The Restoration movement in Japan in the mid-l9th century has often been described as a samurai movement. This is mainly because of the samurai participation and leadership in a movement that finally led to the downfall of the Tokugawa shogunate, the Meiji Restoration, and the beginnings of a modern Japan.

Reasons for samurai leadership -- it is undeniable that many of the leaders and activists of the Restoration Movement came from the samurai ranks. The irony is that --the core of the feudal system -- the samurai -- was to play an important part in breaking down Tokugawa rule.
The very fact that they were samurai prepared them for this part. By the 19th century, the samurai class as a whole had become more or less a parasitic group. Years of peace and order had deprived them of their main function as warriors. Agriculture and trade were below the dignity of their social status even though they were financially bankrupt. Many of them turned to intellectual pursuits. Some studied Japanese history and learned of the legitimate role of the Emperor. Some were attracted by the school of Dutch Learning (Rangaku) and they began to debate the implications of seclusion.
Positions in the government were mostly hereditary and had fallen into incompetent hands. The more able and talented lesser samurai looked askance at the rigid social system which based posts and offices on birth rather than on ability. Only in a few domains were the more able lesser samurai succeeded in becoming the new ruling elite, or influential officials, teachers, and advisors to daimyo. In the face of internal difficulties and foreign threat, the han leaders demanded reforms and strengthening of the domains which, however, were not approved by the bakufu for fear of political consequences. This central reluctance was regarded as a weakness as well as a selfishness and unwillingness to cooperate. It then followed that the Tokugawa bakufu had to be overthrown before Japan could save herself from her imminent dangers.

Reaction to the coming of the West -- to a great extent, the opening of the country to the West since the coming of Perry intensified the anti-bakufu movement. The samurai leaders were keenly aware of the national crisis that was at hand and this sense of urgency sharpened their unfavourable view of the bakufu as an incompetent and weak authority. By the 1860s, the attitude of the samurai leaders towards the western powers had altered greatly. They saw the impossibility of defeating the "barbarians", but there was a lot to be learned from them. Henceforth, the slogan "joi" became an empty cry. Instead, the samurai leaders were eager to learn from the barbarians in order to match occidental military power and industrial skills. Once again, the bakufu was seen as an obstruction to their aims.

The "sonno" movement -- the "sonno" movement at first accompanied the "joi" movement. Whereas the latter gradually subsided, the former gathered momentum. Many samurai saw that if the Shogun was not able to protect the country from "barbarians", then he did not deserve his title. They began to look to the Emperor as the rightful ruler of the country. They wanted to rally the country in the name of the emperor in order to save the nation from its crisis.
At first, many samurai sought individual actions of intimidations and assassinations. Upon the failure of these, other samurai leaders resorted to gaining han support politically, militarily, and economically. In the 1840s, we saw financial and administrative reforms in many domains, especially the tozama. Able samurai leaders began to take over control of han administration and the anti-bakufu movement. Hans leading this restoration movement were Choshu and Satsuma in particular. Finally, an alliance between these two hans in 1866 spelt the death sentence of the Tokugawas.

Leadership for Meiji Japan -- the very fact that the Restoration Movement was led by the samurai indicates the new leaders for Meiji Japan would be chosen from the same samurai ranks. The Restoration Movement had a twofold meaning -- the negative one of overthrowing the Tokugawa bakufu, and the positive one of paving the grounds for a new Japan. Rallying under the imperial symbol, national leaders of Meiji Japan were the same samurai that had overthrown the Tokugawas. Yet these men were pragmatists and were alert to the political currents of the day. They worked together to achieve the goal of Meiji modernization.

Conclusion -- the motives of samurai leadership and participation in the Restoration Movement cannot in clearcut terms be defined as political, social, or economic. Nor were their actual contributions be quantified. These varied with individual or with groups.
Although the samurai class, for various reasons, assumed leadership in the Restoration Movement, the role of other parties is not to be unduly neglected. There was a great deal of commoner participation, especially in the new military units which consisted of samurai and peasants. The merchants, too, contributed for they wanted a share in the national government which share they did not have under the Tokugawas because of their inferior social status. Even the foreign powers played a part in the Restoration Movement. Suffice it to say that the samurai class, or a significant segment of it, was instrumental in bringing about the Restoration.