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Theabolition of thehan system (廃藩置県,haihan-chiken) in theEmpire of Japan and its replacement bya system of prefectures in 1871 was the culmination of theMeiji Restoration begun in 1868, the starting year of theMeiji period. Under the reform, alldaimyos (大名,daimyō, feudal lords) were required to return their authority to theEmperor Meiji andhis house. The process was accomplished in several stages, resulting in a newcentralizedgovernment of Meiji Japan and the replacement of the oldfeudal system witha new oligarchy.
After the defeat of forces loyal to theTokugawa shogunate during theBoshin War in 1868, the newMeiji government confiscated all lands formerly under direct control of the Shogunate (tenryō) and lands controlled by daimyos who remained loyal to the Tokugawa cause. These lands accounted for approximately a quarter of the land area of Japan and were reorganized into prefectures withgovernors appointed directly by the central government.
The second phase in the abolition of thehan came in 1869. The movement was spearheaded byKido Takayoshi of theChōshū Domain, with the backing of court noblesIwakura Tomomi andSanjō Sanetomi. Kido persuaded the lords of Chōshū and ofSatsuma, the two leading domains in the overthrow of the Tokugawa, to voluntarily surrender their domains to the Emperor. Between July 25, 1869, and August 2, 1869, fearing that their loyalty would be questioned, the daimyos of 260 other domains followed suit. Only 14 domains failed to initially comply voluntarily with the return of the domains (版籍奉還,hanseki hōkan), and were then ordered to do so by the Court, under the threat of military action.
In return for surrendering their hereditary authority to the central government, the daimyos were re-appointed as non-hereditary governors of their former domains (which were renamed as prefectures), and were allowed to keep ten percent of the tax revenues, based on actual rice production (which was greater than the nominal rice production upon which their feudal obligations under the Shogunate were formerly based).[1]
As governors, the former daimyos could name subordinates, but only if the subordinates met qualification levels established by the central government. Furthermore, hereditary stipends to their samurai retainers were paid out of the prefectural office by the central government, and not directly by the governor, a move calculated to further weaken the traditional feudal ties.
The termdaimyō was abolished in July 1869 as well, with the formation of thekazokupeerage system.
Although the former daimyos had become government employees, they still retained a measure of military and fiscal independence, and enjoyed the customary veneration of their former subjects. This was considered an increasing threat to central authority byŌkubo Toshimichi and other members of the newMeiji oligarchy, especially with the large number of ex-samurai revolts occurring around the country. In August 1871, Okubo, assisted bySaigō Takamori,Kido Takayoshi,Iwakura Tomomi andYamagata Aritomo, forced through an Imperial Edict which reorganized the 261 surviving ex-feudal domains into three urban prefectures (fu) and 302 prefectures (ken). The number was then reduced through consolidation the following year to three urban prefectures and 72 prefectures, and later to the present three urban prefectures and 44 prefectures by 1888.
The central government accomplished this reorganization by promising the former daimyos a generous stipend, absorbing the domain's debts, and promising to convert the domain currency (hansatsu) to the new national currency at face value.[2] The central treasury proved unable to support such generosity, so in 1874, the ex-daimyōs' stipend was transformed intogovernment bonds with a face value equivalent to five years' worth of stipends, and paying five percent interest per year.[3] Samurai serving former daimyos also received tradable government bonds of former salary dependent value. The owners of the bonds received interest until the bonds were reimbursed, which was decided by annual lottery. In 30 years, all bonds for samurais were reimbursed.
Makino Nobuaki, a student member of theIwakura Mission, remarked in his memoirs: "Together with the abolition of the han system, dispatching the Iwakura Mission to America and Europe must be cited as the most important events that built the foundation of our state after theRestoration."
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