Comté region of eastern France. He graduated from the École Polytechnique in 1857, where he specialized in artillery.

Brunet participated in the French intervention in Mexico (1862–1867), and received the Légion d'honneur.

Arrival in Japan
Napoleon III sent a group of military advisors to Japan to help modernize the Shogun's army. Brunet was sent as an artillery instructor. The mission arrived in early 1867, and trained the Shogun's troops for about a year.

Then in 1868, the Shogun was overthrown in the Boshin War, and Emperor Meiji was nominally restored to full power. The French military mission was then ordered to leave Japan by Imperial decree.

However, Brunet chose to remain. He resigned from the French army, and left for the north of Japan with the remains of the Shogunate's armies in the hope of staging a counter-attack. In a letter to Napoleon III, Brunet explained the plan of the Alliance, as well as his role in it: ""A revolution is forcing the Military Mission to return to France. Alone I stay, alone I wish to continue, under new conditions: the results obtained by the Mission, together with the Party of the North, which is the party favorable to France in Japan. Soon a reaction will take place, and the Daimyos of the North have offered me to be its soul. I have accepted, because with the help of one thousand Japanese officers and non-commissioned officers, our students, I can direct the 50,000 men of the Confederation.""

- Jules Brunet, Letter to Napoleon III.

The Boshin War
Brunet took a very active role in the Boshin War. Brunet and Captain André Cazeneuve were present at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi (27–31 January 1868), near Osaka. After that Imperial victory, Brunet, Cazeneuve, and the Shogun's Admiral, Enomoto Takeaki, fled to Edo (now Tokyo) on the warship Fujisan.

When Edo also fell to the Imperial forces, Enomoto and Brunet fled to the northern island of Hokkaidō, where they proclaimed the Ezo Republic, with Enomoto as President. Brunet helped organize the Ezo army, under hybrid Franco-Japanese leadership. Otori Keisuke was Commander-in-chief, and Brunet was second in command. Each of the four brigades were commanded by a French officer (Fortant, Marlin, Cazeneuve, and Bouffier), with Japanese officers commanding each half-brigade.

The final stand of the Shogun/Ezo forces was the Battle of Hakodate. The Ezo forces, numbering 3,000, were defeated by 7,000 Imperial troops.

In an interesting postscript to his involvement in the Boshin War, Brunet spoke highly of Shinsengumi vice-commander Hijikata Toshizō in his memoirs. Praising Hijikata's ability as a leader, he said that if the man had been in Europe, he most certainly would have been a general.

Return to France
Brunet and the other French advisers were wanted by the Imperial government. But they were evacuated from Hokkaidō, by a French warship (the corvette Coëtlogon, commanded by Dupetit-Thouars), and then taken to Saigon by the Dupleix. Brunet then returned to France.

The new Japanese government requested that Brunet be punished for his activities in the Boshin War. But his actions had won popular support in France, and the request was denied.

Instead, he was quickly rehabilitated and rejoined the French army. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, he was taken prisoner at the Siege of Metz. After the war, he played a key role as a member of the Versailles Army in the suppression of the Paris Commune in 1871.

Rehabilitation in Japan
Brunet's former ally, Admiral Enomoto, had joined the Imperial government and became Minister of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Through Enomoto's influence, the Imperial government not only forgave Brunet's actions, but awarded him medals in May 1881 and again in March 1885. The medals were presented at the Japanese Embassy in Paris.

Later career
Brunet rose to the rank of General in the French army over the next 17 years. In 1898, Chanoine, his former senior officer in the Japan mission, was Minister of War, and Brunet became his Chief of Staff ("Chef de l'état-major du ministre de la Guerre").

Cultural references
His actions partially inspired the character of Captain Nathan Algren in the 2003 movie The Last Samurai.

Drawing and paintings by Jules Brunet
Brunet was a talented painter who left numerous depictions of his travels in Mexico and Japan.