decision. the person on duty is called the duty or the moon number by the clan. important matters shall be decided on a regular day by gathering at a Hyōjōsho, etc. and proceeding after a meeting. See also Ōishi Kuranosuke Zusho Hirosato Yamakawa Hiroshi Saigō Tanomo Naoe Kanetsugu Notes Sankin kōtai ("alternate attendance") was a policy of the shogunate during most of the Edo period of Japanese history. The purpose was to control the daimyōs (feudal Lords). Generally, the requirement was that the daimyōs of every han (province) move periodically between Edo (the Japanese capital) and his han, typically spending alternate years in each place. His wife and heir were required to remain in Edo as hostages. The expenditures necessary to maintain residences in both places, and for the procession to and from Edo, placed financial strains on the daimyōs making them unable to wage war. The frequent travel of the daimyōs encouraged road building and the construction of inns and facilities along the routes, generating economic activity. Government of feudal Japan