What is "shinpan"

The daimyo were lords who were certain relatives of the Tokugawa shoguns of Japan. While all shinpan were relatives of the shogun, not all relatives of the shogun were shinpan; an example of this is the Matsudaira clan of the Okutono Domain. Non-daimyo relatives, such as the Gosankyō, were also known as kamon - thus the shinpan lords were alternatively known as kamon daimyō . Shinpan included the Gosanke, the Matsudaira clan of Aizu and the Matsudaira clan of the Fukui Domain.