, in Japanese, refers to powerful regional families. In historical context, it can refer to powerful non-royal families regardless of their area of influence, in contrast to the Imperial Family. The most powerful gà Âzoku families of the Yamato period included the Soga clan, Mononobe clan and Katsuragi clan.
In the Yamato period prior to the ritsuryà  system, the powerful clans based in Yamato Province and Kawachi Province were referred to as the chà «à  gà Âzoku (central gà Âzoku), while the term chihà  gà Âzoku (regional gà Âzoku) referred to powerful clans outside the immediate vicinity of the capital who served as kuni no miyatsuko and agatanushi. The central gà Âzoku held kabane titles such as omi and muraji, while the regional gà Âzoku held titles such as atai and kimi. The most powerful daigà Âzoku ("great gà Âzoku") included the Katsuragi clan, à Âtomo clan, Mononobe clan, and Soga clan.
After the implementation of the ritsuryà  system, the central gà Âzoku became kizoku, the aristocracy, and took part in central politics. The regional gà Âzoku remained practically unchanged and took part in regional politics. Under the ritsuryà  system, gà Âzoku referred to powerful regional families holding a court rank of Sixth Rank or below or who were unranked, in contrast to the royals and the aristocracy, who held a court rank of Fifth Rank or above. Under this system, the gà Âzoku typically served as district governors or as junior officials in provincial governments, and thus took on the duties of local administration.
In the Middle Ages, gà Âzoku referred to a class of regional officials such as jità  (territory governor), shà Âkan (manor administrator) and geshi (junior official at a manor). However, after Muromachi period, the term gà Âzoku fell out of use and was replaced by the term dogà Â, which referred to jizamurai (provincial peasant-warrior in charge of a small rural domain), kumon (official at a manor in charge of official documents) and satanin (official at a manor in charge of executing orders and judgements on behalf of the lord).
During and after the Edo period, neither the terms gà Âzoku nor dogà  were used. The terms gà Ânà  and gà Âshà  replaced the previous class distinction following the rise of wealthy farmers and wealthy merchants during the Edo period.