# Daimyo > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Daimyo > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Daimyo.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daimyo > Source revision: 1353671670 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Powerful feudal territorial lord in pre-modern Japan}} {{Redirect|Daimio|the skipper butterfly genus|Daimio (butterfly)}} {{more citations needed|date=March 2021}} [[File:Map Japan Genki1-en.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|A map of the territories of the [Sengoku](/source/Sengoku) daimyo around the first year of the [Genki era](/source/Genki_(era)) (1570 AD)]] {{nihongo|'''Daimyo''' or '''daimio'''{{cite web |title=daimyo |website=Merriam-Webster Dictionary |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/daimyo |access-date=27 March 2026}}{{cite web |title=daimyo |website=Collins English Dictionary |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/daimyo |access-date=27 March 2026}}|大名|daimyō|{{IPAc-en|lang|'|d|ai|m|.|j|ou}},{{cite book |editor-last=Wells |editor-first=John |editor-link=John C. Wells |title=Longman Pronunciation Dictionary |publisher=Pearson Longman |edition=3rd |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-4058-8118-0}} {{IPA|ja|dai.mʲo��ː|audio=Ja-大名.oga|lang}}{{cite book|script-title=ja:NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典|publisher=NHK Publishing|editor=NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute|date=24 May 2016|lang=ja}}}} were powerful Japanese [magnate](/source/magnate)s,[https://www.britannica.com/topic/daimyo Daimyo]. ''Britanica'' [feudal](/source/feudal) [lord](/source/lord)s{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FiHJX2FRg6sC&q=%22territorial+lord%22&pg=PA291 |page=291 |title=An Introduction to the History of Japan |first=Hara |last=Katsuro |publisher=BiblioBazaar, LLC |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-110-78785-2}} who, from the 15th century to the early [Meiji period](/source/Meiji_era) in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the [shogun](/source/shogun) and nominally to the [emperor](/source/Emperor_of_Japan) and the ''[kuge](/source/kuge)'' (an aristocratic class). In the term, {{nihongo|''dai''|大}} means 'large', and {{Lang|ja-latn|myō}} stands for {{nihongo3||名田|myōden}}, meaning 'private land'.''Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan'', entry for "daimyo" From the ''[shugo](/source/shugo)'' of the [Muromachi period](/source/Muromachi_period) through the [Sengoku period](/source/Sengoku_period) to the daimyo of the [Edo period](/source/Edo_period), the rank had a long and varied history. The backgrounds of daimyo also varied considerably; while some daimyo clans, notably the [Mōri](/source/M%C5%8Dri_clan), [Shimazu](/source/Shimazu_clan) and [Hosokawa](/source/Hosokawa_clan), were cadet branches of the Imperial family or were descended from the ''kuge'', other daimyo were promoted from the ranks of the [samurai](/source/samurai), notably during the Edo period. Daimyo often hired samurai to guard their land, and paid them in land or food, as relatively few could afford to pay them in money. The daimyo era ended soon after the [Meiji Restoration](/source/Meiji_Restoration), with the adoption of the [prefecture system](/source/Prefectures_of_Japan) in 1871. ==''Shugo-daimyō''== {{no sources section|date=December 2025}} [[File:斯波義将.jpg|thumb|upright|[Shiba Yoshimasa](/source/Shiba_Yoshimasa) of [Shiba clan](/source/Shiba_clan), one of the ''shugo-daimyō'']] The {{nihongo|''shugo daimyō''|守護大名}} were the first group of men to hold the title ''daimyō''. They arose from among the ''[shugo](/source/shugo)'' during the [Muromachi period](/source/Muromachi_period) (approximately 1336–1573). The ''shugo-daimyo'' held not only military and police powers, but also economic power within a [province](/source/Provinces_of_Japan). They accumulated these powers throughout the first decades of the Muromachi period. Major ''shugo-daimyō'' came from the [Shiba](/source/Shiba_clan), [Hatakeyama](/source/Hatakeyama_clan), and [Hosokawa clan](/source/Hosokawa_clan)s, as well as the [tozama](/source/tozama) clans of [Yamana](/source/Yamana_clan), [Ōuchi](/source/%C5%8Cuchi_family), [Takeda](/source/Takeda_clan) and [Akamatsu](/source/Akamatsu_clan). The