Fudai daimyo Origins . Many of the families who formed the ranks of the fudai daimyo were families which had served the Tokugawa clan since before its rise to national primacy . Some of these include the Honda , Sakai , Sakakibara , Ii , Itakura , and Mizuno clan s . Tokugawa Ieyasu ' s " Four Great Generals " - Honda Tadakatsu , Sakakibara Yasumasa , Sakai Tadatsugu , and Ii Naomasa , were all pre - Edo era fudai , and went on to become fudai daimyo . In addition , some branches of the Matsudaira clan ( from which the Tokugawa clan originated ) , while allowed to retain the Matsudaira surname , were fudai . In the Edo period . As Tokugawa Ieyasu rose to power in the 16th century , his domains increased , and as his domains increased , he began to hand out landholdings to his vassals , so that one by one , many of them became daimyo . This was the birth of the fudai daimyo class . In contrast to the " tozama " , the " fudai " typically ruled small fiefs , many in strategic locations along the principal roads or in the Kantō region near the headquarters of the shogunate at Edo . High posts in the shogunate , such as Rōjū and wakadoshiyori , normally went to fudai . In addition , the post of Kyoto Shoshidai almost always went to a fudai daimyo . Other clans which were not pre - Azuchi - Momoyama era retainers of the Tokugawa also came to be counted as fudai : the Ogasawara and Doi are among them . Occasionally , a family could be raised to or from fudai status . For instance , the Matsudaira clan to which Matsudaira Sadanobu belonged went from being a fudai house to being a recognized relative of the Tokugawa family . Also , a hatamoto who had an increase in income which raised his income level over 10 , 000 koku became a fudai daimyo . Bakumatsu and beyond . Many fudai daimyo were involved in the vigorous political activity of the Bakumatsu , as well as the renewed military activities which occurred in that period . Two such men of fudai daimyo background were Ogasawara Nagamichi and Itakura Katsukiyo , who were two of the last " rōjū " , and actively worked for reform and strengthening of the ailing shogunate . Others , such as Matsudaira Munehide , were involved in diplomacy and foreign affairs . In the Boshin War of 1868 - 69 , some fudai houses such as the Toda of Ogaki and the Tōdō of Tsu sided with the Shogunate during the first battle at Toba - Fushimi . However , after the shogunate ' s loss there , many fudai houses did not side with the shogunate or with the shogun ' s former army which moved northward and eventually set up the Ezo Republic . Some remained neutral , while others ( like the lords of Ogaki and Tsu ) switched allegiances and openly supported the Imperial Japanese Army . Ogasawara Nagamichi and Itakura Katsukiyo led small groups of their retainers during the fight against the imperial forces . However , their domains had already been occupied by the imperial army , and were forced to participate in the war on the imperial army ' s behalf . Only one fudai daimyo , Hayashi Tadataka of the Jōzai Domain , willingly left his domain early in 1868 , and led most of his retainer force on behalf of the armies of the former shogun , in the fight against the imperial army . Also , a handful of fudai in the far north formed part of the Northern Alliance , fighting for the Alliance but not for the now - retired shogun . Most of the fudai in the country entered the Meiji era peacefully , and ruled their domains until the domains ' dissolution in 1871 . After this , the former families of fudai daimyo became peers in the new Japanese nobility system . Today the term Fudai is used colloquially to refer to the children of the Chinese wealthy upper class who have known nothing but wealth from birth . see Ka - Ching Dynasty documentary available on Youtube .