Hatamoto
Encyclopedia
A was a samurai
in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate
of feudal Japan
. While all three of the shogun
ates in Japanese history
had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as gokenin
. However, in the Edo period
, hatamoto were the upper vassal
s of the Tokugawa house, and the gokenin were the lower vassals. There was no precise difference between the two in terms of income
level, but hatamoto had the right to an audience with the shogun, where gokenin did not. The word hatamoto literally means "at the base of the flag" and is often translated as "bannerman". Another term for the Edo-era hatamoto was , sometimes rendered as "direct Shogunal hatamoto", which serves to illustrate the difference between them and the preceding generation of hatamoto who served various lords.
. The term was used for the direct retainers of a lord; as the name suggests, the men who were grouped "at the base of the flag". Many lords had hatamoto; however, when the Tokugawa clan achieved ascendancy in 1600, its hatamoto system was institutionalized, and it is to that system which we mainly refer today when using the term.
In the eyes of the Tokugawa Shogunate, hatamoto were retainers who had served the family
from its days in Mikawa
onward. However, the ranks of the hatamoto also included people from outside the hereditary ranks of the Tokugawa house. Retainer families of formerly defeated provincial strongmen like Takeda
, Hōjō
, or Imagawa
were included, as were branch families of feudal lords. Also included were heirs to lords whose domains were confiscated (for example, Asano Daigaku, the brother of Asano Naganori
), local power figures in remote parts of the country who never became daimyo
; and the families of Kamakura Period
and Muromachi Period
Shugo
(Governors) : some of these include the Akamatsu
, Besshō
(branch of the Akamatsu), Hōjō
, Hatakeyama, Kanamori, Imagawa, Mogami
, Nagai
, Oda
, Ōtomo
, Takeda, Toki
, Takenaka
(branch of the Toki), Takigawa, Tsutsui, and Yamana
families. The act of becoming a hatamoto was known as .
Many hatamoto fought in the Boshin War
of 1868, on both sides of the conflict.
The hatamoto remained retainers of the main Tokugawa clan
after the fall of the Shogunate in 1868, and followed the Tokugawa to their new domain of Shizuoka. The hatamoto lost their status along with all other samurai in Japan following the abolition of the domains
in 1871.
The line between hatamoto and gokenin, especially amongst hatamoto of lower rank, was not rigid, and the title of hatamoto had more to do with rank rather than income rating. In the context of an army
, it could be compared to the position of an officer
. Throughout the Edo period, hatamoto held the distinction that if they possessed high enough rank, they had the right to personal audience with the shogun (these hatamoto were known as ome-mie ijō). All hatamoto can be divided into two categories, the kuramaitori, who took their incomes straight from Tokugawa granaries, and the jikatatori, who held land scattered throughout Japan. Another level of status distinction amongst the hatamoto was the class of kōtai-yoriai, men who were heads of hatamoto families and held provincial fiefs, and had alternate attendance (sankin kotai
) duties like the daimyo. However, as kōtai-yoriai were men of very high income in terms of the spectrum of hatamoto stipends, not all jikatatori hatamoto had the duty of alternate attendance. The dividing line between the upper hatamoto and the fudai
daimyo—the domain lords who were also vassals of the Tokugawa house—was 10,000 koku
.
Some hatamoto could be granted an increase in income and thus promoted to the rank of fudai daimyo. However, this did not happen frequently. One example of such a promotion is the case of the Hayashi family of Kaibuchi (later known as Jozai han
), who began as jikatatori hatamoto but who became fudai daimyo and went on to play a prominent role in the Boshin War
, despite their domain's relatively small size of 10,000 koku.
The term for a hatamoto with income in the neighborhood of 8,000 koku or greater was taishin hatamoto ("greater hatamoto").
The hatamoto who lived in Edo resided in their own private districts and oversaw their own police
work and security
. Men from hatamoto ranks could serve in a variety of roles in the Tokugawa administration, including service in the police force as yoriki
inspectors, city magistrate
s, magistrates or tax collector
s of direct Tokugawa house land, members of the wakadoshiyori
council, and many other positions.
The expression was in popular use to denote their numbers, but a 1722 study put their numbers at about 5,000. Adding the gokenin
brought the number up to about 17,000.
, Tōyama Kagemoto
, Katsu Kaishu
, William Adams
, Enomoto Takeaki
, and Hijikata Toshizō
.
in the Edo
area and elsewhere. Two hatamoto who were directly involved in the development of the martial arts were Yagyū Munenori
and Yamaoka Tesshū
. Munenori's family became hereditary sword instructors to the shogun.
