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Similar to the feudal system in Europe, they held dynastic control over territories that had varying degrees of autonomy; lesser territorial lords were pledged to support greater ones. A warrior-caste of samurai soldiers likewise gave their personal loyalty to the support of lords from these families.

At the beginning of the Edo period, their clans and territories were reorganized into the han, based on their production of rice. Daimyo headed hans assessed at 10 000 koku (50 000 bushels) or more.

Especially at the beginning of the Edo period, they fell into three main groups: tozama daimyo (who as a result of the Battle of SekigaharaThe Battle of Sekigahara ( Sekigahara-no-tatakai was a decisive battle on September 15, 1600 (on the ancient Chinese calendar, October 21 on the modern calendar) that cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu. Though it would take three more y had agreed to submit to the rule of Tokugawa IeyasuTokugawa Ieyasu (also (archaic) Iyeyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu January 31 1543 June 1 1616) was the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, and is commonly known as one of the "three great unifiers" of feudal Japan (the other two are Oda Nobunaga and Toyotom), fudai daimyo (who prior to that time had already been vassals of the Tokugawa), and shinpan (who were related to the Tokugawa).

The tozama daimyo held larger fiefs, with the KagaKaga (; -no kuni) was an old province in the area that is today part of Ishikawa prefecture. Ruled by the Maeda family, the capital of Kaga was Kanazawa. Kaga bordered on Echizen, Etchu, Hida, and Noto provinces. han of Ishikawa PrefectureIshikawa prefecture ( Ishikawa prefectural symbol Capital Kanazawa Region: Chubu Island: Honshu Area Total % water Ranked 35th 4,185. 22 km² ?% Population Total ( Jan 1, 2003) Density Ranked 36th 1,180,744 282/km² Districts:8 Municipalities:41 ISO 3166-2:, headed by the Maeda clan, assessed at 1 000 000 koku. Other famous tozama clans included the Mori of ChoshuNagato ( Ja. no kuni), often called Choshu ( Choshu), was an old province of Japan. It was a province at the extreme western end of Honshu, in the area that is today Yamaguchi prefecture. Nagato bordered on Iwami and Suo provinces. In 1871 with the abolit, the Shimazu of SatsumaThis article is about the province. For alternative meanings of the word Satsuma see Satsuma (disambig Satsuma (; -no Kuni) was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of Kagoshima prefecture on the island of Kyushu. Its abbreviation is Sass, the Date of Sendai, the Uesugi of YonezawaYonezawa (; -shi) is a city located in Yamagata, Japan. As of 2003, the city has an estimated population of 94,227 and the density of 171. 72 persons per km². The total area is 548. The city was founded on April 1, 1889. External links in Japanese., and the Hachisuka of Awa. Initially, the Tokugawa regarded them as potentially rebellious, but for most of the Edo period, marriages between the Tokugawa and the tozama, as well as control policies such as sankin kotai, resulted in peaceful relations.

The shimpan were collaterals of Ieyasu, such as the Matsudaira, or descendants of Ieyasu other than in the main line of succession. Several shimpan, including the Tokugawa of Owari ( Nagoya), Kii ( Wakayama) and Mito, as well as the Matsudaira of Fukui and Aizu, held large han.

A few fudai daimyo, such as the Ii of Hikone, held large han, but many were small. The shogunate placed many fudai at strategic locations to guard the trade routes and the approaches to Edo. Also, many fudai daimyo took positions in the Edo shogunate, some rising to the position of roju.

The term daimyo is also sometimes used to refer to the leading figures of such clans, also called "warlords". It was usually, though not exclusively, from these warlords that a shogun arose or a regent was chosen.

See also: History of Japan, Sankin-kotai