How did the rise of the daimyo alter Japanese society

The emergence of new daimyo coincided with the era of feudal wars. This circumstance alone allows saying that the military factor played an important role in their origin, left a significant imprint on the entire way of their socio-economic life and military-political activity. It is no accident that they received the name "daimyo of the era of feudal wars, or troubled times" (sengoku daimyo).

Nevertheless, it is unlikely that the military factor can be considered decisive in their origin. It would be more correct to think that military methods only ended the process, which had long matured in the bowels of Japanese feudal society and inevitably should have led to serious socio-economic and political shifts. The military situation in the 16th century introduced only the peculiarity that this process took mainly a military form, as if enclosed in a military shell. Therefore, the emergence of new daimyo should be considered primarily as a social phenomenon, reflecting profound changes in the system of feudal relations itself, which at the turn of the 15-16th centuries entered a period of crisis that affected essentially all aspects of Japanese society: its economy, politics, and ideology.

The emergence of new daimyo marked the decomposition of private land tenure and the formation of large feudal farms. At first, while laws were still in effect, according to which all land in the country was considered state property and was subject to periodic redistribution between farmers in strict accordance with the number of family members, estates mainly arose on the territory of the location of suburban villas that belonged to the metropolitan nobility (from here, in fact, the name "shoen" also comes from - literally " sitting down "). However, gradually, an increasing amount of land was withdrawn from the allotment system and turned into private estates, especially since the dominant forces were interested in this: the imperial court, the metropolitan aristocracy, churches and monasteries, which were the largest owners of the estates.