It is fantasy because there will be ridiculous occurances throughout the roleplay that don't correspond whatsoever with what is historically accurate but are added for the lolz. I like ridiculous lolz.
Historical Stuff to Completely Ignore Due to the Post Below This One (unless you like learning, in which case, go ahead and read.)
[SPOILI][SPOILI]
First of all; false. Emperor Meiji was moved to Edo on November 6th, 1868. It was renamed Tokyo, and from that point on it was the capital, although more than likely it did grow in size after that point. The capital was wherever the Emperor was/ wanted it to be, although the government was technically an oligarchy and the emperor didn't directly control Japan.
The draft was initiated in 1872-3 and mostly drew from the poorer population who could not pay the 270 yen required to be exemption fee. Yes, the Samurai Rebellion I mentioned was the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877-8. This roleplay occurs
after Takamori Saigo led the Rebellion with an army of samurai and failed miserably because of the new, inexperienced but massive conscripted Imperial Army that had access to gun while the samurai mainly relied on their swords. It probably didn't help Saigo's army that most of them were student-samurai from his own teaching establishments; I'm not sure, but they were probably young and just as inexperienced as the boys in the Imperial Army. Anyways, I remember that the original year of this roleplay was anywhere from 1880-1881. There ya go. [/SPOILI]
All that aside, the specifics of the time period were written so that players might have an easier time deciding what their characters' lives might be like, not to be strict and specific. After all, this is supposed to be fun, and most fun things do not require a shit ton of careful research and stepping on eggshells to make sure your characters fit into the time period. Why do you think true historical roleplays are rare? Because most of the time it's impossible to please the creator of the RP and the other players, and it ends up screwing with a person's head. Fun is more fun.
Here's the materials I read and attempted to summarize. Go read them if it will make you feel better. Had I the free time, I could have taken three hours and found more legitimate sources, but I really do have a research paper to finish.
[SPOILI]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernization_of_Japanese_Military_1868-1931
http://web.uvic.ca/ehnorman/PDFs/Soldier Peasant2.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiji_period
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2130.html
http://academic.csuohio.edu/makelaa...es Together a Life of the Enigmatic Meiji.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Meiji[/SPOILI]
Now let's get back to the fun stuff, shall we? :3 No need to worry about specifics. If you must stick to historical correctness for your character, you can always use creativity and slyness to find a way for your character to avoid the conscription, eh?
P.S./ Edit: Your conscription facts are wrong, railway info is easy to find if you look hard enough, and I am too lazy to find more facts right now.[/SPOILI]