大名
A literal translation of the word daimyō /
大名 is “great name.” The daimyos were powerful warlords of feudal Japan. They were similar in many ways to the feudal lords of medieval Europe. The daimyos held land, built castles, and employed warriors, craftsmen, and peasants. Their estates were referred to as han 藩 (“domain”).Throughout much of the feudal era, the daimyos warred against each other. The period of the warring daimyos is referred to as
Japan’s “civil war era” or Sengoku Jidai /
戦国時代
. This period technically lasted from 1534 through 1615, although the worst of the fighting was over by
1600.
The civil war era ended when Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first of the Tokugawa shoguns, became the ruler of Japan by defeating his rival warlords. Ieyasu unified the country and established a central government. The daimyos still existed under the Tokugawa shogunate, but they were now subordinate to the central government in Edo (present-day Tokyo).
"Inner and Outer" Daimyos
Under Tokugawa rule, the daimyos were divided into two groups: fuda i /
譜代 and tozama /
外様 (“inner and outer”). A daimyo’s status in one group or the other depended on whether or not he had supported the Tokugawa shogun before the decisive battle of Sekigahara. (The battle of Sekigahara secured
Tokugawa rule and made loyalty to the shogun a matter of course.)
Tozama daimyos (the “outer” group) were subject to certain restrictions. For example, a tozama daimyo could not hold a post in the shogun’s government.
Moreover, the distribution of national lands also reflected the hierarchy of loyalty. All the land within a day’s march of Edo was owned the shogun himself, and domains closer to Edo were awarded to the more loyal daimyos.
Daimyos of questionable loyalty were relegated to the hinterlands, far from
Edo.

The Rules of Being a Daimyo
To achieve daimyo status, a warlord had to own lands capable of producing
10,000 koku of rice per year. (A koku was the amount of rice needed to feed one man for one year.) Lords owning land that produced less than 10,000 koku but at least 260 koku were given the title of hatamoto . Hatamoto was also a significant title, as it carried the right to a personal audience with the shogun. Any lord whose lands produced less than 260 koku bore the title gokenin . A gokenin did not have direct access to the shogun, but he could become a bureaucrat in the shogun’s government.
The daimyos were given significant leeway over matters within their respective han . However, the shogun did intervene in strategic marriages
(which created alliances), the building of castles, and disputes over succession. The Tokugawa shogun also implemented a system of sankin kotai (“alternate attendance”). Sankin kotai required every daimyo to periodically journey to Edo to attend on the shogun. Therefore, the daimyo had to maintain residences in Edo, and resources for the possibly long journey.
The shogun also maintained power over the daimyos through a system of hostages. A daimyo whose loyalty was questioned might be required to place a son in the residence of the shogun. The shoguns also planted spies within the daimyos inner circles.
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