Japanese Bakufu Infantryman
An excellent rendering of a Japanese Bakufu Infantryman, April 29, 1867. He is armed with what looks to be a P1851 Minié rifle, soon to be replaced by some 40,ooo newly ordered French Chasspot rifles. The soldier is named “Ootsuka Tsukataroo.”
We know this because it was painted by French army Captain and soldier of fortune Jules Brunet, upon whom Tom Cruise’s character in The Last Samurai was loosely based. Brunet would later take very active role in the Boshin War before returning to the service of Napoleon III to fight in the Franco-Prussian War.
“When traditional way meets new fashion.” Noble Samurai 源三郎政長 Wearing Traditional Armour while holding a French Minié Rifle, Amagasaki, Japan, 1870