Sankin-kôtai (The Tokugawa established a system called Sankin-kôtai (alternative attendance), by which the Daimyô of every han (fief) were required to move periodically between Edo and his han, typically spending alternate years in each place. When the Daimyô returned to his han, he was required to leave his wife and children in Edo as guest of state –actually as hostages. The expenditures necessary to maintain lavish residences in both places, and for the procession to and from Edo, placed financial strains on the Daimyô making them unable to wage war. A contingent of warriors accompanied the Daimyô on the processions to and from Edo, and an institution specified how many the Daimyô were required to bring with them to Edo, based on the income of their fiefs. The typical entourage of retainers - warriors, aides and servants - ranged from 200 to 350 people. Such processions of the richest of the lords could comprise from a few hundred to 2,000 retainers or more.
The processions of the Daimyô and their entourages to and from Edo came to be known as Daimyô Gyôretsu or “Processions of the Lords.”