's manga Hidamari no ki.
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
of feudal Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. While all three of the shogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
ates in Japanese history
History of Japan
The history of Japan encompasses the history of the islands of Japan and the Japanese people, spanning the ancient history of the region to the modern history of Japan as a nation state. Following the last ice age, around 12,000 BC, the rich ecosystem of the Japanese Archipelago fostered human...
had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as gokenin
Gokenin
A was initially a vassal of the shogunate of the Kamakura and the Muromachi periods. In exchange for protection and the right to become shugo or jitō , in times of peace a gokenin had the duty to protect the imperial court and Kamakura, in case of war had to fight with his forces under the...
. However, in the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
, hatamoto were the upper vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
s of the Tokugawa house, and the gokenin were the lower vassals. There was no precise difference between the two in terms of income
Income
Income is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings...
level, but hatamoto had the right to an audience with the shogun, where gokenin did not. The word hatamoto literally means "at the base of the flag" and is often translated as "bannerman". Another term for the Edo-era hatamoto was , sometimes rendered as "direct Shogunal hatamoto", which serves to illustrate the difference between them and the preceding generation of hatamoto who served various lords.
History
The term hatamoto originated in the Sengoku periodSengoku period
The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...
. The term was used for the direct retainers of a lord; as the name suggests, the men who were grouped "at the base of the flag". Many lords had hatamoto; however, when the Tokugawa clan achieved ascendancy in 1600, its hatamoto system was institutionalized, and it is to that system which we mainly refer today when using the term.
In the eyes of the Tokugawa Shogunate, hatamoto were retainers who had served the family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
from its days in Mikawa
Mikawa Province
is an old province in the area that today forms the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Mikawa bordered on Owari, Mino, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Provinces....
onward. However, the ranks of the hatamoto also included people from outside the hereditary ranks of the Tokugawa house. Retainer families of formerly defeated provincial strongmen like Takeda
Takeda family
The ' was a famous clan of daimyō in Japan's late Heian Period to Sengoku period.The Takeda were descendants of Emperor Seiwa and are a branch of the Minamoto clan , by Minamoto no Yoshimitsu , brother to the Chinjufu-shogun Minamoto no Yoshiie...
, Hōjō
Hojo clan
See the late Hōjō clan for the Hōjō clan of the Sengoku Period.The in the history of Japan was a family who controlled the hereditary title of shikken of the Kamakura Shogunate. In practice, the family had actual governmental power, many times dictatorial, rather than Kamakura shoguns, or the...
, or Imagawa
Imagawa clan
The was a Japanese clan that claimed descent from Emperor Seiwa . It was a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Ashikaga clan.-Origins:Ashikaga Kuniuji, grandson of Ashikaga Yoshiuji, established himself in the 13th century at Imagawa and took its name.Imagawa Norikuni received from his cousin the...
were included, as were branch families of feudal lords. Also included were heirs to lords whose domains were confiscated (for example, Asano Daigaku, the brother of Asano Naganori
Asano Naganori
was the daimyo of the Akō Domain in Japan . His title was Takumi no Kami . He is known as the person who triggered a series of incidents retold in a story known as Chushingura, one of the favourite themes of kabuki, joruri and Japanese books and films.He was born in Edo as the eldest son of Asano...
), local power figures in remote parts of the country who never became daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
; and the families of Kamakura Period
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....
and Muromachi Period
Muromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kemmu restoration of imperial...
Shugo
Shugo
was a title, commonly translated as "Governor," given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the shogun to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan...
(Governors) : some of these include the Akamatsu
Akamatsu clan
The was a Japanese samurai family of direct descent from Minamoto no Morifusa. They were prominent shugo-daimyō in Harima during the Sengoku period.-Select members of the clan:* Akamatsu Norimura .* Akamatsu Norisuke ....
, Besshō
Bessho
-Places:*Besshø - a mountain in Norway*Bessho Station - Japanese railway station*Ueda Electric Railway Bessho Line - Japanese railway line*Himeji-Bessho Station - Japanese railway station*Bessho Station - Japanese railway station-People:...
(branch of the Akamatsu), Hōjō
Hojo clan
See the late Hōjō clan for the Hōjō clan of the Sengoku Period.The in the history of Japan was a family who controlled the hereditary title of shikken of the Kamakura Shogunate. In practice, the family had actual governmental power, many times dictatorial, rather than Kamakura shoguns, or the...
