is the collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the

Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the ...

in pre- Meiji eras. The term generally referred to the and court officials and denoted a court rank between First Rank and Third Rank under the ''

Ritsuryō , , is the historical law system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism in Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryō is called "Ritsuryō-sei" (律令制). ''Kyaku'' (格) are amendments of Ritsuryō, ''Shiki' ...

'' system, as opposed to the lower court nobility, thus being the collective term for the upper court nobility. However, later on some holders of the Fourth Rank were also included. In 1869, following the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, the court nobility and daimyo were merged into a new

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Be ...

, the ''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. They succeeded the feudal lords () and court nobles (), but were abolished with the 1947 constitution. Kazoku ( 華族) should not be confused with ...

''.

Overview

The ''kugyō'' generally refers to two groups of court officials: * the ''Kō'' (公), comprising the

Chancellor of the Realm Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

, the Minister of the Left, and the Minister of the Right; and * the ''Kei'' (卿), comprising the Major Counsellor, the Middle Counsellor, and the Associate Counselors, who held the court rank of Third Rank or higher.

History

The ''kugyō'' originated from the

Three Lords and Nine Ministers The Three Lords and Nine Ministers system () was a central administrative system adopted in ancient China that was officially instituted in the Qin dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC) and was replaced by the Three Departments and Six Ministries () system s ...

(三公九卿) of the ancient Chinese

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...

(221 BC – 206 BC). In Japan, the ''kugyō'' was similarly divided into two groups of court officials the three ''Kō'' and the nine ''Kei''. The ''Kō'' comprised the Chancellor of the Realm (''Taishi'' or ''Daijō-daijin''), the Minister of the Left (''Taifu'' or ''Sadaijin''), and the Minister of the Right (''Taiho'' or ''Udaijin''); and the ''Kei'' comprised the Associate Counselors (''Shōshi'', ''Shōfu'', ''Shōho'', ''Chōsai'', ''Shito'', ''Sōhaku'', ''Shiba'', ''Shikō'', and ''Shikū'', or collectively the ''Sangi''), who held the court rank of Third Rank or higher. Under the ''

'' system, the ''kugyō'' included the three Ministers (''Daijin''), the Chancellor of the Realm, the Minister of the Left, and the Minister of the Right, and the Major Counsellor (''Gyoshitaifu'' or ''Dainagon''), who held the court rank of Third Rank or higher. However, later on government offices not specified in the administrative code of the ''ritsuryō'', the

Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

(''Sesshō'' and ''Kampaku''), the Inner Minister (''Naidaijin''), the Middle Counsellor (''Chūnagon''), and Associate Counselors holding the Fourth Rank were also included in the ''kugyō''. The ''kugyō'' was also divided into the incumbent courtiers (''Gennin'') and courtiers without a post (''Sani''). Additionally, among the courtiers without a post, the courtiers who had at least once held a position of Associate Counselor or higher were referred to as e.g. former Major Counsellor (''saki no Dainagon''), but courtiers holding a court rank of Third Rank or higher who had never been Associate Counselor were referred to as non-Associate Counselor (''Hisangi''). In 758, the Chancellor of the Realm was renamed ''Taishi'' from ''Daijō-daijin'', the Minister of the Left was renamed ''Taifu'' from ''Sadaijin'', the Minister of the Right was renamed ''Taiho'' from ''Udaijin'', and the Major Counsellor was renamed ''Gyoshitaifu'' from ''Dainagon''. However, after the death of Fujiwara no Nakamaro in 764, the old names were restored. As part of the Meiji reforms, a single aristocratic class, the ''

'', was created in 1869 by merging the '' kuge'' (the court nobility in Kyoto, of which the ''kugyō'' was a part) and the ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominall ...

s'' (the feudal land holders and warriors). In the 1870s, the organizational structure of the court itself was also modernized. In the period after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the ''kazoku'' was abolished, as a part of post-war Japanese reforms. The remaining political powers of the Emperor were transferred to the constitutional

government of Japan The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state ...

, and the responsibility for state matters concerning the Emperor and the Imperial family was consolidated entirely into the Imperial Household Agency.

Terminology

The ''kugyō'' was also known as ''kandachime'' (上達部), ''keishō'' (卿相), ''gekkei'' (月卿), and ''kyokuro'' or ''odoronomichi'' (棘路). While ''kugyō'' was the collective term for the holders of a court rank between First Rank and Third Rank, the term for the holders of Fourth Rank and Fifth Rank was ''

Taifu ''Taifu'' (大夫) was a noble title in Japan, denoting a court rank between First Rank and Fifth Rank under the ''Ritsuryō'' system. It was also commonly used to refer to a holder of Fifth Rank, but also for holders of Fourth and Fifth Rank, to ...

''.

References

* Daijirin, 2nd edition *

Daijisen The is a general-purpose Japanese dictionary published by Shogakukan in 1995 and 1998. It was designed as an "all-in-one" dictionary for native speakers of Japanese, especially high school and university students. History Shogakukan intended fo ...

, 1st edition * Kōjien, 6th edition {{DEFAULTSORT:Kugyo Japanese historical terms Royal and noble courts Japanese courtiers

Overview

History

Terminology

See also

References