imperial command; government order
Historical term for an order issued by the imperial court or government. Used in pre-modern contexts; in modern Japanese, 勅命 (ちょくめい) is more common for imperial commands, and 政府命令 (せいふめいれい) for government orders.
In the Edo period, daimyo were reassigned by imperial command.
Disobeying an imperial command was considered a serious crime at that time.