The daimyō (大名, ) were the powerful feudal lords who, until their decline in the early Meiji period, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. In the term, "dai" (大) literally means "large", and "myō" stands for myōden (名田?), meaning private land. Subordinate only to the Shogun, daimyo were the most powerful feudal rulers from the 10th century to the middle 19th century in Japan. From the shugo of the Muromachi period through the Sengoku to the daimyo of the Edo period, the rank had a long and varied history.