The ''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', Kenkyusha Limited, was a government position in Japan in the late

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

and

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...

s. The position was consolidated in the

Taihō Code The was an administrative reorganisation enacted in 703 in Japan, at the end of the Asuka period. It was historically one of the . It was compiled at the direction of Prince Osakabe, Fujiwara no Fuhito and Awata no Mahito. Nussbaum, Louis ...

of 702. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the ''sadaijin'' in the context of a central administrative body called the ''

Daijō-kan The , also known as the Great Council of State, was (i) (''Daijō-kan'') the highest organ of Japan's premodern Imperial government under the Ritsuryō legal system during and after the Nara period or (ii) (''Dajō-kan'') the highest organ of Jap ...

'' (Council of State). This early Daijō-kan was composed of the three ministers—the '' daijō-daijin'' (Chancellor), the ''sadaijin'' and the '' udaijin'' (Minister of the Right).Hall, John Whitney ''et al.'' (1993)
''The Cambridge History of Japan'', p. 232.
/ref> The ''sadaijin'' was the Senior Minister of State, overseeing all functions of government with the '' udaijin'' as his deputy.''Shin-meikai-kokugo-jiten'',Sanseido Co., Ltd. Tokyo 1974 Within the ''Daijō-kan'', the ''sadaijin'' was second only to the '' daijō-daijin'' (the Great Minister, or Chancellor of the Realm) in power and influence. Frequently, a member of the Fujiwara family would take the position in order to help justify and exercise the power and influence the family held. The post of ''sadaijin'', along with the rest of the ''Daijō-kan'' structure, gradually lost power over the 10th and 11th centuries, as the Fujiwara came to dominate politics more and more. The system was essentially powerless by the end of the 12th century, when the Minamoto, a warrior clan, seized control of the country from the court aristocracy (''

kuge The was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese Imperial Court in Kyoto. The ''kuge'' were important from the establishment of Kyoto as the capital during the Heian period in the late 8th century until the rise of the Kamak ...

''). However, it is not entirely clear when the ''Daijō-kan'' system was formally dismantled prior to the Meiji era.

References

Related bibliography

* Asai, T. (1985). ''Nyokan Tūkai''. Tokyo: Kōdansha. * Dickenson, Walter G. (1869). ''Japan: Being a Sketch of the History, Government and Officers of the Empire.'' London: W. Blackwood and Sons. *

Hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gr ...

, John Whitney, Delmer M. Brown and Kozo Yamamura. (1993)
''The Cambridge History of Japan.''
Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambr ...

. *

Ozaki Ozaki (written: or ) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese singer-songwriter *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese actor *, Japanese poet *, Japanese singer-songwriter *, Japanese journalist *, Japanese footballe ...

, Yukio. (2001). ''The Autobiography of Ozaki Yukio: The Struggle for Constitutional Government in Japan.'' ranslated by Fujiko Hara Princeton:

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent Academic publishing, publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, ...

. (cloth) * Ozaki, Yukio. (1955). ''Ozak Gakudō Zenshū.'' Tokyo: Kōronsha. * Sansom, George (1958). ''A History of Japan to 1334''. Stanford:

Stanford University Press Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It was among the presses officiall ...

. * Screech, Timon. (2006). ''Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822.'' London: RoutledgeCurzon. * Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652">Hayashi_Gahō.html" ;"title="iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō">iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652 ''Nipon o daï itsi ran">Hayashi Gahō">iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652">Hayashi_Gahō.html" ;"title="iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō">iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652 ''Nipon o daï itsi ran''; ou
''Annales des empereurs du Japon.''
Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. * Varley, H. Paul, ed. (1980). [Kitabatake Chikafusa, 1359], ''Jinnō Shōtōki ("A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki of Kitabatake Chikafusa" translated by H. Paul Varley).'' New York: Columbia University Press. {{ISBN, 0-231-04940-4 Government of feudal Japan Japanese historical terms Meiji Restoration

See also

References

Related bibliography