Shōnagon

was a counselor of the third rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates to the 7th century. This advisory position remained a part of the Imperial court of Japan from the 8th century until the Meiji period in the 19th century.Nussbaum, "Shōnagon" at . This became a Taihō Code office in the early feudal Japanese government or ''daijō-kan''.

In the ranks of the Imperial bureaucracy, the ''Shōnagon'' came between the ''Chūnagon'' (middle counselors) and the Sangi (associate counselors).Titsingh, Isaac. (1834).

Typically, the office was held by three fifth-rank members of the kuge. These officials were responsible for reading ordinary reports and for making of Imperial travel arrangements. The ''Shōnagon'' are said to help the memories of the principal officers, to put seals to deeds, and carry communications to others within the ''daijō-kan.'' They are both military and civil.

Shōnagon in context

Any exercise of meaningful powers of court officials in the pre-Meiji period reached its nadir during the years of the Tokugawa shogunate, and yet the core structures of ritsuryō government did manage to endure for centuries.

In order to appreciate the office of ''Shōnagon'', it is necessary to evaluate its role in the traditional Japanese context of a durable yet flexible framework. This was a bureaucratic network and a hierarchy of functionaries. The role of ''Shōnagon'' was an important element in the ''Daijō-kan'' (Council of State). The Daijō-kan schema proved to be adaptable in the creation of constitutional government in the modern period.

Highest Daijō-kan officials

The highest positions in the court hierarchy can be cataloged. A dry list provides a superficial glimpse inside the complexity and inter-connected relationships of the Imperial court structure.
* ''Daijō-daijin'' (Chancellor of the Realm or Chief Minister).Titsingh, ; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). ''Jinnō Shōtōki,'' p.272.
* ''Sadaijin'' (Minister of the Left).
* ''Udaijin'' (Minister of the Right).
* ''Naidaijin'' (Minister of the Center).

The next highest tier of officials were:
* ''Dainagon'' (Major counselor). There are commonly three ''Dainagon''; sometimes more.Unterstein (in German)Ranks in Ancient and Meiji Japan (in English and French)
p. 6.
* ''Chūnagon'' (Middle counselor).
* ''Shōnagon'' (Minor counselor); there are commonly three ''Shōnagon''.

Other high-ranking bureaucrats who function somewhat flexibly within the ''Daijō-kan'' were;
* ''Sangi'' (Associate counselor).Nussbaum, "Sangi" in . This office functions as a manager of ''Daijō-kan'' activities within the palace.
* (Secretariat). These are specifically named men who act at the sole discretion of the emperor.

The Eight Ministries

The government ministries were eight semi-independent bureaucracies. A list alone cannot reveal much about the actual functioning of the ''Daijō-kan'', but the broad hierarchical categories do suggest the way in which governmental functions were parsed:

The specific ministries above are not grouped arbitrarily. The two court officials below had responsibility for them as follows:
* Varley, p. 272. This administrator was charged or tasked with supervising four ministries: Center, Civil Services, Ceremonies, and Taxation.
* This administrator was charged or tasked with supervising four ministries: Military, Justice, Treasury and Imperial Household.

See also

* Daijō-kan
* Sessho and Kampaku
* Kōkyū
* Kuge
* Imperial Household Agency

Notes

References

* Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''
Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ;
* Ozaki, Yukio. (2001). ''The Autobiography of Ozaki Yukio: The Struggle for Constitutional Government in Japan.'' (Translated by Fujiko Hara). Princeton: Princeton University Press. ;
* Ozaki, Yukio. (1955). 尾崎咢堂全集. 第11卷, 咢堂自伝: 日本憲政史を語る (''Ozaki gakudō zenshū. 11, Gakudō jiden: nihon kenseishi o kataru'') Tokyo: Kōronsha.
* Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''Nihon Odai Ichiran''; ou
''Annales des empereurs du Japon.''
Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. .
* Varley, H. Paul. (1980). ''Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns.'' New York: Columbia University Press. ;

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shonagon
Government of feudal Japan
702 establishments
8th-century establishments in Japan