was a title assigned to ''

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of History of Japan#Medieval Japan (1185–1573/1600), medieval and Edo period, early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retai ...

'' officials during the feudal period of Japan. ''Bugyō'' is often translated as commissioner,

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

, or

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, and other terms would be added to the title to describe more specifically a given official's tasks or jurisdiction.

Pre-Edo period

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 ...

(794–1185), the post or title of ''bugyō'' would be applied only to an official with a set task; once that task was complete, the officer would cease to be called ''bugyō''. However, in the

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first '' shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...

(1185–1333) and later, continuing through the end of the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

(1603–1868), posts and title came to be created on a more permanent basis.Kinihara, Misako
''The Establishment of the Tosen-bugyō in the Reign of Ashikaga Yoshinori'' (唐船奉行の成立 : 足利義教による飯尾貞連の登用)
Tokyo Woman's Christian University. ''Essays and S.tudies''. Abstract. Over time, there came to be 36 ''bugyō'' in the bureaucracy of the

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Yo ...

. In 1434, Ashikaga Yoshinori established the ''Tosen-bugyō'' to regulate foreign affairs for the

Ashikaga shogunate The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669. The Ashikaga shogunate was establis ...

. In 1587, a Japanese invading army occupied

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

; and one 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 ...

's first acts was to create a ''bugyō'' for the city, replicating a familiar pattern in an unfamiliar setting.

Edo period

During the

, the number of ''bugyō'' reached its largest extent as the bureaucracy of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in ...

expanded on an ''

ad hoc Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with '' a priori''.) C ...

'' basis, responding to perceived needs and changing circumstances.

List

: * Edo ''machi-bugyō'' (江戸町奉行) – Magistrates or municipal administrators of

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

. ** Kita-machi-bugyō (北町奉行) – North Edo magistrate.Cunningham, Don. (2004)
''Taiho-Jutsu: Law and Order in the Age of the Samurai,'' p. 42.
/ref> ** Minami-machi-bugyō (南町奉行) – South Edo magistrate. * ''Fushin-bugyō'' (普請奉行) – Superintendents of Public Works.Jansen, Marius. (1995)
''Warrior Rule in Japan,'' p. 186
citing John Whitney Hall. (1955). '' Tanuma Okitsugu: Forerunner of Modern Japan.'' Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the reti ...

. * '' Gaikoku-bugyō'' (外国奉行) – Commissioners in charge of trade and diplomatic relations with foreign countries after 1858.Beasley, William. (1955). ''Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853–1868,'' p. 322. * '' Gunkan-bugyō'' (軍鑑奉行) – Commissioners in charge of naval matters (post-1859). *'' Gusoku-bugyō'' (具足奉行) – Commissioners in charge of supplying the shogunal armies. ** '' Bugu-bugyō'' (武具奉行) – Commissioners in charge of supplying the shogunal armies (post-1863), replaced ''Gusoku-bugyō''. *'' Hakodate bugyō'' (箱館奉行) – Overseers of the port of

Hakodate is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of ...

and neighboring territory of Ezo. * Haneda ''bugyō'' (羽田奉行) – Overseers of the port of Haneda; commissioners of coastal defenses near Edo (post-1853). * Hyōgo ''bugyō'' (兵庫奉行) – Overseers of the port of Hyōgo (post-1864).Beasley, p. 323. * '' Jisha-bugyō'' (寺社奉行) – Ministers or administrators for religious affairs; overseers of the country's temples and shrines. * ''

Jiwari-bugyō were officials of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan. This '' bakufu'' title identifies an official with responsibility for surveying land.Naito, Akira '' et al.'' (2003) ''Edo: the City that Became Tokyo,'' p. 26./ref> List of ''jiwari- ...

