History
It was instituted as part of the Taika Reforms and '' Ritsuryō'' laws in the Asuka period and formalized during the Heian period. It was previously called ''Osamuru-tsukasa.'' The ministry was replaced in the Meiji period. Today the Board of Ceremonies (宮内庁式部職 ; ''Shikibu shoku'') of the Imperial Household Agency is the successor.Overview
The ministry was organized to address the ceremonial aspects of the Imperial year, to manage the ceremonial nature of formal relations with China, Korea, and other nations, and to oversee the maintenance of Imperial tombs and mausoleums. The ceremonies of the Imperial Household evolved over time. The ambit of the Ministry's activities encompasses, for example: * maintenance of the roster of names of officialsKawakami, citing Ito Hirobumi, ''Commentaries on the Japanese Constitution,'' p. 87 (1889). * oversight of the succession and marriage of officials of and above the fifth grade of rank * oversight of formalities relating to deaths, funerals and the granting of posthumous rank * management of the memorial activities which honor the anniversaries of the demise of a former Emperor * monitoring and recording of the names of all the former Emperors, so that none of those names shall be used by any of the succeeding Emperors nor by any subject * adjudication of disputes about the order of precedence of the various families * supervision of all matters relating to the music * registration of names of Buddhistic temples, priests and nuns * reception and entertainment of foreigners and managing to their presentation to the Emperor * maintenance of the imperial sepulchers (''misasagi'') and royal burial mounds (''Hierarchy
The top ritsuryō officials within this ministry structure were: * .Varley, Paul. (1980). ''Jinnō Shōtōki'', p. 272; Nussbaum, p. 418. * .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). * * * * * * * * .Titsingh, * , two positions * . This official is charged with receiving ambassadors from China and Korea and serving as interpreters for them. * * , two positions * , two positions * , two positions * , two positions * , two positions * , two positionsSee also
*Notes
References
* Kawakami, Karl Kiyoshi. (1903). ''The Political Ideas of the Modern Japan.'' Iowa City, Iowa: University of Iowa Press