Daimyo (feudal lords) were classified into Shinpan daimyo (descendants of Ieyasu TOKUGAWA), Fudai daimyo (hereditary vassals to the Tokugawa family) and Tozama daimyo (non-Tokugawa feudal lords), all of which were controlled by Tokugawa shogunate through Sankinkotai (a system under which feudal lords were required to spend every other year in their residences in Edo) and Kaieki (change or forfeit of ranks).
諸大名を親藩、譜代大名、外様大名に分け、参勤交代や改易によってこれを統制した。