The or Five Commissioners, was an administrative organ of feudal Japan which later evolved into the ''Go-Tairō'' (

Council of Five Elders The Council of Five Elders (Japanese: :jp:五大老, 五大老, ''Go-Tairō'') was a group of five powerful feudal lords (Japanese: 大名, ''Daimyō'') formed in 1598 by the Regent (Japanese: 太閤 ''Sesshō and Kampaku, Taikō'') Toyotomi Hideyo ...

). It was established by

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

when he became '' kampaku'' (Imperial regent) in 1585.

Duty

The Commissioners were charged with governing the capital city of

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

and the surrounding areas, which were called '' kinai'' or the Home Provinces. Hideyoshi, however, still maintained a very active interest in administrative matters, and it has been theorized by some scholars that the ''Go-Bugyō'', unlike the ''Go-Tairō'' that replaced it, served more as a committee of specialists and advisors than a group that actually enacted policy decisions. The original five appointed were Asano Nagamasa,

Maeda Gen'i was a Buddhist priest from Mt. Hiei, retainer of Oda Nobunaga and later one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's '' Go-Bugyō'', along with Ishida Mitsunari, Asano Nagamasa, Mashita Nagamori and Natsuka Masaie. He entered the service of Oda Nobunaga some ...

Mashita Nagamori was a ''daimyō'' in Azuchi–Momoyama period, and one of the '' Go-Bugyō'' appointed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Also called Niemon (仁右衛門) or by his court title, Uemon-no-jō (右衛門尉). He was sent to Korea as one of the Three Burea ...

Natsuka Masaie was a daimyō in the Azuchi-Momoyama period. He was served Niwa Nagahide and later Hideyoshi. He was one of the ''Go-Bugyō'', or ''five commissioners'', appointed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Biography He was born in Owari Province. Masaie served ...

, and

Ishida Mitsunari Ishida Mitsunari (, 1559 – November 6, 1600) was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the A ...

. All five were samurai from Ōmi and Owari provinces, and strong supporters of Hideyoshi's former lord,

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

. Asano Nagamasa, held seniority over the Commissioners, who were charged with governing the capital of Kyoto and the Home Provinces or Kinai. A close advisor to Hideyoshi, Asano devised the land survey and a number of other policies enacted under his rule. Maeda Gen'i, a Buddhist abbot also known as Abbot Tokuzen-in, was given the post of ''Shoshi-dai'', or Commissioner for the Metropolitan Area (of Kyoto). As a result, he addressed a variety of religious matters, as well as acting as a judge in civil disputes. Ishida Mitsunari was made Commissioner of Police, and also governed the area of Sakai near

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

. Sakai was a major port, and so Ishida dealt heavily with the governance and control of various aspects of trade as well. Natsuka Masaie became Commissioner of Finance, and Mashida Nagamori was assigned to Public Works.

List of ''go-bugyō''

* Asano Nagamasa *

Notes

References

* Sansom, George. (1961). "A History of Japan: 1334-1615." 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 officially ...

Duty

List of ''go-bugyō''

Notes

References

See also