Again in reality, they were not very powerful compare to the ones in the military class during the feudal period in Japan. The royal family members were classed the second highest social class in the royal class.
The royal family were those who were related to the emperor. However, as the time went on towards the end of the feudal Japan in the Edo period, the emperor regained the power. The emperor was seen more like a figurehead, and had large symbolic religious influential figure to the Japanese people. The emperorĪlthough the emperor was classed as the leader of feudal Japan, he actually had very little power and control over the country, as the government was dominated by the military force. The royal class was at the top of the chain, and it was also the one included the emperor and his family members. An illustration of daimyo Kyogoku Takatomo, a high ranking figure in feudal Japanese hierarchy.