was a Japanese Imperial court position and the title of the chief education expert in the rigid court hierarchy. The Imperial ''Daigaku-no-kami'' predates the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

; and the court position continued up through the early

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

. The title and position were conferred in the name of the

Emperor of Japan The emperor of Japan is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...

. In the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, the head of the educational and bureaucrat training system for the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

was also known by the honorific title ''Daigaku-no-kami'', which effectively translates as "Head of the State University". The title and position were conferred in the name of the ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

''.

Imperial court hierarchy

The Imperial court position of ''Daigaku-no-kami'' identified the chief education expert in the Imperial retinue. The ''Daigaku-no-kami'' was head of the Imperial University, the '' Daigaku-ryō''. The title arose during evolution of governmental reorganizations beginning in 701. These pre-

innovations are collectively known as the . The position and the title ultimately came about under the direction of Prince Osakabe, Fujiwara no Fuhito and Awata no Mahito at the request of

Emperor Monmu was the 42nd emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 文武天皇 (42) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Monmu's reign spanned the years from 697 through 707. Traditional narrative Befo ...

. Like many other developments at the time, the title was an adaptation derived from the governmental system of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

. The somewhat inflexible hierarchical nature of the court requires that the function of the ''Daigaku-no-kami'' be understood both in terms of specific functions and in terms of those ranking above and below in the Ministry of Civil Services. In the

Asuka period The was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710, although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato period, Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after the ...

, the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

and the

, the Imperial court hierarchy encompassed a ; also known as the "Ministry of Legislative Direction and Public Instruction". This ministry collected and maintained biographical archives of meritorious subjects. Within this ministry structure, the highest-ranking official was the ;Varley, H. Paul , ed. (1980). ''

Jinnō Shōtōki is a Japanese historical book written by Kitabatake Chikafusa. The work sought both to clarify the genesis and potential consequences of a contemporary crisis in Japanese politics, and to dispel or at least ameliorate the prevailing disorder ...

'', p. 272. also known as Chief minister of public instruction. This office was typically filled by a son or close relative of the emperor. For example, in 773 ('' Hōki 4''), the ''daigaku-no-kami'' was Yamabe''-shinnō'', who was named Crown Prince and heir of Emperor Kōnin. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ; Ponsonby-Fane, p. 317. However, there were exceptions to this general rule if there was an especially pre-eminent contemporary scholar, such as in the case of Miyoshi Kiyotsura. Accompanying the ''Daigaku-no-kami'' were seven judges, who directly assisted this minister.Titsingh, pp. 427–428. Ranking just below these judges were educational authorities: * .Titsingh, p. 428. ** . ** . ** . ** . ** . There would have been many copyist calligraphers working under the direction of the chief calligrapher. ** . ** —two positions. ** —two positions. ** —two positions.

Tokugawa bakufu hierarchy

In the

, this title identifies the head of the chief educational institution of the Tokugawa state. It was conferred by the ''shōgun'' in 1691 when the Neo-Confucian academy moved to land provided by the shogunate. In the years which followed, this academic title became hereditary for the ten descendants of Hayashi Hōkō who were sequential heads of the Yushima Seidō. The 10 rectors of the institution who were each identified by the title ''daigaku-no-kami'' were: * 1st rector (and ''Daigaku-no-kami''): Hayashi Hōkō (1644–1732), formerly Hayashi Nobuhatsu (son of Gahō).De Bary, William ''et al.'' (2005). ''Sources of Japanese Tradition'', Vol. 2. p. 443. * 2nd rector (and ''Daigaku-no-kami''): Hayashi Ryūkō (1681–1758). * 3rd rector (and ''Daigaku-no-kami''): Hayashi Hōkoku (1721–1773). * 4th rector (and ''Daigaku-no-kami''):

Hayashi Hōtan Hayashi (wikt:林, 林, literally "forest, woods"), is the 19th most common Japanese surname. It shares the same character as the Chinese surname Lin (surname), Lin and the Korean surname Im (surname), Im. Notable people with the surname *, Jap ...

