As regards local administration, the first division of the country after the abolition of the shōgunate was into 28 _fu_, 273 _han_, and 21 _ken_, the _fu_ and _ken_ being governed by officials appointed by the sovereign. The _han_, however, being still under the government of their former feudal chiefs, no uniformity of administration was possible. Moreover, of the total revenue of the state, namely, eleven million _koku_ of rice, only 1-4/5 millions belonged to the _fu_ and _ken_, which were under the direct control of the central government, the remainder constituting the income of the _han_. The resources of the imperial treasury proved quite inadequate to meet the heavy calls made upon them, in spite of the fact that some of the barons contributed liberally. Kido Takakoto, a distinguished _samurai_ of Chōshū, then holding the post of councilor of state, appreciating the fundamental necessity of the time, made such powerful representations to his liege lord that the latter agreed to surrender his feudal domains and their revenues to the sovereign. Kido subsequently took council on the same subject with Ōkubo Toshimichi, a not less distinguished retainer of Satsuma, and by the latter's advice the Satsuma lord was induced to follow the course taken by Mōri of Chōshū. The barons of Hizen and Tosa followed the example, and on January 20, 1868, these four great nobles addressed to the throne a memorial over their joint signatures, declaring their desire to restore their territories to the sovereign, and their conviction that all the lands in the empire should come under the direct control of the central government. Thereafter the various other barons signified their wish to follow the same course, and in the sequel of a consultation held with all the feudal chiefs, whom the emperor summoned to Tōkyō for the purpose, an imperial edict was issued, directing that all the fiefs should be restored to the sovereign, appointing the feudal lords to the post of governor, and remodeling the administrative organization of the _han_ so as to bring it into conformity with that of the _fu_ and _ken_. One-tenth of the revenue accruing from the fief lands was apportioned as the salary of the governors. The distinctive terms of "court noble" (_kuge_) and "feudal lord" (_shōkō_) were abolished, and all the nobles were included in the general appellation of _kwazoku_. Relatives of the _kwazoku_ and _samurai_ were all classed as _shizoku_, their pensions being at the same time duly fixed.