Shikibu-shō

The was one of eight ministries of the Japanese imperial court.

History

It was established by the Taihō Code of early 8th century. The ministry was replaced in the Meiji period.

The ministry was renamed ''Mombushō'' for a brief number of years after 758, but the original name was restored in 764. The name has since remained unchanged until the Ritsuryō system was abandoned during the Meiji period.

Shikibu-shō is also where the Lady Murasaki Shikibu derives her name, probably owing to the senior secretary post that her father and her husband once occupied in the ministry. It is also the origin of the name of Shikike, one of the four great branches of the Fujiwara clan. In the Edo period, titles related to the Shikibu-shō, such as , were largely ceremonial and could be held by non-kuge, such as daimyō lords.

Today's organisation is the Board of Ceremonies, a department of the Imperial Household Agency.

Name

The "Ministry of Ceremonial," can arguably be considered the standard translation, as Japanologist Sir George Bailey Sansom wrote in 1932 that this was "the usual rendering in English", as well as being the coinage later adopted in the Appendix to Helen Craig McCullough's '' Eiga monogatari'', which remains as the standard "followed by numerous English-language authors" according to a more recent assessment.

However, Sansom issued the caveat that the use of the word "ceremony" is potentially misleading. Its function is not purely ceremonial, as will be discussed under the #Functions section. Given the dilemma, some commentators have chosen to apply an English name that attempted at a description of the true function, rather than a faithful literal translation. Further discussion, and a compilation of the numerous alternate English names are given in the section #List of translated aliases.

Functions

Sansom explains that ''Shiki'' actually denotes the "detailed procedure for the enforcement of ''ryō'' (the administrative code, as in '' Ritsuryō'')". For this reason, applying "the word 'ceremonial' is a little misleading" he warns.

The minister, or the had the grave authority to grade the performances of civil officers, recommend their appointments and awards, and decide on their ceremonial seniorities and privileges.Ury, Marian. (1999). "Chinese Learning and Intellectual Life," ''The Cambridge History of Japan: Heian Japan'', p. 361.

The ministry was also the supervisory body of the or the State University, and also conducted the civil examinations ( Imperial examination)., copied verbatim from the cited source Ito Hirobumi, ''Commentaries on the Japanese Constitution'' (). The footnote is provided by translator Itō Miyoji and is not in Count Ito (late Prince Ito)'s original work.Kawakami after also name "(4)those relating to the appointment of stewards in the houses of Imperial Princes and in those of officials of and above the 3rd grade of rank; (5) those relating to pensions of all kinds and to donations;"

The other body it oversaw was or "Bureau of Scattered Ranks" which administrated officials of middling rank who had no specific appointments. Sansom called it the "Bureau of Court Ranks".

Organisation

The was headed by the minister, whose office was ordinarily filled by a son or close relative of the emperor, of the fourth grade or higher.

* - "Minister of Ceremonial Affairs"
:aliases: "Chief administrator of the ministry of civil services"Varley, H. Paul. (1980). ''Jinnō Shōtōki,'' p. 272.

* - "Senior Assistant Minister of Ceremonial"
:aliases: "Vice-Minister"

* - "Junior Assistant Minister of Ceremonial"; quote: "(Year) 877, Michizane was named junior assistant minister of ceremonial."
:aliases: "Junior Vice-Minister"

* (x 2) - "Senior Secretaries"; "Senior Secretary in the Bureau of Ceremonials"
:Sometimes concurrently held by a "Chamberlain of sixth grade" who then gained special privilege to ascend to the imperial court.
:When irregularly occupied by a fifth rank, it bears the aliases: "A Secretary in the Ministry of Ceremonial who has been raised to the Fifth Rank";Ivan Morris tr., ''The Pillow Book'', Ch. 148. ; "Senior Secretary of the Fifth Rank".

* (x 2) - "Junior Secretaries"
* (x 1) - "Senior Recorder"
* (x 3) - "Junior Recorders"
* (x 20) - "Scribes"
* (x 2) - "Office keepers"
* (x 80) - "Servants"

Under the Ministry were two bureaus. One was educational and called the , literally "Bureau of the Greater Learning" though often called "The Universities Bureau" or simply the "University". The other was the '' San-i-ryō'' or or "Bureau of Scattered Ranks".

