Daimyo and Han 大名と藩

 The daimyo was a local lord especially in the Edo period. They were ruled by the shogun, but they had their own territories. The territory and government of the daimyo was called “Han”. The daimyo had an autonomy right of their territory.

 There were about 300 hans in the Edo period. The biggest daimyo, who was from Maeda clan, got a huge revenue which was 100 times as much as the smallest daimyo. The revenues of the daimyos were very different. 

 Most of daimyos lived in the castles in their territories. 

　　　　  Hikone castle in Shiga prefecture; 彦根城



Castle tower of Hikone; 彦根城天守閣

 However, the daimyo stayed in Edo (old name of Tokyo) one year, and stayed in their territory one year by turns. They did it in order to show their loyalty to the shogun (Tokugawa). It is called "Sankin-koutai 参勤交代". The daimyo’s wife and the eldest son lived in Edo as hostages.


Procession of the daimyo ＠上山城郷土資料館、山形県

 By the way, the daimyo had several mansions in Edo. The first one was a main residence, the second one was a substitute residence in the case of the fire, and the third one was used as a villa usually.

 Young women in Edo wanted to work at the daimyo’s residence in order to develop their careers. They could learn good manner while working in the daimyo residence. That means they got a good chance to marry a gentleman from the upper class. Plus women could earn good salaries from the daimyo. Those were written in “Life in Edo (chapter 6)".
 Reference: Gorgeous belongings of daimyo, Edo-Tokyo Museum

Tokyo has gardens of daimyos even until now, such as
 Rikugien　http://teien.tokyo-park.or.jp/en/rikugien/index.html
 Koisikawakourakuenn　http://teien.tokyo-park.or.jp/en/koishikawa/index.html
 Hamarikyu　http://teien.tokyo-park.or.jp/en/hama-rikyu/index.html
It's worth visiting!

Rikugien in the spring、六義園

 江戸生活事典（６章　女人総記）によると、大名屋敷で働くことは、金銭面でも良かったし、礼儀作法を学べて良い家に嫁げるということで、女性にとって良い事だったそうです。
参考：将軍家大名家の豪華な道具が展示されています　 江戸東京博物館 Part1

Previous post (about farmer’s life near Edo) : Yoshino's daily life 08, November and December in 1849（嘉永2年晩秋）

Next post (Glossary about old road and transportation system) : Kaido (Highway) and Syukuba (Post town) 街道と宿場