During the Edo Period, bakushin, the Shogun’s retainers possessing less than 10,000 koku* of rice, were called hatamoto. They had permission to be in the presence of the Shogun as necessary. There were 5,200 hatamoto families in the Kansei Era from 1789 to 1801.
Hatamoto undertook various duties such as machi-bugyo, town magistrates, and supported the Tokugawa Government in other ways. Additionally, some hatamoto, Moriyama Takamori and Matsudaira Sadatomo for example, showed unique personality traits as urban residents, making cultural contributions to academics, horticulture, and the literary arts.
 
*Koku was typically used as a dry measure of volume, one koku being equal to approximately 180 liters.