Chapter Text
Edo, Kaede's Village, and Daimyo? What Daimyo?
The Kanto plain was settled by various clans and other peoples sometime around the 3rd millennium BC but Edo, specifically the area around Tokyo Bay, was not truly made into a community center until the military governor of that providence, Edo Shigenaga, built his stronghold Edojuku within the confines of a fishing village just before the Kamakura Period (1192-1333). Edojuku however was more a way point and fortress than a city.
The Edo Clan had moved from their homelands (modern Saitama) to the village they would give their name, so for the most part that castle and the surrounding lands were all the clan controled. It would not be till Minamoto Yoritomo rewarded them for assisting in overthrowing the Taira Clan in Kyoto with seven new estates that their influence grew; and even then its influence would not pass into the western portions of modern Tokyo where Kaede's village most likely resides until sometime during the early-mid Sengoku Jidai.
The construction of what is known today as Edo Castle was not begun until 1457 (ten years before the Sengoku Jidai even began and not long after the Edo clan died out due to uprisings in Kanto) by Ota Dokan, vassal of Uesugi Minamoto, who built over the foundations of Edojuku; he is also credited for founding the beginnings of what would become Edo itself. However, until Tokugawa Ieyasu took control of Edo castle in 1590 said town was still more or less a fishing village.
Most of the surrounding areas beyond would have been untamed wilderness with the occasional village dotted with vast distances (and demons) in-between. And, as Sango herself explained, "life was a cycle of war, death, and famine" during the Heian Period (794-1185) due to peasants being left on their own more or less instead of having a daimyo's payed 'protection' (some got the short end of the stick due to location importance unfortunately). Villages were often to come and go even more than the Sengoku Period which the series takes place. I personally would not be surprised if villages experienced cycles, being destroyed then decades or centuries later immigrants from another destroyed village building ontop of old locations. Hence the Bone-Eater's Well being built before Kaede's village was founded would not have been impossible.
Now concerning Kaede's village itself:
Judging by what little of Kagome’s hometown seen in the anime, such as the closeness of Fuji in comparison to the city (seriously, ep. 1 shows it really close and the second movie also shows a startling closeness) and the fact it is being called ‘Tokyo’ I have concluded that the village Keade and Kikyo lived in was at the border of modern Tokyo and Kanagawa right at the base of the mountains if not in them; Hachioji is the most likely location of the village. This is reinforced by scenes of the village being surrounded by hills on practically all sides.
It would explain why Kagome has to "go to Tokyo" by train for her entrance exams if she already is in Tokyo. All the wards would be considered part of Tokyo but there is a vast cultural difference in each ward that sometimes can be seen within anime in general. A lot of good schools, such as the one Kagome desperately wants to get into, appear to reside closer to Tokyo central.
Finally: Where's the Daimyo?
Any reader of Inuyasha knows that daimyo were a fact of life in Sengoku Jidai. The daimyo were the ones who villagers sent their taxes to in exchange for protection among other things. So why did we never hear about Musashi's daimyo, even casually? An obvious answer was it wouldn't have mattered to the series, sadly the main story didn't need the political and military intrigues of the day beyond the 'hapless humans trying (and failing) to slay the demons' route.
Another important aspect, if ever considered by Takahashi, was distance: By the point in time of the series Musashi's daimyo, who himself was ruled by the main Kantō daimyo mentioned farther down, ruled from Edo whereas previously the capitol of Musashi Providence was in modern Fuchu, Tokyo. Looking at a map shows that while Fuchu had been much closer to Hachioji, Edo on the other hand was much farther away; they were on opposite sides of the providence.
And in terms of who was the ruling daimyo during the Sengoku Jidai? Well, the Hojo clan. Their clan was traditionally considered founded in 1493 due to the association of Ise Shinkuro with the Imagawa clan during the 15th century succession crisis. He quickly established a power base in Kyoto following this event. His son thereafter wanted a greater lineage and took up the name Hōjō after the line of Kamakura Shogunate regents his wife belonged to; becoming Hōjō Ujitsuna. The Hōjō would rule most of Kantō as famous warriors until the Siege of Odawara in 1590 against Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Yup folks, our friendly Akitoki Hojo was more than likely a part of the ruling clan. For all we know Akitoki himself was a close relative of said daimyo; afterall, only the most loyal or those of close relation would have been trusted with a clan's treasure even if only to destroy it. Even someone as clumsy as him.
Ain't that something to chew on.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thus concludes chapter 1, till next time!