"The abolition of the Samurai class 1869
The removal of the rigid and elitist class system imposed on the Japanese people by the military shoguns would mean abolishing the privileged status of the samurai who numbered about two million. In 1869, a start to class reform was made by abolishing the old class hierarchy, including the samurai class, and replacing it with a new three level class order comprising, in descending order of status, court nobles and former daimyo lords (the peers or kazoku), former samurai (now shizoku), and the commoners, who were all lumped together as heimin."
"many samurai were angered by the reforms which had abolished their warrior occupation, cut their incomes, and removed their elite status and privileges."
Unification and Modernisation of Japan