'' (地割奉行)- Commissioners of surveys and surveying. * Kanagawa ''bugyō'' (神奈川奉行) – Overseers of the port of Kanagawa (post-1859).Beasley, p. 324. * '' Kanjō-bugyō'' (勘定奉行) – Ministers or administrators for shogunal finance (post-1787). ** '' Gundai'' (郡代)– Deputies. ** ''

Daikan ''Daikan'' (代官) was an official in Japan that acted on behalf of a ruling monarch or a lord at the post they had been appointed to. Since the Middle Ages, ''daikan'' were in charge of their territory and territorial tax collection. In the Edo ...

'' (代官)- Deputies. ** ''

Kane-bugyō were officials of the Tokugawa shogunate with responsibility for financial accounting or tax administration. The manner of paying taxes varied according to locality. In the ''Kantō,'' payments were generally made in rice for wet fields and in g ...

'' (金奉行) – Superintendents of the Treasury. ** '' Kura-bugyō'' (倉庫奉行) – Superintendents of Cereal Stores. ** ''Kinza'' (金座) – Gold '' za'' or monopoly office (post-1595).Jensen, p. 186; Schaede, Ulrike. (2000)
''Cooperative Capitalism: Self-Regulation, Trade Associations, and the Antimonopoly Law in Japan,'' p. 223.
/ref> ** ''Ginza'' (銀座) – Silver ''za'' or monopoly office (post-1598). ** ''Dōza'' (銅座) – Copper ''za'' or monopoly office (post-1636) and (1701–1712, 1738–1746, 1766–1768). ** ''Shuza'' (朱座) – Cinnabar ''za'' or monopoly office (post-1609). * '' Kanjō-ginmiyaku'' – Comptrollers of Finance. * Kantō ''gundai'' – Kantō deputies. * ''

Kinzan-bugyō were officials of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan. This ''bakufu'' title identifies an official with responsibility for superintending all mines, mining and metals-extraction activities in Japan.Hall, John Wesley. (1955 ''Tanuma Okits ...

'' (金山奉行) – Commissioners of mines. * Kyoto ''shoshidai'' (京都所司代) -- Shogunal representatives at Kyoto.Beasley, p. 325. ** Kyoto ''machi-bugyō'' (京都町奉行) – Magistrates or municipal administrators of

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ...

. ** Fushimi ''bugyō'' (伏見奉行) – Magistrates or municipal administrators of Fushimi (post-1620). ** Nara ''bugyō'' (奈良奉行) – Governors of

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

. * '' Machi-bugyō'' (町奉行) – Magistrates or municipal administrators in shogunal cities: Edo, Kyoto, Nagasaki,

, Nikkō, and

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

. * Nagasaki ''bugyō'' (長崎奉行) – Governor of

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in th ...

. * Niigata ''bugyō'' (新潟奉行) – Overseers of the port of Niigata. * Nikkō ''bugyō'' (日光奉行) – Overseers of Nikkō. * Osaka ''jōdai'' (大阪城代) – Overseers of

Osaka Castle is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and it played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Layout The main tower ...

.Murdoch
p. 9.
/ref> ** Osaka ''machi-bugyō'' (大阪町奉行) – Magistrates or municipal administrators in shogunal cities like

.Beasley, p. 325. ** Sakai ''bugyō'' (堺奉行) – Overseers of the town of Sakai. * '' Rōya-bugyō'' (牢屋奉行) – Commissioners of the shogunal prison. * Sado ''bugyō'' (佐渡奉行) – Overseers of the island of Sado. * ''

Sakuji-bugyō were officials of the Tokugawa shogunate having responsibility for architecture and construction matters. Appointments to this prominent office were usually ''fudai daimyōs''.Beasley, William. (1955). ''Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Polic ...

'' (作事奉行) – Commissioners of works (post-1632). * Shimoda ''bugyō'' (下田奉行) – Overseers of the port of Shimoda.Beasley, p. 329. * Sunpu ''jōdai'' (駿府城代) – Overseers of Sunpu Castle. * Uraga ''bugyō'' (浦賀奉行) – Overseers of the port of Uraga. * Yamada ''bugyō'' (山田奉行) -- Representatives of the shogunate at Ise. * ''Zaimoku-ishi bugyō'' (材木石奉行) - Overseer of construction materials for the Shōgun's properties (from 1647) * ''Zen bugyō'' (膳奉行) – Overseer of victuals for the Shōgun's table

Meiji period

In the early years 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 practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were r ...

