 It was led by Etō Shinpei and Shima Yoshitake in their native domain of Hizen.Following the 1868 Meiji Restoration, many members of the former "samurai" class were disgruntled with the direction the nation had taken.The abolition of their former privileged social status under the feudal order had also eliminated their income, and the establishment of universal military conscription had eliminated much of their reason for existence.