Kōke

A kōke (高家, lit. "high families") during the Tokugawa Shogunate (or Edo period) in Japan generally referred to the hereditary position of the "Master of Ceremonies," held by certain fief-less samurai ranking below a daimyō. Historically, or in a more general context, the term may refer to a family of old lineage and distinction. Perhaps the most famous Master of Ceremonies in history was Kira Yoshinaka aka Kira Kōzuke no suke (吉良上野介), the real-life model of the villain avenged in the tale of the Forty-seven Ronin of Akō.

Kōke

A kōke (高家, lit. "high families") during the Tokugawa Shogunate (or Edo period) in Japan generally referred to the hereditary position of the "Master of Ceremonies," held by certain fief-less samurai ranking below a daimyō. Historically, or in a more general context, the term may refer to a family of old lineage and distinction. Perhaps the most famous Master of Ceremonies in history was Kira Yoshinaka aka Kira Kōzuke no suke (吉良上野介), the real-life model of the villain avenged in the tale of the Forty-seven Ronin of Akō.