 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.