Thus the idea that the persons so created were only made so by the favour of the central government is implied in the term itself. I have already told you that in the sixteenth century, Japan laboured under a condition of the greatest disorder. Many feudal lords rose and fell. When the Tokugawa family assumed the Shogunate, the country was brought to a perfect peace, and that system of "Hoken" was brought to a state of perfection. It was then that a total re-shuffling, so to say, not of the cards but of the feudal lords, was effected. Many old lords retained their positions by acknowledging the supremacy of Tokugawa, but many who were the followers of Tokugawa itself, were newly created lords. The former were called "Tozama" (exterior) Daimio, and the latter were called "Fudai" (adherents) Daimio. Those who had been created, on account of blood relationship to Tokugawa, formed a somewhat different category. The tenure of the lords was not looked upon in the light of private property in its strict sense. The Shogunate freely exercised its authority, to confiscate or to transfer to another place, when political expediency demanded it, though of course such steps were taken only when some blamable action had been committed, or on the offer of some higher and better position. The feudal lords had no right to sell or alienate any portion of the land. In the early part of the Tokugawa régime, the tenure was confiscated in case of default of male heir to a deceased lord, though later on the system of adoption came to the rescue and an adopted heir was allowed to succeed.' --'I understand now the nature of your feudal system,' said one; 'but it must have been a great sacrifice for the feudal lords to give up all their possessions.'