greatest ruled multiple provinces. The [Ashikaga shogunate](/source/Ashikaga_shogunate) required the ''shugo-daimyō'' to reside in [Kyoto](/source/Kyoto), so they appointed relatives or retainers, called ''[shugodai](/source/shugodai)'', to represent them in their home provinces. Eventually, some of these in turn came to reside in Kyoto, appointing deputies in the provinces. The [Ōnin War](/source/%C5%8Cnin_War) was a major uprising in which ''shugo-daimyō'' fought each other. During this and other wars of the time, ''kuni [ikki](/source/Ikk%C5%8D-ikki)'', or provincial uprisings, took place as locally powerful warriors sought independence from the ''shugo-daimyo''. The deputies of the ''shugo-daimyō'', living in the provinces, seized the opportunity to strengthen their position. At the end of the fifteenth century, those ''shugo-daimyō'' who succeeded remained in power. Those who had failed to exert control over their deputies fell from power and were replaced by a new class, the ''sengoku-daimyō'', who arose from the ranks of the ''shugodai'' and ''[jizamurai](/source/jizamurai)''. ==''Sengoku-daimyo''== {{multiple image | total_width = 350 | image1 = Odanobunaga.jpg | caption1 = [Oda Nobunaga](/source/Oda_Nobunaga), a powerful daimyo during the [Sengoku](/source/Sengoku) period | image2 = Date Tanemune.JPG | caption2 = [Date Tanemune](/source/Date_Tanemune), a daimyo during the [Sengoku](/source/Sengoku) period }} Whereas the ''shugo daimyo'' of the [Muromachi period](/source/Muromachi_period) received their legitimacy from the shogunate, the ''sengoku daimyo'' of the [Sengoku period](/source/Sengoku_period) were ''de facto'' independent lords. Their samurai and the peasants of their domains were loyal to them, not the shogun. In other words, they were warlords.Kozo Yamamura (editor). ''Cambridge History of Japan vol 3: Medieval Japan'' p. 226: "Unlike the ''shugo'' daimyo whose legitimacy was derived from the bakufu, the ''sengoku'' daimyo drew their primary authority from their ability to exercise power and to maintain local control over the other kokujin and peasant communities within their sphere of command. They might on occasion, however, declare themselves successors to ''shugo'' or other provincial officials. But their main reliance, besides their own military strength, was on their capacity to secure the loyalty of their military followers and to convince the other inhabitants of their territories of their ability, or at least intent, to work for the good of the territorial community. This situation was reflected in the large body of legal codes issued by ''sengoku'' daimyo, in which the daimyo territory was conceived of as an organic entity, a ''kokka'', over which the daimyo exercised public authority (''kōgi'')." Among the {{nihongo|''sengoku daimyō''|戦国大名}} were many who had been ''shugo-daimyō'', such as the [Satake](/source/Satake_clan), [Imagawa](/source/Imagawa_clan), [Takeda](/source/Takeda_clan), [Toki](/source/Toki_clan), [Rokkaku](/source/Rokkaku_clan), [Ōuchi](/source/%C5%8Cuchi_clan), and [Shimazu](/source/Shimazu_clan). New to the ranks of the daimyo were the [Asakura](/source/Asakura_clan), [Amago](/source/Amago_clan), [Nagao](/source/Nagao_clan), [Miyoshi](/source/Miyoshi_clan), [Chōsokabe](/source/Ch%C5%8Dsokabe_clan), Hatano, and [Oda](/source/Oda_clan). These came from the ranks of the ''shugodai'' and their deputies.{{cn|date=February 2026}} Additional ''sengoku-daimyō'' such as the [Mōri](/source/M%C5%8Dri_clan), [Tamura](/source/Tamura_clan), and [Ryūzōji](/source/Ry%C5%ABz%C5%8Dji_clan) arose from the ''jizamurai''. The lower officials of the shogunate and [rōnin](/source/r%C5%8Dnin) ([Late Hōjō](/source/Later_H%C5%8Dj%C5%8D_clan), [Saitō](/source/Sait%C5%8D_clan)), [provincial officials](/source/Kokushi_(official)) (Kitabatake), and ''[kuge](/source/kuge)'' (Tosa Ichijō) also gave rise to ''sengoku-daimyo''.