system inaugurated in 1635 in Japan by the Tokugawa (Tokugawa Iemitsu) shogun (hereditary military dictator) Iemitsu by which the great feudal lords (daimyo) had to reside several months each year in the Tokugawa capital at Edo (modern Tokyo). When the lords returned to their fiefs, they were required to leave their wives and families in Edo. The system, which was imitated by the various daimyo in their own fiefs with their own retainers, ensured the continued subservience of the great lords to the Tokugawa shogunate. It also led to the improvement of communications and the development of a commercial economy, as merchants gathered in the provincial and metropolitan capitals to supply the needs of these lords. On the other hand, the lords became divorced from the government of their fiefs, and their debts piled up.

In the face of rising dissatisfaction with shogunal policies, the sankin kotai system was virtually abolished in 1862. An attempt to reestablish it in 1865 failed, and the shogunate was overthrown a short time later.