A child of the Tokugawa shogunate's direct vassal (called "hatamoto" in Japanese) was normally appointed as either a castle guard or a page and served as an aide of the shogun before starting out on his career as a shogunate government official.
旗本の子弟はまず両番に任ぜられ、将軍の側近として認められて、幕府官僚として出世してゆくのが通例であった。