History glossary
conscription
compulsory military service required by the state.
- Category
- Military system
- Region
- Japan
- Date range
- Introduced in Japan in 1873
What it means
Conscription is compulsory military service. The Meiji conscription ordinance of 1873 aimed to create a national army loyal to the central state, weakening the samurai claim that military service belonged to a hereditary warrior class.
Related terms
Stories using this term
The Mughal Empire
From Babur's victory at Panipat to the sack of Delhi, the Mughals built a wealthy Indian empire whose power rested on conquest, administration, elite integration and court culture before central authority fractured.
Imperial Japan
From Meiji modernisation to colonial rule, militarism, mobilisation and defeat, Imperial Japan rose as a modern empire before collapsing in 1945.
The Meiji Restoration
From Tokugawa order to imperial restoration, conscription, industrialisation and military victory, the Meiji era transformed Japan into a modern imperial power.
Charlemagne and the Carolingian Empire
From Pepin's papal-backed monarchy to Charlemagne's coronation, reforms and legacy, the Carolingian Empire reshaped medieval Europe.
Nazi Germany
From Weimar collapse to WWII, Nazi Germany imposed totalitarian rule, expansion, and genocide.
The Roman Empire
From Augustus to the fall of the Western Empire, Rome built a vast imperial system whose law, cities, armies and ideas shaped the ancient and medieval worlds.
The Roman Republic
From the expulsion of Rome’s kings to the rise of Augustus, the Roman Republic built a powerful mixed constitution, expanded across the Mediterranean, and ultimately collapsed into civil war and one-man rule.
The Punic Wars
From rivalry over Sicily to Hannibal's invasion, Zama, and the destruction of Carthage, the Punic Wars made Rome the dominant power of the Mediterranean and changed the Republic forever.
