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In the early Edo period, most ''daimyô'' of Kyushu, Shikoku, and western Honshû, traveled by ship to [[Osaka]]; ''[[sekibune]]'' were converted into luxurious ''gozabune'' for this portion of the journey, and riverboats were used to travel up the [[Yodo River]] from Osaka to [[Fushimi]], from which the ''daimyô'' would then travel overland to Kyoto proper, and then along the [[Tokaido|Tôkaidô]] to Edo. Later on, however, many ''daimyô'' switched to traveling overland for as much of the journey as they could, avoiding sea travel. The [[Shimazu clan]] lords of [[Satsuma han]] likely had the longest journey; it typically took 40 to 60 days to travel the 440 ''[[Japanese Measurements|ri]]'' to Edo. Though they originally sailed to Osaka from Kumisaki (Satsuma Sendai) or Wakimoto (Akune) on Kyushu's west coast, or from Hososhima in [[Hyuga province|Hyûga province]] on Kyushu's east coast, they later switched to marching overland across Kyushu to [[Shimonoseki]], and then walking the [[Sanyodo|San'yôdô]] to Osaka.<ref>Gallery labels, [[Shokoshuseikan|Shôkoshûseikan]], Kagoshima.</ref>
In the early Edo period, most ''daimyô'' of Kyushu, Shikoku, and western Honshû, traveled by ship to [[Osaka]]; ''[[sekibune]]'' were converted into luxurious ''gozabune'' for this portion of the journey, and riverboats were used to travel up the [[Yodo River]] from Osaka to [[Fushimi]], from which the ''daimyô'' would then travel overland to Kyoto proper, and then along the [[Tokaido|Tôkaidô]] to Edo. Later on, however, many ''daimyô'' switched to traveling overland for as much of the journey as they could, avoiding sea travel. The [[Shimazu clan]] lords of [[Satsuma han]] likely had the longest journey; it typically took 40 to 60 days to travel the 440 ''[[Japanese Measurements|ri]]'' to Edo. Though they originally sailed to Osaka from Kumisaki (Satsuma Sendai) or Wakimoto (Akune) on Kyushu's west coast, or from Hososhima in [[Hyuga province|Hyûga province]] on Kyushu's east coast, they later switched to marching overland across Kyushu to [[Shimonoseki]], and then walking the [[Sanyodo|San'yôdô]] to Osaka.<ref>Gallery labels, [[Shokoshuseikan|Shôkoshûseikan]], Kagoshima.</ref>
The financial costs of ''sankin kôtai'' were among the heaviest burdens upon ''daimyô'' budgets, leading to many ''daimyô'' incurring very significant debts over the course of the period. Despite the expense, however, ''daimyô'' often felt obligated to maintain large entourages and lavish traveling conditions in order to maintain impressions of their power and prestige; not only the number of men in one's entourage, but the number of spears preceding and following the ''daimyô'' in procession, the number of certain types of baskets and baggage, among other elements of performance and display, meant a lot in terms of representing one's prestige and power to all those who could see it. For this reason, though the shogunate repeatedly tried to restrict the allowable size of ''sankin kôtai'' entourages, ''daimyô'' regularly exceeded the official limits. Numbers varied widely from domain to domain, and across the period, with [[Satsuma han]], for example, bringing an entourage of over 1,200 men to Edo at one point, and only around 500 at other times in the period. Still, some rough estimates might be given. On average, we might be able to say that domains of around 10,000 ''koku'' in size typically mobilized only three or four mounted warriors, and another fifty men, while those around 50,000 ''koku'' had retinues of, on average, 160-170 men, including perhaps seven on horseback. ''Daimyô'' wielding territories in the range of 100,000 ''koku'' were escorted by entourages of perhaps 230-240 men, including ten or so on horseback, while the largest domains, as seen in the examples of Satsuma and Tosa varied especially widely; that said, a representative mission from this group might average out to around 450 men, including 15-20 on horseback.<ref>''Honjin ni tomatta daimyô tachi'', Toyohashi, Aichi: Futagawa-juku honjin shiryôkan (1996), 53.</ref>
The financial costs of ''sankin kôtai'' were among the heaviest burdens upon ''daimyô'' budgets, leading to many ''daimyô'' incurring very significant debts over the course of the period. Despite the expense, however, ''daimyô'' often felt obligated to maintain large entourages and lavish traveling conditions in order to maintain impressions of their power and prestige; not only the number of men in one's entourage, but the number of spears preceding and following the ''daimyô'' in procession, the number of certain types of baskets and baggage, among other elements of performance and display, meant a lot in terms of representing one's prestige and power to all those who could see it. For this reason, though the shogunate repeatedly tried to restrict the allowable size of ''sankin kôtai'' entourages, ''daimyô'' regularly exceeded the official limits. For example, a set of regulations issued in [[1711]] limited the largest domains to no more than four hundred and a few tens of men, plus another 15-20 mounted warriors. ''Daimyô'' with territories assessed at 100-200,000 ''koku'' were to have roughly half that number (200-something men, plus ten mounted warriors). Those between 50-100,000 ''koku'' might have around 160 men, plus roughly seven mounted warriors. And finally, the smallest domains were to have entourages numbering around fifty, with only three or four mounted warriors among them.<ref name=honjin53>''Honjin ni tomatta daimyô tachi'', Toyohashi, Aichi: Futagawa-juku honjin shiryôkan (1996), 53.</ref>
