 In the Kamakura period, "Kimigayo" was used as a festive song among samurai and then became popular among the people in the Edo period.In the later part of the Edo period, "Kimigayo" was used in the Ōoku (harem of Edo Castle) and Satsuma-han (now Kagoshima Prefecture) as a common festive new year song.In those contexts, ""kimi"" never meant the emperor but only the Tokugawa shōgun, the Shimazu clan as rulers of the Satsuma-han, guests of honor or all members of festive drinking party.