However, if this system functioned, the meaning of hatamoto would have changed drastically even if the Edo bakufu remained, because, losing the military roles, hatamoto would have become only an existence that could have been 'candidates for military officers' or 'candidates for governmental officers.'
しかしながら、もしこの制度が機能していれば、軍役を失った旗本の存在は幕府の「士官候補生」・「官僚予備軍」にしか過ぎなくなり、仮に江戸幕府が存続していたとしても旗本の意味合いは大きく変質していたであろう。