↑ Thanks to the interaction with the Dutch, the study of Western science continued during this period under the name of Rangaku, allowing Japan to study and follow most of the steps of the scientific and industrial revolution. See Jansen (pp. 210–15) discusses the vibrancy of Edo period rangaku, and later (p. 346) notes the competition in the early Meiji period for foreign experts and rangaku scholars. See also: "The technology of Edo" (見て楽しむ江戸のテクノロジー), 2006, ISBN 4-410-13886-3 (Japanese) and "The intellectual world of Edo" (江戸の思想空間) Timon Screech, 1998, ISBN 4-7917-5690-8 (Japanese).
↑ As early as 1865, Thomas Blake Glover sold 7500 Minié rifles to the Chōshū clan, allowing it to become totally modernized. Nakaoka Shintaro a few months later remarked that "in every way the forces of the han have been renewed; only companies of rifle and cannon exist, and the rifles are Minies, the cannon breech loaders using shells" (Brown)
↑ This is a claim made by Jules Brunet in a letter to Napoleon III: "I must signal to the Emperor the presence of numerous American and British officers, retired or on leave, in this party [of the southern daimyo] which is hostile to French interests. The presence of Western leaders among our enemies may jeopardize my success from a political standpoint, but nobody can stop me from reporting from this campaign information Your Majesty will without a doubt find interesting." Original quotation (French) : "Je dois signaler à l'Empereur la présence de nombreux officers américains et anglais, hors cadre et en congé, dans ce parti hostile aux intérêts français. La présence de ces chefs occidentaux chez nos adversaires peut m'empêcher peut-être de réussir au point de vue politique, mais nul ne pourra m'empêcher de rapporter de cette campagne des renseignements que Votre Majesté trouvera sans doute intéressants." Polak, p. 81. As an example, the English Lieutenant Horse is known to have been a gunnery instructor for the Saga domain during the Bakumatsu period ("Togo Heiachiro", 17)
↑ These encounters are described in Satow's 1869 A Diplomat in Japan, where he famously describes Saigō as a man with "an eye that sparkled like a big black diamond."
↑ There is debate as to the authenticity of the order, due to its violent language and the fact that, despite using the ญี่ปุ่น: imperial pronoun โรมาจิ: 朕ทับศัพท์: chin, it did not bear Meiji's signature. Keene, pp. 115–6.
↑ Keene, pp. 120–1, and Satow, p. 283. Moreover, Satow (p. 285) speculates that Yoshinobu had agreed to an assembly of daimyos on the hope that such a body would restore him,
↑ During a recess, Saigō, who had his troops outside, "remarked that it would take only one short sword to settle the discussion" (Keene, p. 122). Original quotation (ญี่ปุ่น): "短刀一本あればかたづくことだ." in Hagiwara, p. 42. The specific word used for "dagger" was "tantō".
↑ Tokugawa Yoshinobu was placed under house arrest, and stripped of all titles, land and power. He was later on released, when he demonstrated no further interest and ambition in national affairs. He retired to Shizuoka, the place to which his ancestor Tokugawa Ieyasu, had also retired.
↑ In a letter of Enomoto to the Imperial Governing Council: "We pray that this portion of the Empire may be conferred upon our late lord, Tokugawa Kamenosuke; and in that case, we shall repay your beneficence by our faithful guardianship of the northern gate." Black, pp. 240–241
