was a title assigned to ''

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

'' officials during the

feudal period Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. ''Bugyō'' is often translated as

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

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 characteriz ...

(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 The term bureaucracy () refers to a body of non-elected governing officials as well as to an administrative policy-making group. Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments staffed with non-elected offi ...

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 Y ...

. In 1434,

Ashikaga Yoshinori was the sixth ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1429 to 1441 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshinori was the son of the third ''shōgun'' Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). His childhood name was Harutor ...

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 establi ...

. In 1587, a Japanese invading army occupied

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

; 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 Cour ...

'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 during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

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''.) Com ...

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

List

: * Edo ''machi-bugyō'' (江戸町奉行) – Magistrates or municipal administrators of Edo. ** 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 John Whitney Hall (September 13, 1916 – October 21, 1997),"John Whitney Hall papers, 1930–1999", Yale University Library was an American historian of Japan who specialized in premodern Japanese history. His life work was recognized by the Japan ...

. (1955). ''

Tanuma Okitsugu (September 11, 1719, in Edo, Japan – August 25, 1788, in Edo) was a chamberlain (''sobashū'') and a senior counselor (''rōjū'') to the ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Ieharu of the Tokugawa Shogunate, in the Edo period of Japan. Tanuma and his s ...

: 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 retirem ...

. * '' 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 , also known as ''kaigun-bugō,'' were officials of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan. Appointments to this prominent office were usually ''fudai daimyō''.Beasley, William G. (1955). ''Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853– ...

'' (軍鑑奉行) – Commissioners in charge of naval matters (post-1859). *''

Gusoku-bugyō The was a government office under Japan's Tokugawa shogunate, concerned with the armament of the ''shōgun''s soldiers.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Ōmi''" in ; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, ''see'Deut ...

'' (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 were officials of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan. Appointments to this prominent office were usually '' fudai'' daimyō, but this was amongst the senior administrative posts open to those who were not daimyō.Beasley, William G. (19 ...

'' (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 412.8 ...

and neighboring territory of

Ezo (also spelled Yezo or Yeso) is the Japanese term historically used to refer to the lands to the north of the Japanese island of Honshu. It included the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, which changed its name from "Ezo" to "Hokkaidō" in 18 ...

. * Haneda ''bugyō'' (羽田奉行) – Overseers of the port of

Haneda , officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...

; 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 was a "commissioner" or an "overseer" of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan. Appointments to this prominent office were always ''fudai daimyōs'', the lowest-ranking of the shogunate offices to be so restricted.Beasley, William G. (1955) ...

'' (寺社奉行) – Ministers or administrators for religious affairs; overseers of the country's temples and shrines. * '' Jiwari-bugyō'' (地割奉行)- Commissioners of surveys and surveying. * Kanagawa ''bugyō'' (神奈川奉行) – Overseers of the port of

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

(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'' (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'' (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 ci ...

. ** 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 i ...

. * ''

Machi-bugyō were ''samurai'' officials of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan, this was amongst the senior administrative posts open to those who were not ''daimyō''.Beasley, William G. (1955). ''Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853–186 ...

'' (町奉行) – Magistrates or municipal administrators in shogunal cities: Edo, Kyoto, Nagasaki,

Nikkō is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 80,239 in 36,531 households, and a population density of 55 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It is a popular destination for Japanese and ...

, 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 2. ...

. * 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 the ...

. * Niigata ''bugyō'' (新潟奉行) – Overseers of the port of Niigata. * Nikkō ''bugyō'' (日光奉行) – Overseers of

. * 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 is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its keyhole-shaped burial mounds, or kofun, which date from the fifth century and inclu ...

. * '' 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'' (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 was a Japanese castle in Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan. The sobriquet of this feudal fortress was the "Castle of the Floating Isle".Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)Shizuoka It was also referred to as or . His ...

. * Uraga ''bugyō'' (浦賀奉行) – Overseers of the port of Uraga. * Yamada ''bugyō'' (山田奉行) -- Representatives of the shogunate at

Ise Ise may refer to: Places * Ise, Mie, a city in Japan **Ise Grand Shrine, a Shinto shrine located in Ise, Mie * Ise Ekiti, a city in Nigeria *Ise, Norway, a village in Norway *Ise Province, an ancient province of Japan * River Ise, a tributary of th ...

. * ''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 ...

, 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 siege ...

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 o ...

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, and ...

, 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 books ...

. eprinted_by_RoutledgeCurzon,_London,_2001.___(cloth).html" ;"title="RoutledgeCurzon.html" ;"title="eprinted by eprinted_by_RoutledgeCurzon,_London,_2001.___(cloth)">RoutledgeCurzon.html"_;"title="eprinted_by_RoutledgeCurzon">eprinted_by_RoutledgeCurzon,_London,_2001.___(cloth)*_Francis_Brinkley.html" ;"title="RoutledgeCurzon">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 A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

. (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 fiel ...

. * ____________. (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 is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

. * 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 Wolters Kluwer N.V. () is a Dutch information services company. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands (Global) and Philadelphia, United States (corporate). Wolters Kluwer in its current form was founded in 1987 with a ...

. (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 ...

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, and ...

. * Shimada, Ryuto. (2005)
''The Intra-Asian Trade in Japanese Copper by the Dutch East India Company''.
Leiden:

Brill Publishers Brill Academic Publishers (known as E. J. Brill, Koninklijke Brill, Brill ()) is a Dutch international academic publisher founded in 1683 in Leiden, Netherlands. With offices in Leiden, Boston, Paderborn and Singapore, Brill today publishes 27 ...