dating back to Nara period. A central governmental structure, or Daijōkan, was established. The Daijōkan had seven departments: Legislative (divided into an Upper Assembly of appointed bureaucrats, and a Lower Assembly of domain representatives) Executive Shinto Finance Military Foreign Affairs Civil Affairs A separate Justice Ministry was established to create a form of separation of powers in imitation of the western countries. The government instigated Fuhanken Sanchisei, dividing territory into urban prefectures or municipalities (fu) and rural prefectures (ken). Local government in Japan consisted of area confiscated from the Tokugawa, administered from the Department of Civil Affairs, and 273 semi-independent domains. Agents from the central government were sent to each of the domains to work towards administrative uniformity and conformation to the directives of the central government. In early 1869, the national capital was transferred from Kyoto to Edo, which was renamed Tokyo (Eastern Capital). Abolition of the domains In March 1869, the central government led by Ōkubo Toshimichi of Satsuma felt strong enough to effect further centralization. After merging the armies of Satsuma and Chōshū into a combined force, Ōkubo and Kido Takayoshi convinced the daimyō of Satsuma, Chōshū, Hizen and Tosa to surrender their domains to the emperor. Other daimyō were forced to do the same, and all were reappointed as “governors” to their respective domains, which were now treated as sub-divisions of the central government. In the spring of 1871, Ōkubo, Kido, Inoue Kaoru, Yamagata Aritomo, Saigō Takamori, Ōyama Iwao, Sanjō Sanetomi and Iwakura held a secret meeting during which it was decided to proceed with abolition of the han domains entirely. Later that year, all of the ex-daimyō were summoned to the Emperor, and he issued a decree converting the domains to prefectures headed by a bureaucratic appointee from the central government. The daimyō were generously pensioned off into retirement, and their castles became the local administrative centers for the central government. This decree resulted in 305 units of local administration, which were reduced to 72 prefectures and 3 municipalities by the end of the year through various mergers, so that by the end of 1871, Japan had become a fully centralized state. The transition was made gradually, so that there was no disruption to the lives of the common people, and no outbreaks of resistance or violence. The central government absorbed all of the debts and obligations of the domains, and many former officials in