{{Citation needed|date=November 2007}} ==Edo period== {{multiple image | total_width = 350 | image1 = Date_Munenari_(coloured).jpeg | caption1 = [Date Munenari](/source/Date_Munenari), 8th head of the [Uwajima Domain](/source/Uwajima_Domain) | image2 = Kamei Koremi.jpg | caption2 = [Kamei Koremi](/source/Kamei_Koremi), a daimyo during the [Bakumatsu](/source/Bakumatsu) period }} The [Battle of Sekigahara](/source/Battle_of_Sekigahara) in 1600 marked the beginning of the [Edo period](/source/Edo_period). ''[Shōgun](/source/Sh%C5%8Dgun)'' [Tokugawa Ieyasu](/source/Tokugawa_Ieyasu) reorganized roughly 200 daimyo and their territories into ''[han](/source/Han_(Japan)),'' which were assessed by rice production. Those heading ''han'' assessed at 10,000 ''[koku](/source/koku)'' (50,000 bushels) or more were considered daimyo. Ieyasu also categorized the daimyo according to their relation to the ruling Tokugawa family: the ''[shinpan](/source/Shinpan_(daimyo))'' were related to the Tokugawa; the ''[fudai](/source/fudai)'' had been vassals of the Tokugawa or allies in battle; and the ''[tozama](/source/tozama)'' had not allied with the Tokugawa before the [Battle of Sekigahara](/source/Battle_of_Sekigahara) (but did not necessarily fight against the Tokugawa).{{cite book |last1=Flath |first1=David |title=The Japanese Economy |pages=23}} The ''shinpan'' were collaterals of Ieyasu, such as the [Matsudaira](/source/Matsudaira_clan), or descendants of Ieyasu other than in the main line of succession. Several ''shinpan'', including the Tokugawa of [Owari](/source/Owari_Province) ([Nagoya](/source/Nagoya)), [Kii](/source/Kii_Province) ([Wakayama](/source/Wakayama_Prefecture)), and [Mito](/source/Mito%2C_Ibaraki), as well as the Matsudaira of [Fukui](/source/Fukui_Prefecture) and [Aizu](/source/Aizu), held large ''han''.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} A few ''fudai daimyō'', such as the [Ii](/source/Ii_clan) of [Hikone](/source/Hikone%2C_Shiga), held large ''han,'' but many were small. The shogunate placed many ''fudai'' at strategic locations to guard the trade routes and the approaches to [Edo](/source/Edo_(Tokyo)). Also, many ''fudai daimyo'' took positions in the Edo shogunate, some rising to the position of ''[rōjū](/source/r%C5%8Dj%C5%AB).'' The fact that ''fudai daimyo'' could hold government positions, while ''tozama'' in general could not, was a main difference between the two.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} ''Tozama daimyō'' held mostly large fiefs far away from the capital, with e.g. the [Kaga](/source/Kaga_Domain) ''han'' of [Ishikawa Prefecture](/source/Ishikawa_Prefecture), headed by the [Maeda clan](/source/Maeda_clan), assessed at 1,000,000 ''koku''. Other famous ''tozama'' clans included the [Mori](/source/M%C5%8Dri_clan) of [Chōshū](/source/Nagato_Province), the [Shimazu](/source/Shimazu_family) of [Satsuma](/source/Satsuma_Province), the [Date](/source/Date_clan) of [Sendai](/source/Sendai), the [Uesugi](/source/Uesugi_clan) of [Yonezawa](/source/Yonezawa%2C_Yamagata), and the [Hachisuka](/source/Hachisuka_clan) of [Awa](/source/Awa_Province_(Tokushima)). Initially, the Tokugawa regarded them as potentially rebellious, but for most of the Edo period, control policies such as ''[sankin-kōtai](/source/sankin-k%C5%8Dtai)'', resulted in peaceful relations.{{Cite web |title=Edo Period Timeline|publisher=USC Pacific Asia Museum |url=https://pacificasiamuseum.usc.edu/exhibitions/past/online-exhibition-nature-of-the-beast-animals-in-japanese-paintings-and-prints/edo-period-timeline/ |access-date=2024-06-24 |archive-date=24 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240624204105/https://pacificasiamuseum.usc.edu/exhibitions/past/online-exhibition-nature-of-the-beast-animals-in-japanese-paintings-and-prints/edo-period-timeline/|url-status=dead}}{{Citation |last=Tsukahira |first=Toshio G. |title=Preliminary Material |date=1966-11-04 |work=Feudal Control in Tokugawa Japan |pages=i–xvi |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9781684171514/BP000001.xml |access-date=2024-06-24 |publisher=Harvard University Asia Center |language=en |isbn=978-1-68417-151-4}} Daimyo were required to maintain residences in Edo as well as their fiefs, and to move periodically between Edo and their fiefs, typically spending alternate years in each place, in a practice called ''[sankin-kōtai](/source/sankin-k%C5%8Dtai)''.