the arrival in japan of the united states navy led by commodore perry in 1854 started a period of re-armament. the "tanegashima" was an antiquated weapon by the 1800s and various samurai factions acquired advanced firearms including the minié rifle, breech-loading and repeating rifles. the samurai era ended in 1868 with the meiji period, the japanese turned to a national conscription army with modern weapons and uniforms. some gunsmiths did replace their matchlock-type tanegashimas into percussion cap mechanisms while retaining its design as a musket. the last use of samurai armour and traditional weapons including "tanegashima" in japan was during the satsuma rebellion (1877), when the meiji government's newly established imperial japanese army put an end to the last samurai and their resistance to modernization.