Sangi (Japan)

was an associate counselor in the Imperial court of Japan from the 8th century until the Meiji period in the 19th century.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Sangi" in .

This was a position in the ''daijō-kan'', or early feudal Japanese government. It was established in 702 by the Code of Taihō.

In the ranks of the Imperial bureaucracy, the ''Sangi'' came between the ''Shōnagon'' (minor councillors) and those with more narrowly defined roles, such as the ''Sadaiben'' and ''Udaiben'' who were the administrators charged with oversight of the eight ministries of the government.Titsingh, Isaac. (1834).

In an early review of the Imperial hierarchy, Julius Klaproth's 1834 supplement to ''Nihon Odai Ichiran'' conflated the hierarchical position with a functional role as the director of palace affairs.

Prominent among those holding this office were three brothers:
* Fujiwara no Fusasaki held the office of ''Sangi'' until he died in 737 ''(Tenpyō 9, 4th month'')Titsingh,
* Fujiwara no Maro held the office of ''Sangi'' until he died in 737 ''(Tenpyō 9, 7th month'')
* Fujiwara no Umakai held the office of ''Sangi'' until he died in 737 ''(Tenpyō 9, 8th month'')

The position was eliminated in 1885. The House of Councillors (参議院 Sangi'in) and its members were named after it.

Sangi in context

Any exercise of meaningful powers of court officials in the pre-Meiji period reached its nadir during the years of the Tokugawa shogunate, and yet the core structures of ritsuryō government did manage to endure for centuries.

In order to appreciate the office of ''Sangi'', it is necessary to evaluate its role in the traditional Japanese context of a durable yet flexible framework. This was a bureaucratic network and a hierarchy of functionaries. The role of ''Sangi'' was an important element in the ''Daijō-kan'' (Council of State). The Daijō-kan schema proved to be adaptable in the creation of constitutional government in the modern period.

Highest Daijō-kan officials

The highest positions in the court hierarchy can be cataloged.Titsingh, A dry list provides a superficial glimpse inside the complexity and inter-connected relationships of the Imperial court structure.
* '' Daijō daijin'' (Chancellor of the Realm or Chief Minister).Titsingh, ; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). ''Jinnō Shōtōki,'' p.272.
* ''Sadaijin'' (Minister of the Left).
* ''Udaijin'' (Minister of the Right).
* ''Naidaijin'' (Minister of the Center).

The next highest tier of officials were:
* ''Dainagon'' (Major counselor). There are commonly three ''Dainagon''; sometimes more.Unterstein (in German)Ranks in Ancient and Meiji Japan (in English and French)
p. 6.
* ''Chūnagon'' (Middle counselor).Dickson,
* ''Shōnagon'' (Minor counselor); there are commonly three ''Shōnagon''.

Other high-ranking bureaucrats who function somewhat flexibly within the ''Daijō-kan'' were;
* ''Sangi'' (Associate counselor). This office functions as a manager of ''Daijō-kan'' activities within the palace.
* (Secretariat). These are specifically named men who act at the sole discretion of the emperor. Among the duties of the ''Geki'' include writing out the patents and titles conferred by the emperor. In cases of dispute between high officers, the ''Geki'' draft a statement of the case for both sides. Also, they look after any newly introduced business.

The Eight Ministries

The government ministries were eight semi-independent bureaucracies. A list alone cannot reveal much about the actual functioning of the ''Daijō-kan'', but the broad hierarchical categories do suggest the way in which governmental functions were parsed:

The specific ministries above are not grouped arbitrarily. The two court officials below had responsibility for them as follows:
* Varley, p. 272. This administrator was charged or tasked with supervising four ministries: Center, Civil Services, Ceremonies, and Taxation.
* This administrator was charged or tasked with supervising four ministries: Military, Justice, Treasury and Imperial Household.

See also

* Daijō-kan
* House of Councillors,''Sangiin''
* Sessho and Kampaku
* Kōkyū
* Kuge
* Imperial Household Agency

Notes

References

* Dickson, Walter G. and Mayo Williamson Hazeltine. (1898). "The Eight Boards of Government" in ''Japan.'' New York: P.F. Collier
OCLC 285881
* Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''
Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
OCLC 58053128
* Ozaki, Yukio. (2001)
''The Autobiography of Ozaki Yukio: The Struggle for Constitutional Government in Japan,''
translated by Fujiko Hara. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
OCLC 123043741
* Titsingh, Isaac. (1834)
''Annales des empereurs du Japon''
(''Nihon Odai Ichiran''). Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
OCLC 5850691
* Varley, H. Paul. (1980)
''Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns.''
New York: Columbia University Press. {{ISBN, 978-0-231-04940-5
OCLC 59145842

Government of feudal Japan
702 establishments
8th-century establishments in Japan