The contents of the edicts were seen as a code of conduct, a description of proper honorable daimyō behavior, and not solely laws which had to be obeyed.
The edicts were first read to a gathering of daimyō by the retired shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu, at Fushimi Castle in the seventh lunar month of 1615.
The fudai daimyō bore less power, were more trusted by the shogunate, and could be easily punished by having their domains and privileges rescinded.
Regulations regarding the construction, expansion, and repair of fortifications also serve to prevent the build-up of military power that could be used against the shogunate, as does a reference to the policy of sankin-kōtai, by which daimyō were required to make elaborate pilgrimages to Edo regularly, to present themselves for service.
This year is also quite significant for the implementation of a number of policies which can be grouped under the term kaikin (maritime prohibitions), and which are sometimes referred to as the Sakoku Edicts.
Though these were once pronounced along with the Shoshi hatto (laws for samurai), the latter became largely obsolete after 1683 and was absorbed into the wider body of shogunal orders and prohibitions (the kinrei-ko).