, Hatakeyama, Kanamori, Imagawa, Mogami
Mogami clan
The were Japanese daimyo, and were a branch of the Ashikaga family. In the Sengoku period, it was the Sengoku Daimyo which ruled Dewa Province which is now Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture ....
, Nagai
Nagai
Nagai can refer to:*The city of Nagai, Yamagata in Japan*Takashi Nagai, a Nagasaki radiologist and prominent Japanese Catholic writer.*An alternative name for Nagapattinam district, Tamil Nadu, India...
, Oda
Oda clan
The was a family of Japanese daimyo who were to become an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they had the climax of their fame under Oda Nobunaga and fell from the spotlight soon after, several branches of the family would continue on as daimyo...
, Ōtomo
Otomo
The Otomo was a Japanese automobile built by Junya Toyokawa from 1924 to 1927 at the Hakuyosha Ironworks in Tokyo. It was meant to build upon his experimental Ales cars of 1921. Otomo offered an air-cooled 944 cc four-cylinder light car, available as two- or four-seat tourer or saloon , or as...
, Takeda, Toki
Toki clan
The was a powerful clan that ruled in Japan from the Kamakura period to the Edo period. It descended from Emperor Seiwa by Minamoto no Yorimitsu from the Minamoto clan and used Toki in Mino Province as their hometown...
, Takenaka
Takenaka
Takenaka is a Japanese surname and can refer to:*Heizo Takenaka, Japanese economist and former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications.*Shibata Takenaka , Japanese diplomat....
(branch of the Toki), Takigawa, Tsutsui, and Yamana
Yamana clan
The ' was a Japanese samurai clan which was one of the most powerful of the Muromachi period ; at its peak, members of the family held the position of Constable over eleven provinces. Originally from Kōzuke province, and later centered in Inaba province, the clan claimed descendance from the Seiwa...
families. The act of becoming a hatamoto was known as .
Many hatamoto fought in the Boshin War
Boshin War
The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....
of 1868, on both sides of the conflict.
The hatamoto remained retainers of the main Tokugawa clan
Tokugawa clan
The was a powerful daimyo family of Japan. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa and were a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Nitta clan. However, the early history of this clan remains a mystery.-History:...
after the fall of the Shogunate in 1868, and followed the Tokugawa to their new domain of Shizuoka. The hatamoto lost their status along with all other samurai in Japan following the abolition of the domains
Abolition of the han system
The was an act, in 1871, of the new Meiji government of the Empire of Japan to replace the traditional feudal domain system and to introduce centralized government authority . This process marked the culmination of the Meiji Restoration in that all daimyo were required to return their authority...
in 1871.
Ranks and roles
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
, it could be compared to the position of an officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
. Throughout the Edo period, hatamoto held the distinction that if they possessed high enough rank, they had the right to personal audience with the shogun (these hatamoto were known as ome-mie ijō). All hatamoto can be divided into two categories, the kuramaitori, who took their incomes straight from Tokugawa granaries, and the jikatatori, who held land scattered throughout Japan. Another level of status distinction amongst the hatamoto was the class of kōtai-yoriai, men who were heads of hatamoto families and held provincial fiefs, and had alternate attendance (sankin kotai
Sankin kotai
was a policy of the shogunate during most of the Edo period of Japanese history. The purpose was to control the daimyo. In adopting the policy, the shogunate was continuing and refining similar policies of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In 1635, a law required sankin kōtai, which was already an established...
) duties like the daimyo. However, as kōtai-yoriai were men of very high income in terms of the spectrum of hatamoto stipends, not all jikatatori hatamoto had the duty of alternate attendance. The dividing line between the upper hatamoto and the fudai
Fudai
was a class of daimyo who were hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa in Edo period Japan. It was primarily the fudai who filled the ranks of the Tokugawa administration.-Origins:...
daimyo—the domain lords who were also vassals of the Tokugawa house—was 10,000 koku
Koku
The is a Japanese unit of volume, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres. The koku was originally defined as a quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year...
.
Some hatamoto could be granted an increase in income and thus promoted to the rank of fudai daimyo. However, this did not happen frequently. One example of such a promotion is the case of the Hayashi family of Kaibuchi (later known as Jozai han
Jozai han
was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Kazusa Province , Japan. It was centered on what is now the city of Kisarazu, Chiba. It was ruled for the entirety of its history by a branch of the Mizuno clan...
), who began as jikatatori hatamoto but who became fudai daimyo and went on to play a prominent role in the Boshin War
Boshin War
The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....
