In the pre-war days, the term meant a political system itself in the narrow sense, but along with the development of the historical science in the post-war era, the term has become to mean a concept that indicates the features of entire society system of the early modern Japan.
戦前段階には狭義に政治体制自体を指していたが、戦後の歴史学の進展に伴い、近世日本の社会体制全体の特色を示す概念として使われるようになった。