is the collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the

Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the ...

in pre- Meiji eras. The term generally referred to the and court officials and denoted a court rank between

First Rank First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: * World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and Third Rank under the '' Ritsuryō'' system, as opposed to the lower court nobility, thus being the collective term for the upper court nobility. However, later on some holders of the Fourth Rank were also included. In 1869, following 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 r ...

, the court nobility and daimyo were merged into a new peerage, the '' kazoku''.

Overview

The ''kugyō'' generally refers to two groups of court officials: * the ''Kō'' (公), comprising the Chancellor of the Realm, the Minister of the Left, and the Minister of the Right; and * the ''Kei'' (卿), comprising the Major Counsellor, the Middle Counsellor, and the Associate Counselors, who held the court rank of Third Rank or higher.

History

The ''kugyō'' originated from the

Three Lords and Nine Ministers The Three Lords and Nine Ministers system () was a central administrative system adopted in ancient China that was officially instituted in the Qin dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC) and was replaced by the Three Departments and Six Ministries () system s ...

(三公九卿) of the ancient Chinese

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...

(221 BC – 206 BC). In Japan, the ''kugyō'' was similarly divided into two groups of court officials the three ''Kō'' and the nine ''Kei''. The ''Kō'' comprised the Chancellor of the Realm (''Taishi'' or ''Daijō-daijin''), the Minister of the Left (''Taifu'' or ''Sadaijin''), and the Minister of the Right (''Taiho'' or ''Udaijin''); and the ''Kei'' comprised the Associate Counselors (''Shōshi'', ''Shōfu'', ''Shōho'', ''Chōsai'', ''Shito'', ''Sōhaku'', ''Shiba'', ''Shikō'', and ''Shikū'', or collectively the ''Sangi''), who held the court rank of Third Rank or higher. Under the '' Ritsuryō'' system, the ''kugyō'' included the three Ministers (''Daijin''), the Chancellor of the Realm, the Minister of the Left, and the Minister of the Right, and the Major Counsellor (''Gyoshitaifu'' or ''Dainagon''), who held the court rank of Third Rank or higher. However, later on government offices not specified in the administrative code of the ''ritsuryō'', the

Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

(''Sesshō'' and ''Kampaku''), the

Inner Minister The , literally meaning "Inner Minister", was an ancient office in the Japanese Imperial Court. Its role, rank and authority varied throughout the pre- Meiji period of Japanese history, but in general remained as a significant post under the T ...

(''Naidaijin''), the Middle Counsellor (''Chūnagon''), and Associate Counselors holding the Fourth Rank were also included in the ''kugyō''. The ''kugyō'' was also divided into the incumbent courtiers (''Gennin'') and courtiers without a post (''Sani''). Additionally, among the courtiers without a post, the courtiers who had at least once held a position of Associate Counselor or higher were referred to as e.g. former Major Counsellor (''saki no Dainagon''), but courtiers holding a court rank of Third Rank or higher who had never been Associate Counselor were referred to as non-Associate Counselor (''Hisangi''). In 758, the Chancellor of the Realm was renamed ''Taishi'' from ''Daijō-daijin'', the Minister of the Left was renamed ''Taifu'' from ''Sadaijin'', the Minister of the Right was renamed ''Taiho'' from ''Udaijin'', and the Major Counsellor was renamed ''Gyoshitaifu'' from ''Dainagon''. However, after the death of Fujiwara no Nakamaro in 764, the old names were restored. As part of the Meiji reforms, a single aristocratic class, the '' kazoku'', was created in 1869 by merging the '' kuge'' (the court nobility in Kyoto, of which the ''kugyō'' was a part) and the ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominall ...

s'' (the feudal land holders and warriors). In the 1870s, the organizational structure of the court itself was also modernized. In the period after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the ''kazoku'' was abolished, as a part of post-war Japanese reforms. The remaining political powers of the Emperor were transferred to the constitutional

government of Japan The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary stat ...

, and the responsibility for state matters concerning the Emperor and the Imperial family was consolidated entirely into the Imperial Household Agency.

Terminology

The ''kugyō'' was also known as ''kandachime'' (上達部), ''keishō'' (卿相), ''gekkei'' (月卿), and ''kyokuro'' or ''odoronomichi'' (棘路). While ''kugyō'' was the collective term for the holders of a court rank between First Rank and Third Rank, the term for the holders of Fourth Rank and Fifth Rank was ''

Taifu ''Taifu'' (大夫) was a noble title in Japan, denoting a court rank between First Rank and Fifth Rank under the '' Ritsuryō'' system. It was also commonly used to refer to a holder of Fifth Rank, but also for holders of Fourth and Fifth Rank, t ...

''.

References

* Daijirin, 2nd edition * Daijisen, 1st edition *

Kōjien is a single-volume Japanese dictionary first published by Iwanami Shoten in 1955. It is widely regarded as the most authoritative dictionary of Japanese, and newspaper editorials frequently cite its definitions. As of 2007, it had sold 11 m ...

, 6th edition {{DEFAULTSORT:Kugyo Japanese historical terms Royal and noble courts Japanese courtiers

Overview

History

Terminology

See also

References