, despite their domain's relatively small size of 10,000 koku.
The term for a hatamoto with income in the neighborhood of 8,000 koku or greater was taishin hatamoto ("greater hatamoto").
The hatamoto who lived in Edo resided in their own private districts and oversaw their own police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
work and security
Security
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
. Men from hatamoto ranks could serve in a variety of roles in the Tokugawa administration, including service in the police force as yoriki
Yoriki
were members of the samurai class of feudal Japan. Yoriki literally means helper or 'assistant.-Description and History:Yoriki assisted Daimyo or their designated commanders during military campaigns in the Kamakura and Muromachi periods.In the Edo period, yoriki became to provide administrative...
inspectors, city magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
s, magistrates or tax collector
Tax collector
A tax collector is a person who collects unpaid taxes from other people or corporations. Tax collectors are often portrayed in fiction as being evil, and in the modern world share a somewhat similar stereotype to that of lawyers....
s of direct Tokugawa house land, members of the wakadoshiyori
Wakadoshiyori
The ', or "Junior Elders", were high government officials in 17th century Tokugawa Japan. The position was established around 1631, but appointments were irregular until 1662....
council, and many other positions.
The expression was in popular use to denote their numbers, but a 1722 study put their numbers at about 5,000. Adding the gokenin
Gokenin
A was initially a vassal of the shogunate of the Kamakura and the Muromachi periods. In exchange for protection and the right to become shugo or jitō , in times of peace a gokenin had the duty to protect the imperial court and Kamakura, in case of war had to fight with his forces under the...
brought the number up to about 17,000.
Famous hatamoto
Famous hatamoto include Ōoka TadasukeOoka Tadasuke
was a Japanese samurai in the service of the Tokugawa shogunate. During the reign of Tokugawa Yoshimune, as a magistrate of Edo, his roles included chief of police, judge and jury, and Yamada Magistrate prior to his tenure as South Magistrate of Edo...
, Tōyama Kagemoto
Toyama Kagemoto
was a hatamoto and an official of the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Edo Period of Japanese history. His ancestry was of the Minamoto clan of Mino Province. His father, Kagemichi, was the magistrate of Nagasaki. Kagemoto held the posts of Finance Magistrate, North Magistrate, and subsequently the...
, Katsu Kaishu
Katsu Kaishu
was a Japanese statesman, naval engineer during the Late Tokugawa shogunate and early Meiji period. Kaishū was a nickname which he took from a piece of calligraphy by Sakuma Shōzan. He went through a series of given names throughout his life; his childhood name was and his real name was...
, William Adams
William Adams (sailor)
William Adams , also known in Japanese as Anjin-sama and Miura Anjin , was an English navigator who travelled to Japan and is believed to be the first Englishman ever to reach that country...
, Enomoto Takeaki
Enomoto Takeaki
Viscount was a samurai and admiral of the Tokugawa navy of Bakumatsu period Japan, who remained faithful to the Tokugawa shogunate who fought against the new Meiji government until the end of the Boshin War...
, and Hijikata Toshizō
Hijikata Toshizo
was the vice-commander of Shinsengumi, a great swordsman and a talented Japanese military leader who resisted the Meiji Restoration.-Background:...
.
Hatamoto and the martial arts
Hatamoto patronized the development of the martial arts in the Edo period; many of them were involved in the running of dojoDojo
A is a Japanese term which literally means "place of the way". Initially, dōjōs were adjunct to temples. The term can refer to a formal training place for any of the Japanese do arts but typically it is considered the formal gathering place for students of any Japanese martial arts style to...
in the Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
area and elsewhere. Two hatamoto who were directly involved in the development of the martial arts were Yagyū Munenori
Yagyu Munenori
was a Japanese swordsman, founder of the Edo branch of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū, which he learned from his father Yagyū "Sekishusai" Muneyoshi. This was one of two official sword styles patronized by the Tokugawa Shogunate...
and Yamaoka Tesshū
Yamaoka Tesshu
also known as Ono Tetsutarō, or Yamaoka Tetsutarō, was a famous samurai of the Bakumatsu period, who played an important role in the Meiji Restoration...
. Munenori's family became hereditary sword instructors to the shogun.
In popular culture
Hatamoto appeared as figures in popular culture even before the Edo era ended. Recent depictions of hatamoto include the TV series Hatchōbori no Shichinin, the manga Fūunjitachi Bakumatsu-hen, and Osamu TezukaOsamu Tezuka
was a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack...
's manga Hidamari no ki.