Numazu Military Academy

Numazu Military Academy (沼津兵学校, Numazu heigakkō^?) was one of the first schools organized along western lines in Japan, and was located in Numazu, Shizuoka. Although the academy operated only from December 1868 to 1871, it made a major contribution to the development of public education in Japan. It was later merged into the Imperial Japanese Army Academy

During the Bakumatsu period, the Tokugawa shogunate belatedly attempted to modernize its military forces with the assistance of French military advisors. 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.

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