In the late Edo period some of shougun's retainers of Kaimei-ha Group (a group of people who advocated enlightenment) including Rinsho MITSUKURI, Joun kURIMOTO and others proposed preparing Minpoten on a model of Code Napoleon (French Civil Code), but the proposal was not realized because of the downfall of the Edo bakufu.
幕末には箕作麟祥や栗本鋤雲ら開明派の幕臣がフランスのナポレオン法典（フランス民法典）を範にして求める事を提案したが江戸幕府の滅亡によって実現しなかった。