Question

What laws were established under the Tokugawa Shogunate?

Answer 1

There were many laws passed during the Tokugawa period which lasted from 1600 to 1868. The most important laws during this period would probably be "sankin kotai" and "Buke shohatto". "Senkin kotai" refers to the law that all of the daimyo, that is feudal lords, have to spend a certain amount of time every other year in Edo, the capital, away from their provinces. Their wives and heirs would remain in Edo as some sort of political hostages. This was a way for the shoguns to maintain control over the feudal lords. In 1862 this law was relaxed somewhat. The "Buke shohatto" were laws for various warrior houses for feudal lords and the samurai aristocracy.They were also sees as edicts which described the honorable and proper behavior for daimyo.