<P> The Meiji Emperor announced in his 1868 Charter Oath that "Knowledge shall be sought all over the world, and thereby the foundations of imperial rule shall be strengthened ." </P> <P> Under the leadership of Mori Arinori, a group of prominent Japanese intellectuals went on to form the Meiji Six Society in 1873 to continue to "promote civilization and enlightenment" through modern ethics and ideas . However, during the restoration, political power simply moved from the Tokugawa Shogunate to an oligarchy consisting of these leaders, mostly from the Satsuma Province (Ōkubo Toshimichi and Saigō Takamori), and Chōshū Province (Itō Hirobumi, Yamagata Aritomo, and Kido Takayoshi). This reflected their belief in the more traditional practice of imperial rule, whereby the Emperor of Japan serves solely as the spiritual authority of the nation and his ministers govern the nation in his name . </P> <P> The Meiji oligarchy that formed the government under the rule of the Emperor first introduced measures to consolidate their power against the remnants of the Edo period government, the shogunate, daimyo, and the samurai class . The oligarchs also endeavored to abolish the four divisions of society . </P> <P> Throughout Japan at the time, the samurai numbered 1.9 million . (For comparison, this was more than 10 times the size of the French privileged class before the 1789 French Revolution . Moreover, the samurai in Japan were not merely the lords, but also their higher retainers--people who actually worked .) With each samurai being paid fixed stipends, their upkeep presented a tremendous financial burden, which may have prompted the oligarchs to action . </P>

When did the meiji restoration start and end