The was an administrative post not of

Cabinet rank The ministerial ranking, Cabinet ranking, order of precedence in Cabinet or order of precedence of ministers is the "pecking order" or relative importance of senior ministers in the Government of the United Kingdom, UK government. Use The mi ...

in the government of the Empire of Japan, responsible for keeping the

Privy Seal of Japan The is one of the national seals and is the Emperor of Japan's official seal. Description The Privy Seal of Japan is square, and its inscription ("The Emperor's Imperial Seal") is written in . It has two lines of vertical writing, with the ...

and

State Seal of Japan State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

. The modern office of the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal was identical with the old Naidaijin only in name and should not be confused. The office was abolished in 1946 after World War II.

History

Meiji period

The modern office of the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal was formed in 1885, after the Meiji government established the Japanese

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

; however, the Lord Keeper of the

Privy Seal A privy seal refers to the personal seal of a reigning monarch, used for the purpose of authenticating official documents of a much more personal nature. This is in contrast with that of a great seal, which is used for documents of greater impor ...

was separate from the cabinet, and acted as a direct, personal advisor to the Emperor. He was also responsible for the administration of imperial documents such as

rescript In legal terminology, a rescript is a document that is issued not on the initiative of the author, but in response (it literally means 'written back') to a specific demand made by its addressee. It does not apply to more general legislation. Over ...

s and edicts. Petitions to the emperor and the court were also handled by the Lord Keeper's office, as well as the responses. Privy_Council_Meeting_%28Chikanobu%29

When the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

was created in 1888, the Privy Seal retained his independent advisory role. The term ''privy'' in Privy Council and Privy Seal identifies a direct relationship of special trust. In 1907, the post was expanded to become the with a chief secretary, three secretaries and six assistants in order to handle the increased workload with the passing of the '' genrō''.

Shōwa period

After the start of Emperor Hirohito's reign in 1925, the office and position of the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal became increasingly important, at the expense of the office of the Prime Minister. Political infighting within the

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...

further boosted the power of the Lord Keeper. The holder of this position was able to strictly control who was allowed to have an audience with the emperor, as well as the flow of information. The office of the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal was officially abolished on 24 November 1945, and the position itself was abolished with the promulgation of the new constitution in November 1946. Thus, former Grand Chamberlain Fujita Hisanori was the last Lord Keeper.John Dower, Embracing defeat, 1999, p.320 Today, the seals are kept in the care of the Chamberlain of Japan.

List of officeholders

Notes

References

* Takenobu, Yoshitaro. (1928). ''The Japan Yearbook; Complete Cyclopaedia of General Information and Statistics on Japan and Japanese Territories.'' Tokyo: The Japan Year Book Office.
OCLC 145151778

External links

* National Archives of Japa
...Click link for photograph of meeting of Privy Counsel (1946)

Article on the abolishment of the position of Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal from Japanese Press Translations
{{Authority control 1885 establishments in Japan 1946 disestablishments in Japan Politics of the Empire of Japan