--'Can you give me,' said one, 'some idea of the clans of the Japanese feudal system? You make use of that word, as do other writers on Japan, but to me, somehow or other, it does not appear to give a clear idea.' 'The word "clan,"' I replied, 'which is used in place of the Japanese word "Han," does not convey the exact meaning, as you imagine. The word "clan" in English signifies "men," whereas our word "Han" signifies more "a territorial community with its government," including lands and population, somewhat in the same sense as the word "principality" or "duchy." Then, too, the word "clan," strictly speaking, implies the meaning of a collection of families bearing the same surname, and supposed to have descended from a common ancestor, but with our word "Han" no such meaning is implied in the word itself. Every feudal lord of Japan had a large number of retainers, and it was natural that a certain number among them were descended from the same ancestors as the lord himself; but those were, after all, in a very small minority, and the overwhelming number were in nowise connected with their lord, as far as blood relationship was concerned. Thus, you can see, the word "clan" does not represent the exact meaning of the word "Han." The technical term for the acts of giving up and restoring the clan governments to the Imperial government was "Han-seki Hokwan," which meant "restoring the Han records," whereby the giving up of the territory and its population was implied.' --'I see the difference between the term "clan" and the term "Han,"' said one, 'but I wish to know something more about the process by which the "Han" came to be formed.'