was a counselor of the second rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century. The role was eliminated from the Imperial hierarchy in 701, but it was re-established in 705. This advisory position remained a part of the Imperial court from the 8th century until the

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 ...

in the 19th century.Nussbaum, "Chūnagon" at . This became a

Taihō Code The was an administrative reorganisation enacted in 703 in Japan, at the end of the Asuka period. It was historically one of the . It was compiled at the direction of Prince Osakabe, Fujiwara no Fuhito and Awata no Mahito. Nussbaum, Louis- ...

office in the early feudal Japanese government or ''

daijō-kan The , also known as the Great Council of State, was (i) (''Daijō-kan'') the highest organ of Japan's premodern Imperial government under the Ritsuryō legal system during and after the Nara period or (ii) (''Dajō-kan'') the highest organ of Jap ...

''. In the ranks of the Imperial bureaucracy, the ''Chūnagon'' came between the ''

Dainagon was a counselor of the first rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century. This advisory position remained a part of the Imperial court from the 8th century until the Meiji period in the 19th century.Nussbaum, "Dainag ...

'' (major counselors) and the Shōnagon (minor counselors).Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Imperial honors included the sometimes creation of a temporary or . The number of ''Chūnagon'' has varied, from three in 705 to four in 756. There were eight in 1015; and in later years, there were up to ten ''Chūnagon'' at one time.

Chūnagon in context

Any exercise of meaningful powers of court officials in the pre-

reached its nadir during the years of 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 ...

, and yet the core structures of

ritsuryō is the historical Japanese legal system, legal system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Legalism (Chinese philosophy), Chinese Legalism in Feudal Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryō is called "Ritsuryō-sei" (). ''Kya ...

government did manage to endure for centuries. In order to appreciate the office of ''Chūnagon'', 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 ''Chūnagon'' was an important element in the ''

Daijō-kan The , also known as the Great Council of State, was (i) (''Daijō-kan'') the highest organ of Japan's premodern Imperial government under the Ritsuryō legal system during and after the Nara period or (ii) (''Dajō-kan'') the highest organ of Jap ...

'' (Council of State). The Daijō-kan

schema Schema may refer to: Science and technology * SCHEMA (bioinformatics), an algorithm used in protein engineering * Schema (genetic algorithms), a set of programs or bit strings that have some genotypic similarity * Schema.org, a web markup vocab ...

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 The ''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', Kenkyusha Limited, was a government position in Japan during the Asuka to Meiji era. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the ''Sadaijin'' in the context of a cent ...

'' (Minister of the Left). * ''

Udaijin was a government position in Japan during the Asuka to Meiji era. The position was consolidated in the Taihō Code of 701. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the ''Udaijin'' in the context of a central administrat ...

'' (Minister of the Right). * '' Naidaijin'' (Minister of the Center). The next highest tier of officials were: * ''

'' (Major counselor, chief counselor of state). 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). 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: Left * Ministry of the Center.Titsingh, * Ministry of Civil Services; also known as the "Ministry of Legislative Direction and Public Instruction". * Ministry of Ceremonies; also known as the "Ministry of the Interior". * Ministry of Taxation.Titsingh, Right * Ministry of the Military. *

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. * Ministry of the Treasury. * Ministry of the Imperial Household.Titsingh, 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 The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

Ceremonies A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin . Religious and civil (secular) ceremoni ...

, and

Taxation A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal person, legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to Pigouvian tax, regulate and reduce nega ...

. * This administrator was charged or tasked with supervising four ministries:

Military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...

and Imperial Household.

Notes

References

* Dickson, Walter G. and Mayo Williamson Hazeltine. (1898). "The Eight Boards of Government" in ''Japan''. New York: P. F. Collier
OCLC 285881
*

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

. (1983). "Ukita Hideie", in ''Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan''. Tokyo: Kodansha
OCLC 233144013
* Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). "Chunagon" i
''Japan Encyclopedia''.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
OCLC 48943301
* Ozaki, Yukio. (2001)
''The Autobiography of Ozaki Yukio: The Struggle for Constitutional Government in Japan''
translated by Fujiko Hara. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
OCLC 123043741
* Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''

Nihon Ōdai Ichiran , ', is a 17th-century chronicle of the serial reigns of Japanese emperors with brief notes about some of the noteworthy events or other happenings. According to the 1871 edition of the ''American Cyclopaedia'', the 1834 French translation of ...

''; ou
''Annales des empereurs du Japon''.
Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
OCLC 5850691
* Varley, H. Paul. (1980)
''Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns''.
New York: Columbia University Press.
OCLC 59145842

Chūnagon in context

Highest Daijō-kan officials

The Eight Ministries

See also

Notes

References

Further reading