The Meiji government is centralizing and modernizing the nation At the same time, abolition of feudal identification system I also proceeded.
So the government 1869 Kuge and Daimyo are all Chinese for the purpose of eliminating the feudal master-slave relationship after the reversion of the version. And samurai are samurai I divided it into two statuses.
Also, in the Edo period, agriculture / industry / commerce All the people who were in the status of commoners As a result, he was allowed to give his surname, to choose his residence and occupation, and to marry a Chinese or a samurai. However, the four people's equality was in front of the building, and in reality, there was a big difference between the Chinese and the samurai and the commoners, and most of the officials were centered on the samurai.
Such a four people equality policy Besides, I also created a family register to register the first and last names and addresses of all the people. 1872 Yang Water Monkey created in Was the first family register created by the Meiji government. Although limited to boys, they have the same obligations [ people ] Was formed.
The Meiji government, which has taken control of the people through the reform of the social division system, will also work on military reform.
In 1873, a conscription order was promulgated, and the people should be obliged to serve in the military even before the establishment of the four people's equality . As a boy who has reached the age of 20 Should be served for 3 years in military service regardless of status It was stipulated.
In this way, separation of soldiers and farming until the Edo period was abolished And national soldiers Standing army established to support the Japanese nation Did.
National soldiers Although it was a conscription in Japan, it seems that there were also conditions for exemption.
Exemption from military service is
- Officials
- Public / Public Vocational School Students
- Eldest son and head of household
- Those who paid 270 yen at that time
In short, influential people tended to be exempt from military service obligations, and in fact the second and third sons of poor farmers were drafted. Losing a valuable labor force for three years for poor farmers was a matter of life and death, so the opposition to the conscription system is becoming more frequent in various parts of the country.
On the other hand, in the capital city of Tokyo, in 1871, 3,000 police officers will be assigned to maintain security.
1873 A police organization was set up under the Ministry of Interior to become an important crackdown mechanism for rebels along with the military.
The policies of the Meiji government have been promoted as described above, but these policies will put the samurai class, which once reigned as the ruling class, in a difficult situation.
The military service, which had been monopolized by the samurai class, was taken away by the national soldiers.
In addition, females will also be included in the family ritual, which has been an economic privilege until now.
The family provided by the clan, which is the economic privilege of these samurai. Even after the abolition of the feudal clan, the government provided the housekeeping on its behalf. The new government, which had just settled the internal turmoil, gave the utmost consideration to the samurai to ensure stable administration.
However, a standing army was established by conscription where this house was a burden to the government. House Roku is the price for military service Theory no longer holds , Disposal of order Was issued.
1876 The government decides to abolish the Shogunoku, which was paid according to the achievements of the family and the restoration, instead of giving the public bonds with interest equivalent to several years of the family. This disposition As a result, the samurai will be deprived of all their financial privileges and will be in dire straits.
It is said that the samurai who became officials and police were lucky, and most of the samurai sold public bonds to their daily lives. While contributing to the Meiji Restoration in this way, the dissatisfaction of the samurai who continued to be deprived of their privileges was filled all over the country, leading to a samurai rebellion . It is.