Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate or Tokugawa bakufu (????) (also known as the Edo bakufu) was a feudal military dictatorship of Japan established in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family until 1868. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city of Edo, now Tokyo. The Tokugawa shogunate ruled from Edo castle until the Meiji Restoration.

Institutions of the Shogunate

R?j? and Wakadoshiyori

The r?j? (??) were the senior members of the shogunate. They supervised the ?metsuke, machibugy?, ongokubugy? and other officials, oversaw relations with the Imperial Court in Kyoto, kuge (members of the nobility), daimyo, temples and shrines, and attended to matters like divisions of fiefs. Normally, four or five men held the office, and one was on duty for a month at a time on a rotating basis. They conferred on especially important matters. In the administrative reforms of 1867, the office was eliminated in favor of a bureaucratic system with ministers for the interior, finance, foreign relations, army, and navy.

Related Topics:
R?j? - Imperial Court in Kyoto - Kuge - Temple - Shrine - Fief

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In principle, the requirements for appointment to the office of r?j? were to be a fudai (hereditary) daimyo and to have a fief assessed at 50 000 koku or more. However, there were exceptions to both criteria. Many appointees came from the offices close to the shogun, such as soba y?nin, Kyoto shoshidai, and Osaka j?dai.

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Irregularly, the shoguns appointed a r?j? to the position of tair? (great elder). The office was limited to members of the Ii, Sakai, Doi, and Hotta clans, but Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu was given the status of tair? as well. Among the most famous was Ii Naosuke, who was assassinated in 1860 outside the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle.

Related Topics:
Tair? - Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu - Ii Naosuke - Edo Castle

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The wakadoshiyori were next in status below the r?j?. An outgrowth of the early six-man rokuninsh? (1633–1649), the office took its name and final form in 1662, but with four members. Their primary responsibility was management of the affairs of the hatamoto and gokenin, the direct vassals of the shogun.

Related Topics:
Hatamoto - Gokenin

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Some shoguns appointed a soba y?nin. This person acted as a liaison between the shogun and the r?j?. The soba y?nin increased in importance during the time of the fifth shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, when a wakadoshiyori, Inaba Masayasu, assassinated Hotta Masatoshi, the tair?. Fearing for his personal safety, Tsunayoshi moved the r?j? to a more distant part of the castle. Some of the most famous soba y?nin were Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu and Tanuma Okitsugu.

Related Topics:
Inaba Masayasu - Hotta Masatoshi - Tanuma Okitsugu

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?metsuke and Metsuke

The ?metsuke and metsuke were officials who reported to the r?j? and wakadoshiyori. The five ?metsuke were in charge of monitoring the affairs of the daimyo, kuge and imperial court. They were in charge of discovering any threat of rebellion.

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Early in the Edo period, daimyo such as Yagy? Munefuyu held the office. Soon, however, it fell to hatamoto with rankings of 5000 koku or more. To give them authority in their dealings with daimyo, they were often ranked at 10 000 koku and given the title of kami (an ancient title, typically signifying the governor of a province) such as Bizen-no-kami.

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As time progressed, the function of the ?metsuke evolved into one of passing orders from the shogunate to the daimyo, and of administering to ceremonies within Edo Castle. They also took on additional responsibilities such as supervising religious affairs and controlling firearms.

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The metsuke, reporting to the wakadoshiyori, oversaw the affairs of the vassals of the shogun. They were the police force for the thousands of hatamoto and gokenin who were concentrated in Edo. Individual han had their own metsuke who similarly policed their samurai.

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San-bugy?

The san-bugy? ("three administrators") were the jisha, kanj?, and machi bugy?. The jisha bugy? had the highest status of the three. They oversaw the administration of Buddhist temples (ji) and Shinto shrines (sha), many of which held fiefs. Also, they heard suits from several land holdings outside the eight Kanto provinces. The appointments normally went to daimyo; ?oka Tadasuke was an exception.

Related Topics:
Kanto - ?oka Tadasuke

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The kanj? bugy? were next in status. The four holders of this office reported to the r?j?. They were responsibile for the finances of the shogunate.

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The machi bugy? were the chief city administrators of Edo. Their roles included mayor, chief of the police (and later also the fire) department, and judge in criminal and civil matters not involving samurai. Two (briefly, three) men, normally hatamoto, held the office, and alternated by month.

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Three machi bugy? have become famous through the jidaigeki, ?oka Tadasuke and T?yama Kinshir? as heroes, Torii Y?z? as a villain.

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The san-bugy? together sat on a council called the hy?j?sho. In this capacity, they were responsible for administering the tenry?, supervising the gundai, the daikan and the kura bugy?, as well as hearing cases involving samurai.

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Tenry?, Gundai and Daikan

The shogun directly held lands in various parts of Japan. These were known as bakufu chokkatsuchi; since the Meiji period, the term tenry? has become synonymous. In addition to the territory that Ieyasu held prior to the Battle of Sekigahara, this included lands he gained in that battle, and as a result of the Summer and Winter Sieges of Osaka, and by the end of the seventeenth century had reached four million koku. Such major cities as Nagasaki and Osaka, and mines, including the Sado gold mine, also fell into this category.

Related Topics:
Mine - Sado - Gold mine

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Rather than appointing a daimyo to head the holding, the shogunate placed administrators in charge. The titles of these administrators included gundai, daikan, and ongoku bugy?. This last category included the Osaka, Kyoto and Sumpu machibugy?, and the Nagasaki bugy?. The appointees were hatamoto.

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