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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/>

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/>

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. These numbers, however, represent only the people brought along from the home province, and do not include the many porters and laborers typically hired to carry luggage and otherwise accompany the samurai entourage along the road.<ref name=honjin53/>

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. These numbers, however, represent only the people brought along from the home province, and do not include the many porters and laborers typically hired to carry luggage and otherwise accompany the samurai entourage along the road.<ref name=honjin53/> For ''daimyô'' with the largest territories (over 200,000 ''koku''), this core group of retainers generally included 15-20 retainers on horseback, 120-130 ''[[ashigaru]]'', and 250-300 ''[[chugen|chûgen]]'' (low-ranking figures between [[samurai]] and commoner status). ''Daimyô'' with a fief between 100,000 and 200,000 ''koku'' might be accompanied by ten mounted retainers, 80 ''ashigaru'', and 140-150 ''chûgen''. For those above 50,000 ''koku'', perhaps seven mounted officials, 60 ''ashigaru'', and 100 ''chûgen''. And for the lowest-ranking ''daimyô'', three mounted officials, twenty ''ashigaru'', and thirty ''chûgen''.<ref>Miyamoto, 168.</ref>

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. [[Wakayama han]], the domain of the [[Kishu Tokugawa clan|Kishû Tokugawa clan]], to give another example, had a total annual revenue of 30-40,000 ''[[currency|ryô]]'' in [[1831]], when it spent 12,930 ''ryô'' on the lord's journey to Edo.<ref name=honjin53/> In total, domains typically 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>  

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. [[Wakayama han]], the domain of the [[Kishu Tokugawa clan|Kishû Tokugawa clan]], to give another example, had a total annual revenue of 30-40,000 ''[[currency|ryô]]'' in [[1831]], when it spent 12,930 ''ryô'' on the lord's journey to Edo.<ref name=honjin53/> In total, domains typically 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>