were the commissioners or "magistrates of foreign affairs" appointed at the end of the Edo era by the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

to oversee trade and diplomatic relations with foreign countries. In essence this was the beginning of the creation of a

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

after Japan's long period of isolationist policy.

Historical background

The ''Gaikoku bugyō'' system began just prior to the negotiations which resulted in the Harris Treaty. First appointed in August 1858, the ''gaikoku-bugyō'' were shogunate officials who were charged with advising the government on foreign affairs and who were tasked with conducting negotiations with foreign diplomats both in Japan and abroad.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Gaikoku bugyō''" in ; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, ''see'
Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File
This was a high-ranking office, in status roughly equivalent to that of ''kanjō-bugyō'', or expressed differently, the status of this office ranked slightly below that of ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

''. The number of ''gaikoku bugyō'' varied, from five in 1858 to a maximum of 13, with wide variations in the numbers of officials who were appointed across the span of years.Beasley, W. G. (1955). ''Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853–1868'', p. 322. The office was often held concurrently with that of ''kanjō-bugyō'' or the office was held concurrently by those serving the shogunate as governor of one of the great ports (Nagasaki ''bugyō'' or Kanagawa ''bugyō''). The ''Gaikoku bugyō'' system ended in 1869 when the new Meiji government was formed; but some of the foundational work of this period proved useful to the nascent

. Some 70 ''Gaikoku bugyō'' commissioners were named during this significant period. Hotta succeeded

Abe Masahiro was the chief senior councilor ('' rōjū'') in the Tokugawa shogunate of the Bakumatsu period at the time of the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry on his mission to open Japan to the outside world. Abe was instrumental in the eventual signi ...

, and in his years at the post had to address the issue of the Harris Treaty of 1858. The genesis of the ''gaikoku-bugyō'' pre-dates the actual creation of the office.

''Kaibō-gakari''

The prefix ''kaibō-gakari'' meaning "in charge of maritime defense" was used with the titles of some shogunate officials after 1845. This term was used to designate those who bore a special responsibility for overseeing coastal waters, and by implication, for dealing with matters involving foreigners—for example, ''kaibō-gakari-ōmetsuke'' which later came to be superseded by the term ''gaikoku-gakari.''

''Gaikoku-bōeki-torishirabe-gakari''

''Rōjū''

Hotta Masayoshi was the 5th Hotta ''daimyō'' of the Sakura Domain in the Japanese Edo period, who served as chief ''rōjū'' in the Bakumatsu period Tokugawa shogunate, where he played an important role in the negotiations of the Ansei Treaties with various ...

formed an ''ad hoc'' committee of shogunate officials with special knowledge of foreign affairs, and he himself headed this working group. In November 1856, he appointed the members and charged them to come up with recommendations about the terms for opening Japanese ports. The results of their deliberations would become the basis for negotiations which ultimately resulted in the Harris Treaty (the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between Japan and the United States).

List of ''gaikoku bugyō''

The numbers of ''gaikoku bugyō'' varied throughout the Edo period: :: * Iwase Tadanari (1858).Beasley, p. 333. * Tsutsui Masanori (1858). * Inoue Kiyonao (1858–1859, 1862–1863, 1864). * Nagai Naoyuki (1858–1859, 1865–1867).Beasley, p. 338. * Mizuno Tadanori (1858–1859, 1861–1862). * Hori Toshihiro (1858–1860) * Watanabe Takatsuna (1859) * Matsudaira Yasuhide (1859–1860, 1861–1863) *

Takemoto Masao Takemoto (written: , , or ) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese voice actor *, Japanese playwright and puppet theatre director *Iwao Takamoto (1925–2007), American animator, television producer, and film ...

(1859–1862, 1863–1864).Beasley, p. 340. * Sakai Tadayuki (1859–1860) * Mizoguchi Naokiyo (1859–1860) * Shinmi Masaoki (1859–1862) * Matsudaira Yasunao (1860, 1861–1863). * Oguri Tadamasa (1860–1861). * Takeuchi Yasunori (1861–1864). * Okubo Ichio (1861–1862). * Abe Masatō (1862–1863). *

Kawaji Toshiaki Kawaji (written: 川路) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese politician *, pen name of Kawaki Makoto, Japanese poet and literary critic See also

*Kawaji Station, a railway station in Iida, Nagano Prefect ...

(1863).Beasley, p. 334. * Ikeda Nagaaki (1863–1864). * Kawazu Sukekuni (1863–1864). *

Shibata Takenaka was an Diplomat, emissary for Japan who visited France in 1865 to help prepare for the construction of the Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Yokosuka arsenal with French support. Also known as as well as "Shadow" because of his reconnaissance work. Li ...

(1863–1868). * Sasaki Akinori (1864) * Tsuchiya Masanao (1864) * Kinoshita Toshiyoshi (1865–1866) * Kurimoto Joun (1865–1866, 1866–1867). * Yamaguchi Naoki (1865–1866, 1867) * Asagara Masahiro (1865–1867) * Gōhara Isaburo (1866) * Hirayama Seisei (1866–1868). * Narushima Ryūhoku (1866).National Diet Library
Narushima Ryuhoku, image
/ref> * Koide Hidezane (1866–1867) * Tsukahara Masayoshi (1866–1867) * Mukōyama Ippaku (1866–1868) * Ishikawa Toshimasa (1867–1868) * Hiraoka Jun (1867–1868) * Narishima Hiroshi (1868)

Notes

References

* Beasley, W. G. (1955)
''Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853–1868''.
London:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

; reprinted by

RoutledgeCurzon Routledge ( ) is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, a ...

, London, 2001. * Cullen, L. M. (2003). ''A History of Japan, 1582–1941: Internal and External Worlds''. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

. (cloth) (paper) * Doi, Ryōzō. (1997). ''Bakumatsu gonin no gaikoku bugyo: Kaikoku o jitsugensaseta bushi''. Tokyo: Chuokoron-shinsha. * Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia''.
Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

.
OCLC 58053128
* Sawada, Janine Anderson. (2004).
''Practical Pursuits: Religion, Politics and Personal Cultivation in Nineteenth Century Japan''.
Honolulu:

University of Hawaii Press A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. (cloth) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaikoku Bugyo Government of feudal Japan Officials of the Tokugawa shogunate Foreign relations of the Tokugawa shogunate