His father is preparing to accompany the daimyo to the capital.

他的父亲正在为陪同大名前往首府做准备。

Samurai must accompany the daimyo to Edo.

武士必须跟随大名前往江户。

The daimyo rules the domain, and about 1,500 samurai retainers serve him.

藩地由大名（诸侯）管辖，其手下有约 1500 名武士家臣效力。

But the practice doesn't just affect the daimyo — it determines much of the rhythm of life in Japan.

但是这样的制度不仅会影响到大名——也决定了日本多数人的生活节奏。

Kira and the two daimyo did not get along. We are not sure exactly what the reason was.

Kira和大名相处得并不好，我们也不确定到底是什么原因。

And the shogun exerted his power throughout the land with the help of 300 feudal lords called daimyo.

幕府将军在300位被称为“大名(日本封建时代的大领主)”的封建领主的帮助下在全国范围内行使权力。

Basically, it meant that the daimyo had to split their time between their own domains and Edo Castle.

说白了，这意味着大名必须在自己的领地和江户城之间来回。

The daimyo's wife and children live in the capital full time, where they serve as hostages to ensure his loyalty.

大名的妻子和孩子会在江户长期居住，作为幕府的人质，确保大名的忠诚。

Weirdly enough, even though the other elders all rallied their armies against Tokugawa, his biggest threat was a fourth daimyo named Ishida Mitsunari.

奇怪的是, 尽管其他长老都团结起来反对德川，但他最大的威胁是第四个大名，名叫石田三成。

And this only further motivated the daimyo and samurai, who were ready to give the Tokugawa the boot.

而这只会进一步激发大名和武士的积极性，他们准备给德川开除。