The feudal caste system in Japan formally ended in 1869 with the Meiji restoration. In 1871, the newly formed Meiji government issued a decree called giving outcasts equal legal status. It is currently better known as the . However, they were deprived of the exclusive rights of disposal of dead bodies of horses and cattle and the elimination of their economic monopolies over certain occupations actually led to a decline in their general living standards, while social discrimination simply continued. During the early Meiji era many anti-"Kaihōrei" riots () happened around the country. For example, in a village in Okayama when "former eta" tried to buy alcohol, four men were killed, four men were injured and 25 houses were destroyed by commoners, and in another village 263 houses of "eta" were destroyed and 18 people of former "eta" were killed, which was part of an anti-Government riot. The practice of eating meat existed even during the edo period, but the official ban on consumption of meat from livestock was lifted in 1871 in order to "westernise" the country, and many former "eta" moved on to work in abattoirs and as butchers because they were thought not to be “clean” and they had special techniques to treat dead bodies. Prejudice against eating meats still existed. In 1872, a group of "Yamabushi", who objected to the Emperor’s consumption of meats, tried to enter the Tokyo Imperial Palace and four of them were killed. They claimed gods would leave Japan because Japanese had eaten meats.