Daimyo: The Feudal Lords Above the Hidden Villages

The Civilian Power of the Lands

The word daimyo is written 大名 and literally means "great name." It refers to the political ruler of a land, never a ninja. In the world of Naruto, the lands work like monarchies: a lord at the top, a hidden village serving as the military center. The daimyo decides everything that commits his territory, from alliances to the annual budget, down to the privileges granted to that village.

The division of roles is clear. The lord governs, the Kage commands the shinobi. Village leaders are in fact presented as generals who stand on equal footing with the lords of their lands. Two authorities, two sources of legitimacy, one territory: the friction is structural.

A daimyo resides in the capital of his land, permanently surrounded by servants and advisors, often described as haughty toward the population. Gengo blames them for most of the wars in the ninja world: the lords quarrel among themselves, then send shinobi to settle the matter. Never seeing a battlefield, they start over again.

Their person carries enormous political value. Kisame Hoshigaki was declared a rogue ninja in part for taking part in the murder of another land's daimyo. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, the five lords received special protection from the Allied Shinobi Forces, gathered in a guarded shelter, before being trapped by the Infinite Tsukuyomi like the rest of the world.

Who Pays for the Hidden Village

A hidden village lives on two resources. The first comes from missions: it trains its residents in the ninja trade from childhood, then rents out that workforce, from simple garden weeding to the heaviest contracts. The second is a regular budget paid by the land, in return for its role as an army in case of war.

This second item depends entirely on the lord. Sakura Hiden gives a very concrete illustration of it: the Sixth Hokage comes to discuss the annual budget of Konoha and tries to obtain extra funding for the psychological follow-up program for children set up by Sakura. Kido Tsumiki argues for assigning the money to the Anbu; the daimyo defers to Homura Mitokado, who rules against the Hokage.

The Chunin Exams play the same showcase role. The joint trials present young talent to clients and serve as betting grounds, in which the daimyo gladly take part. A village whose shinobi shine receives more mission requests; the reverse is just as true. The observers in attendance can even have a genin promoted regardless of his final ranking.

The Land of Wind shows what happens when the tap is turned off. Its thrifty daimyo cut the funding of Sunagakure and handed a great many missions to Konoha, which was cheaper. The shinobi of the Land of Wind saw this as a desire to wipe them out. They allied with Orochimaru and took part in the attack on Konoha, hoping to frighten their own lord. He was replaced before Part II.

Appointing, Approving, Removing

In Konoha, the ordinary rule is that the Hokage names his own successor. It stops applying if he dies or finds himself unable to govern. The decision then goes up to the daimyo of the Land of Fire.

He does not decide alone. The lord surrounds himself with his committee, the Konoha Council, the Jonin Commander, and an Anbu representative. Once the candidate has been chosen, all of the village's jonin must still accept him before the investiture. Two safeguards: one civilian, one military.

The Danzo Shimura affair shows the mechanism jammed. With Tsunade in a coma after Pain's assault, the daimyo first leaned toward Kakashi, recommended by Shikaku Nara as the son of the White Fang and a student of the Fourth. Danzo upended the table by blaming Konoha's misfortunes on its ideology of benevolence, put himself forward, and carried the decision. Killed by Sasuke before the jonin assembly, he would never officially be Hokage.

The reverse power exists as well: the daimyo can remove a Kage deemed unfit, with the support of his chamberlain and the village's advisors. The procedure is far from universal, however. In Kumogakure, the Fourth Raikage succeeded his father automatically, by virtue of a decision made years earlier.

The Lord of the Land of Fire and His Guard

The daimyo of the Land of Fire in the first two parts is a portrait of indecision. Fickle, he lets his advisors do the work when a quick decision is needed: whoever argues best wins out. He was fond of Jiraiya, chosen as Hokage at the emergency meeting held after the Third's death, and said he was impressed by Kakashi's reputation. His household reaches into the village's daily life: his wife, Madam Shijimi, owns the cat Tora, whose escapes keep Team 7 and then Ebisu's team busy.

His security was the responsibility of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, Shugonin Junishi in Japanese. Twelve elite shinobi recruited from across the Land of Fire, with a single mission: to protect the lord, at the cost of their lives. They were recognizable by the piece of cloth worn at the waist, stamped with the kanji for "Fire."

The unit blew apart from within. About two years after the attack of the Nine-Tails, six guardians led by Kazuma judged the land's military resources to be wasted on Konoha. They wanted to reunify the Land of Fire under the daimyo's sole authority, even if it meant overthrowing the Hokage and destroying the village. The lord flatly refused and sent the six loyal ones against them: Asuma Sarutobi, Chiriku, Kitane, Nauma, Tou, and Seito.

Only Asuma and Chiriku are known to have survived the clash; Kazuma got out as well and slipped into the shadows. The unit was eventually disbanded, but its reputation outlived its disappearance: a 35 million ryo bounty on Asuma's head, 30 million on Chiriku's. It was that money that put Hidan and Kakuzu on their trail.

Summary Table

FAQ

• Is the daimyo more powerful than a Kage?
  Politically, he holds the budget, the privileges, and sometimes the appointment. But village leaders are presented as standing on equal footing with the lords, as generals in charge of shinobi affairs. The relationship is one of balance, not a simple hierarchy.
• Who chooses the Hokage?
  The sitting Hokage normally names his successor. If he dies or becomes unable to govern, the daimyo of the Land of Fire decides, advised by his committee, the Konoha Council, the Jonin Commander, and an Anbu representative. The village's jonin must then approve the choice.
• What happened when the daimyo of the Land of Wind cut Sunagakure's budget?
  Thrifty, he reduced the funding of his hidden village and handed a great many missions to Konoha, judged cheaper. The shinobi of the Land of Wind saw this as a desire to wipe them out: they allied with Orochimaru and took part in the attack on Konoha, hoping to frighten their own lord. The daimyo was replaced by another before Part II of the story.
• Who were the Twelve Guardian Ninja?
  The personal guard of the daimyo of the Land of Fire: twelve elite shinobi from all over the land, recognizable by the waist cloth marked with the kanji for "Fire." Asuma Sarutobi and Chiriku were among them before the unit was disbanded.
• Can a daimyo dismiss a Kage?
  Yes. He has the authority to remove a Kage deemed unfit for office, an operation carried out with the help of his chamberlain and the advisors of the Kage in question.

In summary

The daimyo is therefore not ceremonial scenery. He holds the financial tap, approves the broad directions and, in moments of vacancy at the top, chooses who will lead the village. That power can turn against the shinobi, as Sunagakure bitterly experienced, but it can also serve peace: in the new era, Ikkyu Madoka, the businessman-minded lord of the Land of Fire, convinced Danjo, his counterpart in the Land of Earth, to give up his designs on the Land of Flowers, averting the risk of a Fifth Great Ninja War.