Changes

Initially voluntary, the system was made mandatory for ''tozama daimyô'' in [[1635]] in a re-issuance of the ''[[buke shohatto]]'' ("various laws for warrior families"); this was expanded to all ''daimyô'' in [[1642]]. Lords were obligated to maintain a residence in Edo, where members of their close family would reside as hostages against the ''daimyô's'' disobedience or rebellion. As of [[1648]], each lord's heir was obligated to travel to Edo as well, alternating with his father, so that either the lord or his heir would be in Edo at any given time. Retired ''daimyô'' were also obliged to travel to Edo occasionally, to be re-confirmed in their being granted leave to remain in their domain (or in Edo, as they wished).<ref name=nagairei>Nagai Hiroshi 永井博, ''Sankin kôtai to daimyô gyôretsu'' 参勤交代と大名行列 (Tokyo: Yôsensha 洋泉社 MOOK, 2012), 126-131.</ref>

Initially voluntary, the system was made mandatory for ''tozama daimyô'' in [[1635]] in a re-issuance of the ''[[buke shohatto]]'' ("various laws for warrior families"); this was expanded to all ''daimyô'' in [[1642]]. Lords were obligated to maintain a residence in Edo, where members of their close family would reside as hostages against the ''daimyô's'' disobedience or rebellion. As of [[1648]], each lord's heir was obligated to travel to Edo as well, alternating with his father, so that either the lord or his heir would be in Edo at any given time. Retired ''daimyô'' were also obliged to travel to Edo occasionally, to be re-confirmed in their being granted leave to remain in their domain (or in Edo, as they wished).<ref name=nagairei>Nagai Hiroshi 永井博, ''Sankin kôtai to daimyô gyôretsu'' 参勤交代と大名行列 (Tokyo: Yôsensha 洋泉社 MOOK, 2012), 126-131.</ref>

From [[1684]] onwards, the ''fudai daimyô'' had to make their ''sankin'' journeys every six months. Though most ''daimyô'' were obliged to perform this journey regularly, some ''tozama daimyô'' were granted exceptions, in most cases due to their great service to the realm in other respects, or after successfully arguing for the excessiveness of the burden. These included [[Satsuma han]], which was particularly powerful and had a particularly lengthy journey; [[Tsushima han]] which governed relations and trade with [[Joseon|Korea]]; and [[Fukuoka han|Fukuoka]] and [[Saga han]], which contributed to the defense of the port of [[Nagasaki]]. Some northern domains which contributed to responses to Russian incursions also received temporary exemptions at times.<ref>[[Mark Ravina]], ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan'', Stanford University Press (1999), 152.</ref>

From [[1684]] onwards, the ''fudai daimyô'' had to make their ''sankin'' journeys every six months. Though most ''daimyô'' were obliged to perform this journey regularly, some ''tozama daimyô'' were granted exceptions, in most cases due to their great service to the realm in other respects, or after successfully arguing for the excessiveness of the burden. These included [[Tsushima han]] which governed relations and trade with [[Joseon|Korea]], and [[Fukuoka han|Fukuoka]] and [[Saga han]], which contributed to the defense of the port of [[Nagasaki]]. Some northern domains which contributed to responses to Russian incursions also received temporary exemptions at times.<ref>[[Mark Ravina]], ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan'', Stanford University Press (1999), 152.</ref> ''Daimyô'' could also request, and be granted, exceptions from ''sankin kôtai'' on a one-time basis, when the lord was ill or the Edo mansion had burned down, or when the domain was fulfilling its obligations to the shogunate through corvée contributions to public works that year.<ref name=nagairei/>

The ''sankin kôtai'' system ensured a reliable flow of considerable numbers of elite travelers across the country, contributing considerably to both official and private construction of [[post-stations]] and inns (and their surrounding towns), lighthouses and port facilities, maintenance of highways, and expansion of travel-related services, such as networks of [[hikyaku|messengers]], [[toiyaba|porters, and horses]]. [[Corvee|Corvée]] labor was employed to provide a considerable portion of the porters, boatmen, and the like. Barrier checkpoints called ''[[sekisho]]'' were established along the highways to regulate travel; among their functions, too, was to enforce that firearms not be carried into Edo (so as to help prevent rebellion), and that women (who might be hostage members of ''daimyô'' families) not be allowed to leave.

The ''sankin kôtai'' system ensured a reliable flow of considerable numbers of elite travelers across the country, contributing considerably to both official and private construction of [[post-stations]] and inns (and their surrounding towns), lighthouses and port facilities, maintenance of highways, and expansion of travel-related services, such as networks of [[hikyaku|messengers]], [[toiyaba|porters, and horses]]. [[Corvee|Corvée]] labor was employed to provide a considerable portion of the porters, boatmen, and the like. Barrier checkpoints called ''[[sekisho]]'' were established along the highways to regulate travel; among their functions, too, was to enforce that firearms not be carried into Edo (so as to help prevent rebellion), and that women (who might be hostage members of ''daimyô'' families) not be allowed to leave.

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. To give one example of the size and extent of the undertaking of ''sankin kôtai'' journeys, Tosa domain generally moved 1,500 to 3,000 people and their baggage each year between Tosa 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>  

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. To give one example of the size and extent of the undertaking of ''sankin kôtai'' journeys, Tosa domain generally moved 1,500 to 3,000 people and their baggage each year between Tosa 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.

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>

The ''sankin kôtai'' system came gradually to an end in the [[Bakumatsu period]]. Obligations were relaxed in [[1862]], leading to many ''daimyô'' abandoning their Edo mansions, or at least severely reducing the number of retainers they had stationed there. By some estimates, as many as 360,000 people left Edo in the 1860s to return to their home domains, representing too a severe decline in commercial demand for goods and services, and thus having a dramatic impact on the city's economy as well.<ref>Takashi Fujitani, ''Splendid Monarchy'', University of California Press (1996), 39.</ref>

The ''sankin kôtai'' system came gradually to an end in the [[Bakumatsu period]]. Obligations were relaxed in [[1862]], leading to many ''daimyô'' abandoning their Edo mansions, or at least severely reducing the number of retainers they had stationed there. By some estimates, as many as 360,000 people left Edo in the 1860s to return to their home domains, representing too a severe decline in commercial demand for goods and services, and thus having a dramatic impact on the city's economy as well.<ref>Takashi Fujitani, ''Splendid Monarchy'', University of California Press (1996), 39.</ref>