Edo Period
Following the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu appointed his eleventh son, Tokugawa Yorifusa, as daimyo in 1608. With his appointment, Yorifusa became the founding member of the Mito branch of the Tokugawa clan. Along with the Tokugawa branches in Kii and Owari, the Mito branch represented one of three Tokugawa houses known as the gosanke.
Although the Mito branch held less land and wealth than either of the other two branches, they maintained considerable influence throughout the Edo period. The domain's promiximity to the de facto capital in Edo was a contributing factor to this power as well as the fact that many people unofficially considered the Mito daimyo to be "vice-shogun".
Tokugawa Mitsukuni, the third son of Tokugawa Yorifusa, became the second daimyo of Mito in 1661. Mitsukuni further established Mito's status as a respected han by sponsoring the Dai Nihon-shi in 1657. The endeavor would launch Mito's reputation as a center for intellectual thought.
Read more about this topic: Mito Domain
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—John Berger (b. 1926)