was the chief governing body of an important family or monastic complex in ancient Japan. This name was borrowed for the administrative department of the Shogunate in feudal times.

History

The earliest usage of the term was found in 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 Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...

, referring to a governing body consisting of royalty and high-ranked

kuge The was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese Imperial Court in Kyoto. The ''kuge'' were important from the establishment of Kyoto as the capital during the Heian period in the late 8th century until the rise of the Kamak ...

(higher than ju-sammi). Subsequently, during the

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kama ...

and

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by ...

s, the primary executive branch of the

Bakufu , officially , was the title of the military dictators 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, though during part of the Kamakura ...

(office of the Shogunate) was called by this name. During the Kamakura Shogunate, the Mandokoro governed administration and finance. It was formerly called Kumonjo, and the date when it was renamed is argued. There are two major proposed dates, 1191 or 1185. The first chief of the Mandokoro was Ōe no Hiromoto. Later,

shikken The was a titular post held by a member of the Hōjō clan, officially a regent of the shogunate, from 1199 to 1333, during the Kamakura period, and so he was head of the ''bakufu'' (shogunate). It was part of the era referred to as . During rou ...

or rensho occupied this position. The position of executive director, serving also as the treasurer, was held by the Nikaidō clan. During the Muromachi Shogunate, the Mandokoro was the office of finance and process on fiefs. Except in its earliest days, the position of chief of the Mandokoro was held by members of the Ise clan, starting in 1379.

''Kita no Mandokoro''

As (lit. North Mandokoro), ''Mandokoro'' was also used as an honorific title referring to the wife of the '' sesshō'' (regent) or the '' kampaku'', these women had great political power and influence in their own right. For example, Kōdai-in, the wife of

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and '' daimyō'' ( feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the C ...

, who held the rank of ''Kampaku'' in 1586, was styled ''Kita no Mandokoro'' (lit. North Mandokoro), and his mother was styled ''

Ōmandokoro Ōmandokoro (大政所, 1516 – 29 August 1592) or Ōmandokoro Naka was the mother of the Japanese ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi. She was also the mother of Asahi no kata, Tomo and Toyotomi Hidenaga. Biography It is said that Ōmandokoro was bo ...

'' (lit. Great Mandokoro). During the Heian period, the wives of the ''

'' were often called ''Kita-no-kata'' (北の方 Lady in the North), since their residence was normally placed in the northern complex of the palace.

History

''Kita no Mandokoro''

See also