Soon after the suppression of the feudal system in Japan, the Daimiates, considered as administrative areas, were superseded by Prefectures. At first, the ex-Daimios were appointed Prefects, but most of them were soon found to be unfit for high executive office, and they have been gradually replaced by competent persons drawn from the Samurai class. It should further be noted that the extinction of feudalism imposed some onerous financial obligations. It was decided that each ex-Daimio, and each of the sub-feudatories that had been dependent on him, should receive one-tenth of the income which they had drawn from their fiefs. This income was to be free from any claim for the support of the Samurai who had formed the standing army in each clan. The central government undertook to make all payments to the Samurai for services of any kind. The assumption of this burden compelled the government to borrow $165,000,000. In lieu of the pensions which they had formerly received, lump sums were given to the Samurai, but these were soon squandered, and much poverty and want were eventually experienced by the ex-feudal retainers. Among other remarkable events which took place in 1871, should be mentioned the removal of the ancient disqualification of the _eta_ and _heimin_, whereby these pariah castes were placed on the same legal footing as the rest of the population. In the following year, the first railway in Japan was opened. This was a line between Yokohama and Tokio. In 1873, the European calendar was adopted, so far as the beginning of the year and the beginning of the months are concerned. The year is still reckoned, however, from Jimmu Tenno, which is 1873 of the Christian era, and corresponds to the year 2533 of the Japanese era. Still employed occasionally, also, is the Meiji year-period, which began in 1868. From the beginning of 1872, the remodeling of the Japanese system of education was undertaken. In April of that year, the Mikado, Mutsuhito, visited the Imperial College, subsequently to be known as the Imperial University. The new buildings consisted of three wings, each 192 feet long, joined to a main edifice 324 feet in length. The students in this institution soon numbered 350, taught by 20 foreign professors. The foreign language school, in which pupils learned English or some other European language, preparatory to entering the college, presently had 600 students and 20 foreign teachers. For educational purposes, the empire was divided into eight districts, in each of which a university was contemplated, which was to be supplied by 210 secondary schools of foreign languages. It was arranged that the elementary vernacular schools should number 53,000, or one for every 600 persons in Japan. To these elementary establishments were to be deputed native teachers trained in normal schools. Before many years had passed, the school attendance was computed at three millions.