Shibata Takenaka (柴田 剛中 , February 27, 1823 - August 24, 1877) was an emissary for Japan who visited France in 1865 to help prepare for the construction of the Yokosuka arsenal with French support.[1]
On behalf of the Shogunate, Shibata requested both the United Kingdom and France to send a military mission for training in Western warfare. The UK apparently declined, but the French accepted and this led to the first French military mission to Japan (1867–1868), which Shibata organized.[2]