Daimyo - the feudal lords of Japan

When we are reading about feudal Japan, we always see some titles like daimyo and shogun. We can notice these titles more easily in manga, anime, or light novels that deal with that period.

We can suggest, for example, some articles here on the site about the history of Japan, like the Edo period and the shogunate. In those articles you will find titles such as shogun and daimyo.

In this article, we will try to explain a little about the daimyo. They are mentioned much more than the shoguns themselves, even though the title sat below the shogun. In Japanese history they had a significant influence. But anyway, let's get to the point.

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The Daimyos

The daimyo (大名) were powerful Japanese feudal lords. These lords governed most of Japan from their hereditary domains, at least until their decline in the early Meiji period.

In this term, dai (大) means great, and myō stands for myōden (名田), which means private land. They answered to the shogun. From the 16th century a daimyo was a lord whose han was assessed at 10,000 koku or more of grain a year.

The resources of the daimyo also varied considerably. Yes, we can see that there was no single ancestry. Some clans came from older warrior houses or from the kuge, the court nobles. Others were promoted from the ranks of the samurai, especially during the Edo period. What they shared was the land: inherited, taken in war, or, under the Tokugawa, granted by the shogun.

Lords and their samurai

The term daimyo sometimes also refers to the main figures of the clans, who are commonly called lord. It was generally, though not exclusively, from these warlords that a shogun emerged or a regent was chosen.

Here we can note the importance of these men in history. After all, we can say that at least some shoguns were chosen from the daimyo. But that is a topic for another discussion.

Daimyo often hired samurai to protect their lands and paid the samurai in land or food. After all, relatively few could pay a samurai in cash.

Shugo-daimyo

The shugo daimyo arose among the shugo, the military governors, during the Muromachi period. They held military and police powers, as well as economic power within a province. Their own private land was often limited, and much of the income came from taxes on fields that still belonged to court nobles and temples.

The Ashikaga shogunate required that the shugo daimyo reside in Kyoto. Thus, they had to appoint relatives or retainers to represent them in their provinces of origin. These people were called shugodai. Eventually, some of these, in turn, came to reside in Kyoto, appointing deputies in the provinces.

A major event involving these lords was the Ōnin War, from 1467 to 1477, in which shugo daimyo fought among themselves. During this and other wars of the time, locally powerful warriors sought independence from the shugo daimyo. The deputies of the shugo daimyo, who lived in the provinces, took the opportunity to strengthen their position. By the end of the 15th century, those shugo daimyo who succeeded managed to remain in power.

Sengoku-daimyo

Among the sengoku daimyo, there were many who had been shugo daimyo. These were the ones who managed to hold power during the wars. Others rose from the ranks of the shugodai and their deputies. Another group came from the ji-samurai, the local warriors.

The lower officials of the shogunate and ronin, provincial officials, and kuge also gave rise to sengoku daimyo. Many held power in hand, and many others lost that power.

Daimyo in the Edo Period

The Battle of Sekigahara in the year 1600 decided the fighting. The Edo period dates from 1603, when Tokugawa Ieyasu became shogun. He then reorganized about 200 daimyo and their territories into han, valued by rice production.

He also categorized the daimyo according to their relationship with the Tokugawa family: shimpan were kinsmen, fudai were hereditary vassals, and tozama were outside lords, trusted less by the shogunate. Daimyo also had to alternate between their domains and the shogun's court at Edo, now Tokyo, under sankin kōtai.

After the Meiji Restoration

In 1869, a year after the Meiji Restoration, the daimyo, along with the kuge, formed a new aristocracy, the kazoku. That year they returned their land patents to the emperor and were appointed governors of territories close to their old domains.

In 1871 the han were abolished and the prefectures were established. The former daimyo became a pensioned nobility living in Tokyo. The kazoku remained a legal class until 1947.

Do you remember any Daimyo?

The daimyo who managed to stand out in the history of Japan are many. We can mention, for example, Shimazu Nariakira, Oda Nobunaga, and Imagawa Yoshimoto, all with significant roles in that history.

Do you know of any others who played a significant role? If you know of any, just leave a comment down below. We are always looking at the comments. Remember to leave a brief explanation of this character's life.