On the Fief System of the Hikone Daimiate

An Attempt at a Historico-Geographical Study of the Daimiate

Abstract

The daimiate (feudal manor of a daimio) was the most important regional unit of the Edo Era. Studying the daimiate, therefore, is essential to throw light on the regional stucture of Japan's historical past.
Many problems, such as comparison of economic policies of various daimiates, or the relations of a daimiate and its castle town, will come into question. This report tries to pursue the problem of the fief system of the daimiate.
In the early feudal age, vassals of a daimio (feudal lord) were generally provided with actual land as fief, while later, in the Edo Era, annual stipend in the form of rice gradually replaced the older method. In the North-Eastern and the South-Western Japan, however, where the clans of the early feudal age still preserved theis rule over the same district, the older fief method remained for a long period. In the case of the Kinki District (central Japan), only the Hikone and the Kii Daimiates retained it.
In the Hikone Daimiate, the samurai (upper-class vassal) was given land receiving uniformly forty per cent of its annual product as fief. As the amount of rice received by each samurai differs depending on the quality of soil at his estate, allotment of land was renewed at the start of the system. Important localities such as principal roads and the villages along the shore of the Lake Bina, were put under direct control of the daimio. Localities in danger of flood or drought were carefully excepted from those prepared for vassals. Also, the estate of a vassal was scattered over several places to avoid concentration. Thus, when a disaster occurred, damages were shared equally by all vassals. Besides, it had an effect of preventing a vassal to become overpowerful in his estate.