The actual numbers often far exceeded these regulations, but also varied widely from domain to domain, and across the period, with [[Satsuma han]], for example, bringing an entourage of over 1,200 men to Edo in [[1635]], but only around 500-600 on many other occasions. [[Kaga han]] occasionally brought as many as 2,500 men to Edo.<ref name=honjin53/> Though still one of the largest domains, and thus something of an exception, [[Tosa han]] has been oft-discussed as an example of the size and extent of the undertaking of ''sankin kôtai'' journeys. Tosa generally moved 1,500 to 3,000 people and their baggage each year between the home province and Edo, a 500 mile journey over mountains, seas, and highway. In 1697, over 2,800 people accompanied the lord.<ref>These numbers include footsoldiers (''[[ashigaru]]''), menial attendants, and others, and only a small portion of mounted samurai. Constantine Vaporis, Tour of Duty: Samurai, Military Service in Edo, and the Culture of Early Modern Japan (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2008), 74.</ref> Three years earlier, while the lord was resident in Edo, there were over 4,550 other Tosa people resident there with him. The domain had to pay porters, innkeepers, shippers, and food suppliers for the journey, and then also suppliers of food and other necessities (and luxuries) to this large Tosa population in the capital, as well as carpenters and artisans to service the [[Tosa Edo mansion|domain mansion]]. In 1688, Tosa's total domain budget was 3,953 ''[[currency|kan]]'', of which 300 paid for the ''sankin kôtai'' journey, 1,422 paid for expenses related to the mansion in Edo, and 1,042 went to paying off loans from Osaka and Edo merchants. In total, in general, domains spent between 40% and 70% of their annual budgets on costs related to ''sankin kôtai''.<ref>[[Luke Roberts]], ''Mercantilism in a Japanese Domain'', Cambridge University Press (1998), 18.</ref>
In addition to simply being resident in Edo for a certain period of time, the performance of ''sankin kôtai'' involved formal audiences with the shogun, in which the ''daimyô'' would officially present himself to the shogun, as performance of military duty, in observance of feudal fealty to his lord. During a ''daimyô's'' time in [[Edo castle]], only the ''daimyô'' himself and a certain number of higher-ranking retainers would actually enter the castle; the remainder of his retinue, some considerable number of middle- and low-ranking samurai, would remain outside the castle, sitting around on the ground, eating, drinking, chatting, sleeping, etc. Both when arriving in Edo, and when departing, the clan would send a formal request to the ''[[roju|rôjû]]'' some six months ahead of time; the response would declare when they would be expected at the castle for formal audiences.<ref name=nagairei/> Once actually arriving in the city, a message would be sent to announce their arrival, and either a member of the ''rôjû'', or for lower-ranking ''daimyô'' a ''[[soshaban|sôshaban]]'', would come to the lord's mansion and deliver orders to venture up to the castle at a specific day and time to be received by the shogun; high-ranking ''daimyô'' would be received individually, while lower-ranking lords were received only in groups.<ref>Yamamoto Hirofumi, ''Sankin kôtai'', Kodansha gendai shinsho (1998), 184-187.</ref>
In addition to simply being resident in Edo for a certain period of time, the performance of ''sankin kôtai'' involved formal audiences with the shogun, in which the ''daimyô'' would officially present himself to the shogun, as performance of military duty, in observance of feudal fealty to his lord. During a ''daimyô's'' time in [[Edo castle]], only the ''daimyô'' himself and a certain number of higher-ranking retainers would actually enter the castle; the remainder of his retinue, some considerable number of middle- and low-ranking samurai, would remain outside the castle, sitting around on the ground, eating, drinking, chatting, sleeping, etc. Both when arriving in Edo, and when departing, the clan would send a formal request to the ''[[roju|rôjû]]'' some six months ahead of time; the response would declare when they would be expected at the castle for formal audiences.<ref name=nagairei/> Once actually arriving in the city, a message would be sent to announce their arrival, and either a member of the ''rôjû'', or for lower-ranking ''daimyô'' a ''[[soshaban|sôshaban]]'', would come to the lord's mansion and deliver orders to venture up to the castle at a specific day and time to be received by the shogun; high-ranking ''daimyô'' would be received individually, while lower-ranking lords were received only in groups.<ref>Yamamoto Hirofumi, ''Sankin kôtai'', Kodansha gendai shinsho (1998), 184-187.</ref>