(1761–1787). * 5th rector (and ''Daigaku-no-kami''): Hayashi Kimpō (1767–1793), also known as Hayashi Kanjun or Hayashi Nobutaka Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005). ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 300. * 6th rector and 8th ''Daigaku-no-kami''): Hayashi Jussai (1768–1841), formerly Matsudaira Norihira, 3rd son of Iwamura daimyō Matsudaira Norimori—Norihira was adopted into Hayashi family when Kinpō/Kanjun died childless; explained shogunate foreign policy to Emperor Kōkaku in 1804., also known as Hayashi JitsusaiAsiatic Society of Japan. (1908). ''Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan'', v36:1(1908), p. 151. and Hayashi Kō. * 7th rector (and ''Daigaku-no-kami''): Hayashi Teiu (1791–1844). * 8th rector (and ''Daigaku-no-kami''): Hayashi Sōkan (1828–1853). * 9th rector (and ''Daigaku-no-kami''): Hayashi Fukusai (1800–1859), also known as Hayashi Akira, chief Japanese negotiator for the Treaty of Kanagawa * 10th rector (and ''Daigaku-no-kami''): Hayashi Gakusai (1833–1906), formerly Hayashi Noboru, head of the academy in 1867. The rector of the ''Yushima Seidō'' stood at the apex of the country-wide educational and training system which was created and maintained with the personal involvement of successive ''shōguns''. The position as rector of the ''Yushima Seidō'' became hereditary in the Hayashi family. The rectors' scholarly reputation was burnished by publication in 1657 of the 7 volumes of and by the publication in 1670 of the 310 volumes of .Brownlee, John S. (1991)
''Political Thought in Japanese Historical Writing: From Kojiki (712) to Tokushi Yoron (1712)'', p. 120.
/ref>

Meiji constitutional hierarchy

In the course of 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, this Imperial title was abolished; but its position within the ambit of a reorganized government structure would be developed further in the Meiji period ''Daijō-kan''.

Notes

References

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Kōdansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning'', '' Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Young Magazine'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'', ...

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Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

. ; * De Bary, William, Carol Gluck, Arthur E. Tiedemann. (2005). ''Sources of Japanese Tradition'', Vol. 2. New York:

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...

.
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* Kelly, Boyd. (1999). ''Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing'', Vol. 1. London:

Taylor & Francis Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in the United Kingdom that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, CRC Press, Routledge, F1000 (publisher), F1000 Research and Dovepress. It i ...

. * Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). ''Japan Encyclopedia''. Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

.
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* Ozaki, Yukio. (2001). ''The Autobiography of Ozaki Yukio: The Struggle for Constitutional Government in Japan''. ranslated by Fujiko Hara Princeton:

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial ...

. (cloth) * Ozaki, Yukio. (1955). ''Ozak Gakudō Zenshū''. Tokyo: Kōronsha. * Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959)
''The Imperial House of Japan''.
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* Sansom, George. (1958). ''A History of Japan to 1334''. Stanford:

Stanford University Press Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It is currently a member of the Ass ...

. * _______________. (1952). ''Japan: A Short Cultural History''. Stanford:

. (cloth) (paper) * Screech, Timon. (2006). ''Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822''. London:

RoutledgeCurzon Routledge ( ) is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, a ...

. * Titsingh, Isaac. (1834)
''Annales des empereurs du Japon''
(''

Nihon Odai Ichiran Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in t ...

''). Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
OCLC 5850691
* Ury, Marian. (1999). "Chinese Learning and Intellectual Life", ''The Cambridge history of Japan: Heian Japan''. Vol. II. Cambridge:

. (cloth) * Varley, H. Paul, ed. (1980). Kitabatake Chikafusa, 1359">Kitabatake_Chikafusa.html" ;"title="Kitabatake Chikafusa">Kitabatake Chikafusa, 1359 ''

("A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki of Kitabatake Chikafusa" translated by H. Paul Varley)''. New York:

External links