Buke Shohatto, Laws For Military Houses
Rules set by the Shogunate for the Daimyo Clans
The Buke Shohatto was a series of laws and codes of conduct issued in 1615 and continually updated by the Tokugawa Shogunate as a means to maintain control of the daimyo and the samurai caste. These laws were for the buke, daimyo class, while there was a separate law yet again for their samurai vassals and retainers.
These laws and codes were first issued in August of 1615, and were read aloud to a gathering of daimyo by Tokugawa Ieyasu at Fushimi Castle, south of Kyoto. Created to protect the peace forged by the Tokugawa, to maintain their authoritative control and to limit the powers of the daimyo, these original rules were written by Ieyasu’s advisor, the priest and scholar Ishin Suden, with suggestions from Todo Takatora and other highly trusted advisors.
