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==Governance and Organization==
==Governance and Organization==
The domain was at once a political entity to be governed, and at the same time, in some important conceptual respects, an extension of the lord's household. Though [[Uesugi Harunori]], who famously wrote "the lord exists for the sake of the state and the people; the state and the people do not exist for the sake of the lord,"<ref>Ravina, ''Land and Lordship'', 1.</ref> likely represents the attitudes of many ''daimyô'', this was certainly not the case for all lords of all domains across the period, and would in any case have been acted upon quite variously.
The domain was at once a political entity to be governed, and at the same time, in some important conceptual respects, an extension of the lord's household. Though [[Uesugi Harunori]], who famously wrote "the lord exists for the sake of the state and the people; the state and the people do not exist for the sake of the lord,"<ref>Ravina, ''Land and Lordship'', 1.</ref> likely represents the attitudes of many ''daimyô'', this was certainly not the case for all lords of all domains across the period, and would in any case have been acted upon quite variously.
Though the ''daimyô'' was nominally and theoretically the ruler of his domain, a great deal of the actual political and administrative work was done by ''[[karo|karô]]'' (House Elders) and ''[[rusuiyaku]]'' (officials overseeing matters in the lord's absence, in Edo, other major cities, or in the domain). While many ''daimyô'' certainly participated in policy discussions, and expressed opinions, desires, or orders, a great deal was often decided or performed by retainers, who then simply obtained the ''daimyô's'' formal [[seal]] of approval. Much as might be said about the shogun, the [[Emperor of China]] in many periods, or various other rulers throughout world history, it was arguably ritual and performative activity which more heavily dominated a ''daimyô's'' time, and his obligations and role as ruler.<ref>Yamamoto Hirofumi, ''Sankin kôtai'', Kodansha gendai shinsho (1998), 187-188.</ref>
For many domains, we can consider the administration of the domain as consisting of two often conflicting sets of concerns: ''kasei'' (家政), the management of the lord's household, and ''kokusei'' (国政), the management of the "state."<ref>Luke Roberts, "Mori Yoshiki: Samurai Government Officer," in [[Anne Walthall]] (ed.), ''The Human Tradition in Modern Japan'', Scholarly Resources, Inc. (2002), 39.</ref> To a certain extent, the domain certainly did exist to support the lord and his household, both because of basic feudal obligation, this being his feudal domain, and in order to help effect the lord's ability to fulfill his feudal obligations to the shogun. But the feudal relationship went both ways, and a lord had a certain responsibility to the people of his domain, both purely out of reciprocal obligation as their lord (service in exchange for protection), and in order to ensure the people's ability to maintain a prosperous enough domain (e.g. growing enough food, and paying enough in taxes) to support his own personal and political needs. Thus, the entire relationship was, as in most if not all polities, reciprocal to a large extent.
For many domains, we can consider the administration of the domain as consisting of two often conflicting sets of concerns: ''kasei'' (家政), the management of the lord's household, and ''kokusei'' (国政), the management of the "state."<ref>Luke Roberts, "Mori Yoshiki: Samurai Government Officer," in [[Anne Walthall]] (ed.), ''The Human Tradition in Modern Japan'', Scholarly Resources, Inc. (2002), 39.</ref> To a certain extent, the domain certainly did exist to support the lord and his household, both because of basic feudal obligation, this being his feudal domain, and in order to help effect the lord's ability to fulfill his feudal obligations to the shogun. But the feudal relationship went both ways, and a lord had a certain responsibility to the people of his domain, both purely out of reciprocal obligation as their lord (service in exchange for protection), and in order to ensure the people's ability to maintain a prosperous enough domain (e.g. growing enough food, and paying enough in taxes) to support his own personal and political needs. Thus, the entire relationship was, as in most if not all polities, reciprocal to a large extent.
