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Maebara Issei, one of the heroes of the Meiji restoration and a leader of the Imperial Army at the Battle of Aizu, was among the dissatisfied of the Imperial faction. Maebara was a "samurai" of the Chōshū Domain, one of the most powerful domains, which the Imperial revolutionaries had gained crucial support from after brokering the Satchō Alliance through the mediation of Sakamoto Ryōma. Maebara had been a pupil of Yoshida Shōin and an early advocate of modernization in Japan, rising to the post of Military Minister in the new Meiji government after the Restoration. However, Maebara eventually resigned due to disagreements with Kido Takayoshi over the treatment of the former "daimyō" after the abolition of the han system. Maebara returned to the former Chōshū Domain, now part of the Meiji Yamaguchi Prefecture.