Initially, not even the retention of the Emperor was certain; revolutionary leader Gotō Shōjirō later stated that some officials "were afraid the extremists might go further and abolish the Mikado".
Pada awalnya, kelangsungan kaisar bahkan tidak jelas, pemimpin revolusioner Gotō Shojiro kemudian hari menyatakan bahwa beberapa pejabat "takut para ekstremis mungkin bertindak lebih jauh dan menghapus Mikado".