Can someone tell me the difference between the Daimyo/ Shogun/ Samurai/ Emperor? Did they all rule Japan?

Question

Also, was Japan an absolute monarch?

Answer 1

The daimyo were the most powerful feudal rulers from the 10th century to the early 19th century in Japan following the Shogun.  The term "daimyo" is also sometimes used to refer to the leading figures of such clans, also called "lord". It was usually, though not exclusively, from these warlords that a shogun arose or a regent was chosen.

Shōgun is a military rank and historical title in Japan. The Japanese word for "general", it is made up of two kanji words: sho, meaning "commander", "general", or "admiral", and gun, meaning "army", "troops", or "military". The modern rank is equivalent to a Generalissimo. A shogun's office or administration is known in English as a "shogunate."

Samurai was a term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan.

Although the emperor has been a symbol of continuity with the past, the degree of power exercised by the emperor of Japan has varied considerably throughout Japanese history.

The growth of the samurai class from the 10th century gradually weakened the power of the imperial family over the nation, leading to a time of instability. Up to recent centuries, Japan's territory did not include several remote regions of its modern-day territory. The name Nippon came into use only many centuries after the start of the current imperial line. Centralized government really only began to appear shortly before and during the time of Prince Shotoku. The emperor was more like a revered embodiment of divine harmony rather than the head of an actual governing administration. In Japan it has always been easy for ambitious lords to hold actual power, as such positions have not been inherently contradictory to the emperor's position.  From 1192 to 1867, the real power was in the hands of the shoguns, or the shikken (1203-1333) who ruled in the name of the shoguns, who were in theory always given their authority through the emperor. When Portuguese and Spanish explorers first contacted Japan (see Nanban period), they likened the relationship between emperor and shogun to that of the Roman Catholic Pope (godly, but with little political power) and king or Holy Roman emperor (earthly, but with a relatively large amount of political power) though this in itself can be considered inaccurate as, like the Emperor, Roman Catholic Popes have wielded varying degrees of power throughout their history.

The government seemed to be more of a military dictatorship than an absolute monarchy.

Answer 2

In order of STATE POWER (like the Queen of England) Descending.

Emperor (Tenno)

Daimyo

Shogun

Samurai

Peasants

In order of actual political/military power (like the PM of england) descending

Shogun

Daimyo

Samurai

Emperor

Peasants