The , also read as Kurando-dokoro and often translated as the ''Chamberlain's office'', was an organ of the imperial Japanese government established in 810 by
Emperor Saga
was the 52nd emperor of Japan, Emperor Saga, Saganoyamanoe Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Household Agency according to the traditional order of succession. Saga's reign lasted from 809 to 823.
Traditional narrative
Saga was the second son of ...
. It was set up outside of the statutory government structure described in the
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 ...
code and was placed directly under the
emperor
The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
's authority. Its original responsibility was to take care of the emperor's archives and imperial documents as well as to attend to various personal needs of the sovereign. However, over the course of the 9th century, the office's role and responsibilities expanded considerably, and by the end of the 9th century it had become a clear control point within the government. Through it the emperor was, for a while, able to exercise his direct influence over the bureaucracy. At the same time the emperor's conduct of official business through the Chamberlain's usurped much of the power and functions of the statutory .
810 establishments
9th-century establishments in Japan
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