Office holders

Ministers

The or Minister
Fujiwara no Umakai (appointed <724), held this office, and the branch of the Fujiwara clan which he founded was named Shikke after him.

(<943) held this office, which earned him the after the fancier name of the office written in Tang dynasty Chinese style. The same prince wrote a diary entitled The

Vice-ministers

969, though the man also nicknamed the held numerous offices.

The junior vice ministership was once held by Sugawara no Michizane 877, also known as the deified Tenjin.

Secretaries

The father of Lady Murasaki, Fujiwara no Tametoki (984) was appointed Senior Secretary. (1004) who appears in Sei Shōnagon's '' The Pillow Book'' is another example.

As were Tametoki and Tadataka just mentioned, men who concurrently held ''Shikibu-no-daijō'' with another office of "Chamberlain of sixth grade" gained special permission to ascend the court, and were addressed as ", quote:"また六位の藏人で、式部丞を兼ねた事があるが、それをば、殿上の丞というたのである"

The Senior secretaryship was normally filled by a noble of , but occasionally a fifth rank candidate was appointed. Such an overqualified nobleman may be referred to as , with an example of the expression occurring in '' The Pillow Book'', ''Things That Give a Vulgar Impression (146)'', as "A Secretary in the Ministry of Ceremonial who has been raised to the Fifth Rank" (Ivan Morris tr.) Such a nobleman is alternatively called a , with instances in the '' Imakagami'', ''Ōkagami'', ''Genpei Jōsuiki'' as well as ''The Pillow Book'', " Hateful Things (14)": "Senior Secretary of the Fifth Rank".

List of translated aliases

''Shikibu-shō'' has been rendered into English in numerous ways. These many aliases can for convenience's sake be categorized into either a "literal" translation camp or "semantic" translation camp, as Versucher (2008) has suggested in a review article:

"In general, authors writing in English translate Japanese offices either literally, like “Ministry of Rites” (''sic.'') for ''Shikibushô ''(McCullough and McCullough), or semantically, like “Ministry of Personnel” for the same ''Shikibushô'' (Joan Piggott, ''The Emergence of Japanese Kingship'', Stanford University Press, 1997)."

Versucher's article quoted above notes that the translations of medieval Japanese offices appended in Helen Craig McCullough and her husband's translation of '' Eiga monogatari'' are "followed by numerous English-language authors", and the McCulloughs translate ''Shikibu-shō'' as "Ministry of Ceremonial".Verschuer misquotes it as "Ministry of Rites;" because the source she explicitly cites, gives on p.808 "The Ministry of Ceremonial (Shikibushō)".

;literal
* Bureau of Ceremonials
* Ceremonial Department
* Department of Ceremonial
* Department of Ceremonial (or Rites)
* Department of Rites and Ceremonies
* Ceremonies Ministry
* Ministry of Ceremonial
* Ministry of Ceremonials
* Ministry of Ceremony
* Ministry of Ceremonies
* Ministry of RitesNussbaum, Louis Frédéric ''et al.'' (2005). "Shikibushō" in

;semantic
* Department of Civil Affairs and Education
* Ministry of Civil AdministrationMinistry of Civil Administration
Sheffield.
* Ministry of Civil Services
* Ministry of Personnel

See also

* Daijō-kan

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* (organizational chart)
*
*
** — Iowa City, Iowa: University of Iowa Press (1903
Internet Archive, full text
*
* (organizational chart)
*
*
*
*
* (tr. of '' Nihon Odai Ichiran'')
*
*
* Ury, Marian. (1999). "Chinese Learning and Intellectual Life," ''The Cambridge history of Japan: Heian Japan''. Vol. II. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
* Varley, H. Paul. (1980)
''Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns.''
New York: Columbia University Press. ;
OCLC 59145842

;Japanese sources
*

;additional sources used to compile English translated names.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:shikibusho
Government of feudal Japan
Meiji Restoration
Former government ministries of Japan