The retention of the per capita tax under the "Preservation of Ancient Customs" policy reduced the residents of Miyako to even deeper poverty. The protest movement that had spread throughout the whole of Okinawa Prefecture sparked a campaign to abolish the head tax in Miyako.
Sugar farming engineer, Seian Gusukuma, and trader Jisaku Nakamura were witness to the suffering and agony of the farmers and were essential in establishing the protest movement in Miyako.
The two headed the list of signatories on the Miyako farmers petition to reduce the number of officials in the regional bureaucracy and abolish the per capita tax. The petition was addressed to the newly appointed Governor Shigeru Narahara . Due to strong resistance from the samurai class the petition was put aside and the result was further an increase in the confrontation between the farmers and the privileged samurai.
The farmers, under the guidance of Gusukuma and Nakamura, submitted the petition again, and because it appeared it would not be accepted, made plans to travel to Tokyo and make a direct appeal to the Imperial Diet. On the way to the capital the samurai and police harassed them but they succeeded in handing the appeal regarding the current status of farmers within Miyako to the Secretary for Home Affairs.
In this way the perseverance of the farmers finally paid off in 1903 when the per capita tax was revoked.
However it should not be overlooked that at the time when they submitted the petition to the 8th Imperial Diet in 1895, Japan was in the midst of the Sino-Japanese War and the central government's belief in the urgent need to modernize Okinawa and integrate the defense of the nation was a reason the government abolished the per capita tax. However, despite this, the fact that the Miyako Farmers Movement did spur the Meiji government and lead the way to a reform of the "Preservation of Ancient Customs" policy makes this worthy of mention due to its effect on the modern history of Okinawa Prefecture.