In Japan ( 0441; 8th15th century), a private, tax-free, often autonomous estate.
As the sh 014D; en increased in numbers, they undermined the political and economic power of the central government and contributed to the growth of powerful local clans. Landowners would commend their parcels of land to powerful families or religious institutions with tax-free status, thereby obtaining that status for themselves. All people connected with the land
the powerful patron, the owner, and the estate manager
had rights to part of the income from the land. During the Kamakura period (11921333), the shogunate (military government) asserted authority over the sh 014D; en by inserting its own stewards ( jit 014D; ) into each estate to collect taxes. During Japan's Warring States period , the sh 014D; en gave way to consolidated landholdings controlled by daimyo (domain lords). See also samurai .