History glossary
alternate attendance
the Tokugawa policy requiring daimyo to spend regular time in Edo.
- Category
- Political control system
- Region
- Japan
- Date range
- 17th-19th centuries
What it means
Alternate attendance, or sankin kotai, required daimyo to maintain residences in Edo and spend regular periods there. The system drained domain resources, kept daimyo families close to Tokugawa authority and made rebellion harder to organise.
