noun
alternate attendance; daimyo's alternating Edo residence
Historical term for the Edo-period system requiring daimyo to reside in Edo every other year, leaving family as hostages. Often explained as a mechanism to control feudal lords.
参勤交代は江戸時代の重要な制度だった。
Alternate attendance was an important system in the Edo period.
大名は参勤交代で多額の費用を負担した。
Daimyo bore huge expenses due to the alternate attendance system.