''Daikan'' (代官) was an

official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...

in ancient 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 period, ''daikan'' were local governors in charge of the government and security of

domain Domain may refer to: Mathematics *Domain of a function, the set of input values for which the (total) function is defined **Domain of definition of a partial function **Natural domain of a partial function **Domain of holomorphy of a function * Do ...

and

shogunate , 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 Kamakur ...

territories.

History

Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages, ''azukaridokoro'' and ''ukesho'' referred to ''daikan'' of a feudal lord, and ''shugo-dai'' and ''jitō-dai'' referred to ''daikan'' of '' shugo'' and '' jitō'' governors, respectively. In the Azuchi-Momoyama period, territorial rulers in charge of local tax collection were called ''daikan''.

Edo period

In the Edo period, high-ranking '' hatamoto'' retainers of the

shogun , 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 Kamakur ...

were appointed ''daikan'' to govern the shogun demesne across Japan and were given a 50,000-100,000 ''

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied ...

'' territory. The ''daikan'' worked from their administrative headquarters ('' jin'ya'') at their territory or their mansion in

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 ...

, under the Commissioner of Finance (''

kanjō bugyō were officials of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan. Appointments to this prominent office were usually '' fudai daimyōs''. Conventional interpretations have construed these Japanese titles as "commissioner" or "overseer" or "governor ...

''), and had a dozen of ''tetsuki'' and ''tedai'' officials under their service. Hereditary succession of the position was common. In 1867, at the end of the Edo period, there were 37 ''daikan''. ''Daikan'' who had a bad reputation for self-interest were dismissed by the shogunate, as the harsh collection of annual taxation led to the escape of farmers, which in turn reduced the amount of collectable taxation. Some of them were dismissed and punished for causing starvation during famines. On the other hand, other ''daikan'' gained a great reputation, such as Suzuki Shigenari, who continued to appeal to the shogunate for a reduction or exemption of annual taxation at the cost of his own life in order to save the people of the domain from heavy taxes, and Ido Masaaki, who also saved the people from famine by introducing ''ganzo'' to the territories under his control. In the latter half of the Edo period, the feudal domains followed the example and appointed their own ''daikan'', district magistrates, who were called ''gun-dai'' or ''kōri bugyō''.

References

{{Authority control Government of feudal Japan Officials of the Tokugawa shogunate