The Han (藩, han^?) were the fiefs of feudal clans of Japan that were created by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and existed until their abolition in 1871, three years after the Meiji Restoration. The number of han varied; typically, there were around 300 han in the Edo period. Most were led by a daimyo with an assessment of 10,000 koku or more. The daimyo swore loyalty to the shogun. Sometimes a powerful daimyo let a man govern a domain over 10,000 koku. Those men were not daimyo but their domains were sometimes called han. Under the system of feudalism, a fiefdom, fief, feud or fee, consisted of heritable lands or revenue-producing property granted by a liege lord in return for a vassal knights service (usually fealty, military service, and security). ... Feudalism comes from the Late Latin word feudum, itself borrowed from a Germanic root *fehu, a commonly used term in the Middle Ages which means fief, or land held under certain obligations by feodati. ... A clan is a group of people united by kinship and descent, which is defined by perceived descent from a common ancestor. ... Hideyoshi in old age. ... Occurring in 1871, the abolition of the han system and establishment of the prefecture system (廃藩置県, haihan-chiken; hai abolish + han + chi set down + ken prefecture) was an act to replace the traditional han system and introduce new local government. ... 1871 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Meiji Restoration (Japanese: 明治維新, Meiji-ishin), also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution or Renewal, was a chain of events that led to a change in Japans political and social structure. ... The Edo period (Japanese: 江戸時代, Edo-jidai), also called Tokugawa period, is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1867. ... Daimyo Matsudaira Katamori visits the residence of a retainer. ... A koku (石) is a quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year, then as 180. ... The Tokugawa shogunate or Tokugawa bakufu (徳川幕府) (also known as the Edo bakufu) was a feudal military dictatorship of Japan established in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family until 1868. ...

The richest han was the Kaga han with 1 million koku. It was situated in Kaga, Etchu and Noto Provinces. The article incorporates text from OpenHistory. ... Etchu (越中国; Etchū-no kuni) was an old province in central Honshu, on the Sea of Japan side. ... The article incorporates text from OpenHistory. ...

In July, 1871, all the han were disbanded in favor of the formation of prefectures. 1871 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The prefectures of Japan are the countrys 47 sub-national jurisdictions: one metropolis (都 to), Tokyo; one circuit (道 dō), Hokkaidō; two urban prefectures (府 fu), Osaka and Kyoto; and 43 other prefectures (県 ken). ...

Comparison with provinces

Provinces (国, kuni^?) were settled in an earlier era (mostly the 8th century) by the imperial court. The province was originally an administrative division of the central government. The Muromachi Bakufu appointed a shugo daimyo to govern each province. Most of the shugo daimyo declined in power in the late Muromachi period and were replaced by the sengoku daimyo. Most sengoku daimyo were samurai of lesser rank than shugo daimyo but some shugo daimyo like Shimazu in Satsuma province survived till the Edo period. Before the modern prefecture system was established, the land of Japan was divided into tens of kuni (国, countries), usually known in English as provinces. ... The Muromachi period (Japanese: 室町時代, Muromachi-jidai, also known as the Muromachi era, the Muromachi bakufu, the Ashikaga era, the Ashikaga period, or the Ashikaga bakufu) is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. ... This page is about the Japanese ruler and military rank. ... Satsuma (薩摩国; -no Kuni) was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of Kagoshima prefecture on the island of Kyushu. ...

In the Edo period the provinces remained as geographical names. In contrast, the han was a local governmental structure and, therefore, described the area over which each local government could exercise its power. The han system was determined by the Tokugawa Bakufu (Shogunate): The size of a han varied but according to the Tokugawa Shogunate definition, each han was a dominion from which at least 10,000 koku were harvested each year; A daimyo was defined as the head of a han and served the Shogun directly. If a retainer of a daimyo had a fief of over 10,000 koku, he served not the Shogun but the daimyo - he was therefore not a daimyo, by definition. However, the government and dominion of such samurai were still called han, as a matter of convenience.

When the Tokugawa Shogunate fell, the han system remained in force for a few years into the Meiji period, but was subsequently replaced with the prefectures which remain in use today. The Tokugawa shogunate or Tokugawa bakufu (徳川幕府) (also known as the Edo bakufu) was a feudal military dictatorship of Japan established in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family until 1868. ... The Meiji period (Japanese: 明治時代, Meiji-jidai) denotes the 45-year reign of the Meiji Emperor, running from 8 September 1868 (in the Gregorian calendar, 23 October 1868) to 30 July 1912. ...

Relations between Han and Bakufu

The structures of a han and the Bakufu were principally similar because Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the bakufu, kept the governmental structure which his ancestors had developed when they were small local daimyo in Mikawa province. Some daimyo, especially those whose ancestors had served the ancestors of the Shogun, were lords of the han and also bureaucrats of the bakufu. Most of them governed fiefs rated from one to twelve koku. Other daimyo had no permanent office in the bakufu but were appointed to a temporary office. For the James Clavell novel, see Shogun or for the TV Miniseries. ... Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (previously spelled Iyeyasu); 徳川 家康 (January 31, 1543 – June 1, 1616) was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa bakufu of Japan which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. ... Mikawa (三河国, Mikawa no kuni) is an old province in the area that today forms the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture. ...

Each daimyo served the Shogun and received the right of governance from the Shogunate. The heir of each daimyo was recognized in advance by the Shogunate. When a son of blood or an adopted son of a daimyo was determined as the heir of his father, the son went to Chiyoda castle in Edo and met the Shogun for recognition and permission to succeed. If this procedure was ignored, the succession was cancelled by the Shogunate, and a han was abolished in a practice called toritsubushi (scrapping) in Japanese. Babasaki-mon Gate Fujimi-tamon Edo Castle (江戸城 -jō) was built in 1457 by Ota Dokan in what is now the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo, but was then known as Edo. ...

Though every daimyo swore loyalty to the Shogun, their relationships varied. Aside from personal factors, the relationship between each han and the bakufu was determined and influenced by the relationship between the founder of the han and the shogunate or the ancestors of the Tokugawa. Roughly there were three classifications: Shinpan (Tokugawa's relatives), Fudai (those who had been friendly to Tokugawa from before Sekigahara) and Tozama (those who were against Tokugawa at the time of Sekigahara). There was another classification by size of domain. Fudai (普代村; -mura) is a village located in Shimohei District, Iwate, Japan. ... Combatants forces loyal to Toyotomi Hideyori forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu Commanders Ishida Mitsunari, others Tokugawa Ieyasu, others Strength 82,000 74,000 Casualties The Battle of Sekigahara or popularly known as the Realm Divide was a decisive battle on September 15, 1600 (on the ancient Chinese calendar, October 21 on... Tozama were outside daimyo (lords) in Edo period Japan, not remotely belonging to the band of warriors, not connected to Tokugawa Ieyasu and not involved in the politics which concerned the Tokugawa government. ...

Rank of Han

Han varied by size and therefore by income. Every han was classified by the shogunate mainly by size. But the classification was determined by political significance, and han and daimyo were expected to behave suitably to their class.

The largest han occupied domains wider than a province and their daimyo were called kokushu, provincial lord. In Mutsu and Dewa provinces major daimyo were also granted this class, as their han occupied the whole province. Maeda, Shimazu, Ikeda, Date and other major daimyo were classified as provincial lords.

Some han were assigned to the highest rank provincial lord, even though their han were small, which could become a financial burden in some situations.

The lowest ranked daimyo were forbidden to build a castle. In the early years of the Edo period the Shogunate enacted the one province, one castle policy but later multiple castles were built in a province.

See also

• Abolition of the han system
• Aizu
• List of Han