{{Cite web |title=Sankin Kōtai |url=https://www.japanpitt.pitt.edu/glossary/sankin-k%C5%8Dtai |access-date=2024-06-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614172823/https://www.japanpitt.pitt.edu/glossary/sankin-k%C5%8Dtai|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 June 2021|publisher=University of Pittsburgh|website=Japan}} ==After the Meiji Restoration== {{multiple image | total_width = 350 | image1 = KurodaNagahiro.jpg | caption1 = Marquess [Kuroda Nagahiro](/source/Kuroda_Nagahiro), a daimyo of the [Fukuoka Domain](/source/Fukuoka_Domain) | image2 = Toshisada Maeda.jpg | caption2 = Viscount [Maeda Toshisada](/source/Maeda_Toshisada), eldest son of Maeda Toshiaki, last daimyo of [Nanokaichi Domain](/source/Nanokaichi_Domain) in [Kōzuke Province](/source/K%C5%8Dzuke_Province) }} In 1869, the year after the Meiji Restoration, the daimyo, together with the ''kuge,'' formed a new aristocracy, the ''[kazoku](/source/kazoku)''.{{Cite book|last=Norman|first=Herbert E.|title=Japan's Emergence as a Modern State – 60th anniv. ed.: Political and Economic Problems of the Meiji Period|date=2011|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-4187-0|pages=25–26}}{{Cite book|last=McLaren|first=Walter Wallace|title=Political History of Japan During the Meiji Era, 1867–1912|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-99549-1|location=Oxon|language=en}} In 1871, the [han were abolished](/source/Abolition_of_the_han_system), and prefectures were established.{{citation|title=Japan Encyclopedia|first1=Louis|last1=Frédéric|last2=Roth|first2= Käthe|isbn=978-0-674-01753-5|series=Harvard University Press Reference Library|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC|year=2002|publisher=Belknap|pages=141–142}} In this year, around 200 daimyo returned their titles to the emperor, who consolidated their han into 75 prefectures.{{Cite book|last=Nester|first=William R.|title=The Foundation of Japanese Power: Continuities, Changes, Challenges: Continuities, Changes, Challenges|date=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-315-48931-5|location=Oxon|language=en}} Their military forces were also demobilized, with the daimyo and their samurai followers pensioned into retirement. The move to abolish the feudal domains effectively ended the daimyo era in Japan. This was effectively carried out through the financial collapse of the feudal-domain governments, hampering their capability for resistance.{{Cite book|author1-link=James Huffman (historian)|last=Huffman|first=James L.|title=Modern Japan: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Nationalism|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-8153-2525-3|location=Oxon|pages=4}} In the wake of the changes, many daimyo remained in control of their lands, being appointed as prefectural [governors](/source/Governor_(Japan)); however, they were soon relieved of this duty and called en masse to Tokyo, thereby cutting off any independent base of power from which to potentially rebel.{{cn|date=December 2025}} Despite this, members of former daimyo families remained prominent in government and society, and in some cases continue to remain prominent to the present day. For example, [Morihiro Hosokawa](/source/Morihiro_Hosokawa), the former Prime Minister of Japan, is a descendant of the daimyo of [Kumamoto](/source/Kumamoto).{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} ==See also== *[Japanese clans](/source/Japanese_clans) *[History of Japan](/source/History_of_Japan) *[Daimyo Clock Museum](/source/Daimyo_Clock_Museum) ==References== {{reflist}} == External links == {{Commons category|Daimyō}} {{NIE Poster|Daimio}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090705191859/http://www.asianart.org/Samurai.htm Lords of the Samurai: Legacy of a Daimyo Family] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080604113408/http://www.mcdougallittell.com/ml/ss.htm;jsessionid=HLTy2nNQC77z9JtRL1G2jFjVM1rF4rKv2pGqSpmTmcxSzGdTzXMF!490626194?lvl=4&ID=1006300000021087 World History: Patterns of Interaction] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080531025513/http://journal.ilovephilosophy.com/Article/Samurai--Ch--333-nin-and-the-Bakufu--Between-Cultures-of-Frivolity-and-Frugality-/2254 Samurai, Chōnin and the Bakufu: Between Cultures of Frivolity and Frugality.] {{Nobility by nation}} {{Authority control}} Category:Daimyo Category:Japanese historical terms --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Daimyo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daimyo) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daimyo?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.