ABSTRACT
The ending of eighteen months of civil war did not, in itself, bring about an immediate transformation in the social, political and economic life of Japan. Indeed many aspects of policy remained to be decided by the new régime; nevertheless, the final surrender of all Tokugawa opposition was followed by a series of domestic changes which suggested to observers that peace would bring significant political reforms. Every daimyō was pressed to follow the example set by the four leading han, Tosa, Satsuma, Choshu and Hizen of surrendering their fiefs to the Emperor. In theory daimyō now became governors acting on behalf of the central government rather than the semi-independent rulers which they had been hitherto. In the same months the samurai assembly (Kōgisko) continued to debate many important issues including the future of Christianity and the abolition of harakiri. The Government did not automatically accept the assembly's conclusions but its debates provided a safety valve for politically conscious samurai. All these developments suggested the beginnings of national unity and centralization. 1 At first, the han remained largely autonomous, but the Government's new measures showed that the civil war might mark an important political turning point.
