History glossary
daimyo
powerful regional lords who governed domains in early modern Japan.
- Category
- Social and political class
- Region
- Japan
- Date range
- Medieval period-1871
What it means
Daimyo were powerful Japanese lords who governed domains, collected revenue and maintained samurai followings. Under the Tokugawa shogunate they retained local authority but were monitored, classified and constrained by the central warrior government.
Related terms
Stories using this term
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The Meiji Restoration
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The Rise of the Medieval Church
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The Qing Dynasty
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The Ottoman Empire
From a small frontier principality in Anatolia, the Ottomans built a multiethnic empire across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa before reform, nationalism, and world war ended imperial rule.
