Everything about Sankin K Tai totally explained
Sankin kōtai (参勤交代) ("alternate attendance") was a policy of the
shogunate during most of the
Edo period of
Japanese history. The purpose was to control the
daimyo. In adopting the policy, the shogunate was continuing and refining similar policies of
Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In
1635, a law required sankin kotai, which was already an established custom. The law remained in force until
1862.
The details changed throughout the twenty-six decades of
Tokugawa rule, but generally, the requirement was that the daimyo of every
han move periodically between
Edo and his han, typically spending alternate years in each place. His wife and heir were required to remain in Edo as hostages. The expenditures necessary to maintain lavish residences in both places, and for the procession to and from Edo, placed financial strains on the daimyo making them unable to wage war. The frequent travel of the daimyos encouraged road building and the construction of inns and facilities along the routes, generating economic activity.
In principle, the sankin kotai was a military service to the shogun. Each daimyo was required to furnish a number of soldiers (
samurai) in accordance with the assessment of his han. These soldiers accompanied the daimyo on the processions to and from Edo.
With hundreds of daimyo entering or leaving Edo each year, processions (大名行列
daimyo gyoretsu) were almost daily occurrences in the shogunal capital. The main routes to the provinces were the
kaidō. Special lodgings, the
honjin (本陣), were available to daimyo during their travels.
The sankin kotai figures prominently in some Edo period
ukiyo-e (woodblock prints), as well as in popular
theater such as
kabuki and
bunraku.
Similar practices
King Louis XIV the Great of
France instituted a similar practice upon the completion of his
Palace at Versailles, requiring the
French nobility, particularly the ancient
Noblesse d'épée (nobility of the sword) to spend six months of each year at the palace, for reasons similar to those of the Japanese shoguns. The nobles were expected to assist the King in his daily duties and state and personal functions, including meals, parties, and, for the privileged, rising from and getting into bed, bathing, and going to church.
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