, the title of ''bugyō'' continued to be used for government offices and conventional practices where nothing else had been created to replace the existing Tokugawa system. For example, the commander-in-chief of

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieg ...

under the early

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...

was called the ''Hohei-bugyō.''Van de Polder, Léon. (1891)
"Abridged History of the Copper Coins of Japan," ''Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan'' p. 419
500. As the new government passed its numerous reforms, the term ''bugyō'' was soon phased out of usage.

Notes

References

* Beasley, William G. (1951). ''Britain and the Opening of Japan, 1834–1858.'' London: Luzac & Company
reprinted by

Routledge 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, ...

, London, 1995. (paper) * ____________. (1955)
Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853–1868''.
London:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

. eprinted by RoutledgeCurzon, London, 2001. (cloth)">RoutledgeCurzon.html" ;"title="eprinted by RoutledgeCurzon">eprinted by RoutledgeCurzon, London, 2001. (cloth)* Francis Brinkley">Brinkley, Frank. (1915)
''A History of the Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era''.
London: Encyclopædia Britannica. * Coaldrake, William H. (1996
''Architecture and Authority in Japan''.
London:

. (paper) * Cullen, Louis M. (2003)
''A History of Japan, 1582-1941: Internal and External Worlds''.
Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambr ...

. (cloth) -- (paper) * Cunningham, Don. (2004)
''Taiho-Jutsu: Law and Order in the Age of the Samurai''.
Tokyo:

Tuttle Publishing Tuttle Publishing, originally the Charles E. Tuttle Company, is a book publishing company that includes Tuttle, Periplus Editions, and Journey Editions.

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

.
OCLC 58053128
* Hall, John Whitney. (1955
''Tanuma Okitsugu: Forerunner of Modern Japan''.
Cambridge:

. * Jansen, Marius B. (1995)
''Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration''.
New York:

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fi ...

. * ____________. (1995)
''Warrior Rule in Japan''.
Cambridge:

. * Kinihara, Misako
''The Establishment of the Tosen bugyō in the Reign of Ashikaga Yoshinori'' (唐船奉行の成立 : 足利義教による飯尾貞連の登用)
Tokyo Woman's Christian University. ''Essays and Studies''. 44:2, 27–53. * James Murdoch. (1926). ''A History of Japan''. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co
reprinted by

, 1996. * Naito, Akira, Kazuo Hozumi, and H. Mack Horto. (2003)
''Edo: the City that Became Tokyo.''
Tokyo: Kodansha. * Ponsonby-Fane, Richard A.R. (1956). ''Kyoto: the Old Capital, 794–1869''. Kyoto: Ponsonby-Fane Memorial. * Roberts, Luke Shepherd. (1998)
''Mercantilism in a Japanese Domain: The Merchant Origins of Economic Nationalism in 18th Century Tosa''.
Cambridge:

. * Sasama Yoshihiko (1995). ''Edo Machi Bugyō Jiten''. Tokyo: Kashiwa-shobo. * Sato, Yasunobu. (2001)
''Commercial Dispute Processing and Japan''.
Amsterdam: Wolters Kluwer. (cloth) * Schaede, Ulrike. (2000)
''Cooperative Capitalism: Self-Regulation, Trade Associations, and the Antimonopoly Law in Japan''.
Oxford:

. (cloth) * Screech, Timon. (2006). ''Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns:

Isaac Titsingh Isaac Titsingh FRS ( January 1745 – 2 February 1812) was a Dutch diplomat, historian, Japanologist, and merchant.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Isaak Titsingh" in . During a long career in East Asia, Titsingh was a senior official of the ...