--'Under the Shogunate,' I answered, 'the feudal lords had to support their own troops, even when they were ordered to send them out somewhere. This was the duty they had to render in return for the tenure of land. Just before the battle of Fushimi, Satsuma and some other clans had their troops stationed in Kioto. Chosiu, which on all sides had come triumphantly out of the war against the attacking forces of the Shogunate, also sent some troops to Kioto; not indeed by order of the Shogun, but rather against it. These troops were all supported by their clan governments. After the battle of Fushimi, the troops of the Satcho and other clans which had become Imperialists, were ordered to the front in the North-Eastern provinces. They now fought as Imperial troops under the "brocade banners," which was the emblematic banner used solely by the Imperial forces, and much reverenced by the Japanese in general, because with us those who fought against those banners had been, and were at all times, universally stigmatised as disloyal subjects. The leaders of those troops were generally commissioned by the Imperial Government. The cohesion of the troops of different clans in one direction was maintained by a generalissimo, who was a high court noble, assisted by a certain number of staff officers, specially appointed by the Imperial Government. In that manner, troops of different clans fought for the cause of the Imperial Government. After the war, the troops of some of the clans were still used for the Imperial purposes, whilst others of them were all sent home. The future of the military system was, however, a great problem. Immediately after the war, the present Marshal, Marquis Yamagata, who was the leader of the Chosiu troops in the province of Echigo, visited Europe, together with Saigo the younger. On his return to Japan, he advocated the adoption of the European system of universal service. He succeeded in his advocacy, and in 1870 regulations were promulgated relating to the subject, by which the system was experimentally put in force in five provinces in the vicinity of Kioto; and the system was made universal and more complete soon after the total abolition of the feudal system. It has undergone further improvement from time to time, until we have come into possession of the army which the world has come to see during the present war. I may add, that in the earlier parts of the new organisation, many French officers were engaged to instruct our men and officers in different ways, and afterwards some German officers were similarly engaged, as you know.' 'Can you roughly explain,' said one, 'the evolution of your modes of fighting before it reached the efficiency of the present day?'