 The very rapid modernization and Westernization of Japan was resulting in massive changes to Japanese culture, dress and society, and appeared to many "samurai" to be a betrayal of the ""joi" " ("Expel the Barbarian") portion of the "Sonnō jōi" justification used to overthrow the former Tokugawa Shogunate.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.