Although the government copied the Ritsuryo system, which had Dajokan (Grand Council of State) and Jingikan (the Officer in charge of the Shinto ceremony) as specific administrative organizations, the system was unstable because it needed continuous reforms thereafter, such as dividing the Ministry of Industry from the Ministry of Popular Affairs, and changing the Ministry of Criminal Punishments to the Ministry of Justice.
具体的な行政機構としては、太政官と神祇官を置き、太政官の下に各省を置く律令制が模写されたものの、その後も民部省から工部省が分離したり、刑部省から司法省への改組など幾多の改変を必要とし、安定しなかった。