How the Tokugawa Shogunate Ruled: Bakufu, Domains and the Samurai Class

For over 260 years a shared system of shogunate offices, self-governing domains and a salaried warrior class kept Japan stable and orderly.

Published October 21, 2026 at 8:54 PM JST | By Tokyo Paul

Quick answer: The Tokugawa shogunate (1603 to 1868) ruled through a two-level system. The central government, called the bakufu, governed from Edo Castle and directly managed key cities and lands, while around two hundred or more semi-autonomous domains, called han, were run by lords known as daimyo. Samurai served as administrators, officials and soldiers, and were paid in rice by their lords.

When people ask how a single family governed Japan for more than two and a half centuries, the answer lies in careful design. The Tokugawa shoguns built a system that balanced central authority with local self-government, gave each class a defined role, and kept powerful lords under gentle but firm supervision. This guide explains the main parts of that system: the bakufu, the domains, the rules for daimyo, and the new role of the samurai as officials and scholars.

The big picture: bakufu and han

The Tokugawa shogunate was founded after Tokugawa Ieyasu's victory at Sekigahara in 1600, and it ruled from Edo, now Tokyo, until 1868. It is also called the bakufu. In practice the bakufu was the central government, led by the shogun, with the emperor in Kyoto holding ceremonial prestige.

Beneath the bakufu stood the han, or domains. Each han was the territory of a daimyo, a lord recognized by the shogun as holding land valued at 10,000 koku of rice or more. Daimyo governed their domains with a great deal of autonomy, collecting taxes, running their own samurai retinues and making local rules, while remaining vassals of the shogun. The system is sometimes called bakuhan, a blend of the two words.

Inside the bakufu

The bakufu had a clear structure of offices. The highest working officials were the roju, usually four or five senior councilors who served in rotation. Below them were the wakadoshiyori, who oversaw the shogun's direct retainers, and the metsuke, who acted as inspectors. A senior post called tairo, or great elder, was filled only occasionally and by a few clans.

Magistrates, known as bugyo, handled specific duties. The three chief commissioners supervised temples and shrines, finances and the cities. This division of work made the bakufu function more like a civil service than a battlefield command, and many of its officials were skilled administrators. Edo, the seat of government, became the political heart of the country.

Three kinds of daimyo

The shogunate sorted daimyo into three groups. Shinpan were relatives of the Tokugawa family, descended from Ieyasu's sons and other family lines. Fudai, meaning hereditary vassals, had served the Tokugawa before Sekigahara, and they often held high posts in the bakufu.

Tozama, or outside lords, were those who had not allied with the Tokugawa before Sekigahara. About a hundred daimyo belonged to this group, and many ruled large and wealthy domains. Domains such as Satsuma, Choshu and Tosa were in this category, and their later importance is a key part of the story of the Meiji Restoration. The largest domain, Kaga, held about one million koku in the seventeenth century, which shows how significant some domains were.

The rules that kept the balance

The shogunate set out clear rules for daimyo. The Laws for Military Houses, first issued in 1615, required approval before building or repairing castles and before arranging daimyo marriages. Regulations also limited each domain to one main castle, with some exceptions, which concentrated each lord's headquarters in a single place.

The most famous arrangement was sankin-kotai, or alternate attendance. Daimyo spent alternate years in their domains and in Edo, while their wives and heirs remained in the capital. The rule became compulsory for tozama lords in 1635 and for fudai lords in 1642, and it lasted until 1862. The long journeys supported road building and the growth of inns and facilities along the main routes.

The samurai class

Samurai were the warrior class, but in peacetime many became officials, teachers and administrators. Most moved into the castle town of their lord's domain, and a castle town was usually the center of each han. They were paid stipends in rice, measured in koku, and one koku was roughly the amount of rice needed to feed one person for a year.

At the shogun's own level, the direct retainers were called hatamoto, meaning bannermen, and gokenin. Hatamoto had the right of audience with the shogun and could serve as city magistrates, tax officials or in other administrative posts. Samurai wore two swords as a symbol of status, and Confucian teaching on loyalty and duty guided their ideals.

Schools and learning

Education became a central part of samurai life. Each domain founded a han school, called a hanko, to train young samurai as capable administrators. By 1853 about 250 such schools existed, and many included study of the Confucian classics in the morning and martial arts in the afternoon.

Famous examples include Nisshinkan in Aizu, Kodokan in Mito, and Meirinkan in Hagi. Some schools also taught medicine, mathematics or Western sciences. After the domains were abolished in 1871, these schools helped form a basis for modern middle schools in Japan, which shows how the Edo-period emphasis on learning supported later change.

Peace, trade and everyday life

Beyond the samurai, society also included farmers, artisans and merchants, and sources often describe the social order as samurai at the top, followed by farmers, artisans and traders, though historians note that real life was more flexible than this simple picture. The peace of the Tokugawa age allowed these groups to prosper in their own ways. This stability helped create the lively urban culture associated with the Edo period.

For the shogunate, stability meant keeping foreign contact limited too. Under the third shogun, Iemitsu, a series of policies including an edict of 1635 restricted foreign contact, a period often called sakoku. Within this framework, the main roads that developed around sankin-kotai made travel across the country easier.

The end of the system

By the mid nineteenth century, foreign pressure and economic strain put the old arrangement under stress. The shogunate came to an official end in 1868 after the last shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, resigned, and the Meiji Restoration began. In 1871 the domains were abolished and replaced by prefectures, and former samurai gradually moved into new roles.

Many reminders of the system remain for travelers. Castle towns such as Kanazawa, Hagi and Kakunodate still have samurai districts, the Kodokan domain school can be visited in Mito. Understanding the bakufu and han system makes these places much easier to read.

Want to go deeper? Tokyo Paul's book Manga-Style Japanese History: Shoguns, Samurai & Sake is available on Amazon.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between the bakufu and the han?

The bakufu was the central government of the Tokugawa shogunate, based in Edo. The han were the domains ruled by daimyo, who governed their own lands with considerable autonomy while remaining vassals of the shogun. Together they made up the bakuhan system that organized Edo-period Japan.

What was sankin-kotai?

Sankin-kotai, or alternate attendance, required daimyo to spend alternate years in Edo, with their wives and heirs staying in the capital. It became compulsory for tozama daimyo in 1635 and for fudai daimyo in 1642, and it lasted until 1862. It also encouraged road building and the growth of inns along main routes.

What did samurai do in the Edo period?

During the long peace, many samurai worked as officials, administrators, police and teachers. They lived mainly in castle towns, received rice stipends from their lords and attended domain schools. Wearing two swords remained a symbol of their status, though the swords were less often used in daily life.

Further Reading

To explore further, see Tokugawa shogunate, Han schools and Sankin-kotai.

Keep Exploring

More guides from Tokyo Paul: How the Shogunate Worked: Emperor, Shogun and Daimyo Explained, The Edo Period: When Peace Shaped Japanese Culture and Nagamachi: Kanazawa's Samurai Residence District.