A hatamoto (旗本; "Guardian of the banner") was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates 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 vassals 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 a hatamoto had the right to an audience with the shogun, whereas gokenin did not. The word hatamoto literally means "origin/base of the flag", with the sense of 'around the flag', it is described in Japanese as 'those who guard the flag' (on the battlefield) and is often translated into English as "bannerman". Another term for the Edo-era hatamoto was jikisan hatamoto (直参旗本), sometimes rendered as "direct shogunal hatamoto", which serves to illustrate the difference between them and the preceding generation of hatamoto who served various lords.
👉 Hatamoto in the context of Edo machi-bugyō
Edo machi-bugyō (江戸町奉行) were magistrates or municipal administrators with responsibility for governing and maintaining order in the shogunal city of Edo. Machi-bugyō were samurai officials of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan. Appointments to this prominent office were usually hatamoto, this was amongst the senior administrative posts open to those who were not daimyōs. Conventional interpretations have construed these Japanese titles as "commissioner", "overseer" or "governor."
During the Edo period, there were generally two hatamoto serving simultaneously as Edo machi-bugyō. There were two Edo machi-bugyō-sho within the jurisdictional limits of metropolitan Edo; and during the years from 1702 though 1719, there was also a third appointed machi-bugyō.
- ⭐ Core Definition: Hatamoto
- 👉 Hatamoto in the context of Edo machi-bugyō
- Hatamoto in the context of Nakahama Manjirō
- Hatamoto in the context of Yagyū Munenori
- Hatamoto in the context of Shōgitai
Hatamoto in the context of Nakahama Manjirō
Nakahama Manjirō (中濱 万次郎; January 27, 1827 – November 12, 1898), also known as John Manjirō (or John Mung), was a Japanese samurai and translator who was one of the first Japanese people to visit the United States and an important translator during the opening of Japan.
He was a fisherman before his journey to the United States, where he studied English and navigation and became a sailor and gold miner. After returning to Japan, he was elevated to the status of a samurai and was made a hatamoto. He served his country as an interpreter and translator and was instrumental in negotiating the Convention of Kanagawa. He also taught as a professor at the Tokyo Imperial University.
View the full Wikipedia page for Nakahama ManjirōHatamoto in the context of Yagyū Munenori
Yagyū Munenori (柳生 宗矩; 1571 – May 11, 1646) was a Japanese daimyō, swordsman, and martial arts writer. He founded the Edo branch of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū, which he learned from his father Yagyū "Sekishūsai" Munetoshi, and was one of two official sword styles patronized by the Tokugawa shogunate (the other one being Ittō-ryū).
Munenori began his career in the Tokugawa shogunate as a hatamoto, a direct retainer of the Tokugawa house, and later had his income raised to 10,000 koku, making him a minor fudai daimyō (vassal lord serving the Tokugawa), with landholdings around his ancestral village of Yagyū-zato. He also received the title of Tajima no Kami (但馬守).
View the full Wikipedia page for Yagyū MunenoriHatamoto in the context of Shōgitai
The Shōgitai (彰義隊, "Manifest Righteousness Regiment") was an elite samurai shock infantry formation of the Tokugawa shogunate military formed in 1868 by the hatamoto Amano Hachirō and Hitotsubashi Gosankyō retainer Shibusawa Seiichirō in Zōshigaya, Edo (now Tokyo). The Shōgitai took a large part in the battles of the Boshin War, especially at the Battle of Toba–Fushimi, and, after being assigned the defence of Kan'ei-ji temple, the Battle of Ueno, where they were nearly annihilated.
After the Battle of Ueno, some surviving Shōgitai fled north, eventually joining the rebels of the Ezo Republic. Following the defeat of Ezo, most of the few remaining former Shōgitai settled in Hokkaido as tondenhei. Among the survivors was Toyohara Chikanobu, who later achieved fame as a master nishiki-e artist.
View the full Wikipedia page for Shōgitai