Database: Taxation

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With respect to rice or cultivated fields, taxes were set according to the expected crop yield. In years of poor harvest peasants demanded reductions or exemptions from the lord, who was typically a vassal or sub-vassal of a daimyō during the 16th century. Around Kyoto, the large temples or aristocrats of the Imperial Court continued to collect tribute from the small lands they still owned.

The inhabitants of Kyoto paid rent to a property owner (great temple, aristocrat, vassal or shōgun, etc.) and municipal dues to their district, but they did not pay taxes to the emperor, the shōgun, or Oda Nobunaga, except for special (temporary) charges. When merchants or artisans formed a guild, they paid taxes to their protector. There is less information about tax policies in other cities; nevertheless, it can be surmised that they were similar to Kyoto. Taxation also extended to important roads and waterways. On these transit systems, it was both secular and religious authorities who installed tolls in the 15th century, some of which still existed at the end of the 16th century. Port taxes had existed since the 12th century: large temples and aristocrats of the Imperial Court had the right to collect them, but by the 16th century, this right was also claimed by regional warriors.