Ōmetsuke
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Metsuke . (Discuss) |
Ōmetsuke (大目付 Ōmetsuke?) were the chief censors or the chief inspectors of Tokugawa Japan. They were bakufu officials ranking approximately with the kanjō-bugyō. The ōmetsuke were charged with the special duty of detecting and investigating instances of maladministration, corruption or disaffection anywhere in Japan; and particularly amongst the daimyō.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Intelligence gathering
The shogunate recognized the need for some kind of internal intelligence-gathering apparatus and for some degree of covert espionage within its own ranks. It could be said that the ōmetsuke functioned as the Shogun's intelligence agency or as internal spies, reporting to the officials in Edo on events and situations across the country.[2]
The ōmetsuke were responsible for supervising the activities of officials and members of the daimyō (feudal lords); and their counterparts, the metsuke, were charged with focusing on those ranking below daimyō-status.[1]
Although similarly engaged, the reporting protocols of the ōmetsuke and metsuke differed. The ōmetsuke reported directly to the to the four or five rōjū at the top of the shogunate bureaucracy. The metsuke reported to wakadoshiyori who ranked just below the rōjū. By design, the intelligence-gathering activities of the metsuke was intended to complement those of the ōmetsuke even though there was no official reporting relationship between the two somewhat independent groups.[2]
[edit] Ad hoc evolution
The bureaucracy of the Togukawa shogunate expanded on an ad hoc basis, responding to perceived needs and changing circumstances. Sometimes one or more of the ōmetsuke or metsuke would have been selected to address a specific or even a unique problem. For example, Toki Yorimune in the period from 1845 through 1846 and again from 1855 through 1858 was charged with special duties as kaibo-gakari-ōmetsuke.[3]
The prefix kaibō-gakari meaning "in charge of maritime defense" was used with the titles of some bakufu 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. Kaibō-gakari-ōmetsuke which later came to be superseded by the term gaikoku-gakari.[4] Izawa Masayoshi was given special duties as kaibo-gakari-ōmetsuke in the years from 1856 through 1858; and he was promoted as gaikoku-gakari from 1858 through 1863.[5] These developments prceeded the Gaikoku bugyō system which began just prior to the negotiations which resulted in the Harris Treaty.[6] First appointed in August 1858, the gaikoku-bugyō were bakufu 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.
[edit] In popular culture
The post of ōmetsuke was, of course, not immune to corruption; and sometimes the conduct of these officials could be affected by bribes. For example, the the televised jidaigeki episodes of Abarenbo Shogun are rife with petty corruption, including a broad range of officials across the span of television seasons.
[edit] List of ōmetsuke
- Revisions and sourced additions are welcome.
- Toki Yorimune (1845-1846, 1855-1858).[3]
- Tstutsui Masanori (1854-1857).[7]
- Ido Satohiro (1856-1858).[8]
- Izawa Masayoshi (1856-1858, 1858-1863).[5]
- Takemoto Maso (1862-1863).[9]
- Matsudaira Yasunao (1864).[10]
- Kawada Hiroshi (1868).[5]
- Nagai Naomune (1864-1865, 1865-1867).[11]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Beasley, William G. (1955). Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853-1868, p. 326.
- ^ a b Cunningham, Don. (2004). Taiho-jutsu: Law and Order in the Age of the Samurai, p. 39.
- ^ a b Beasley, p. 341.
- ^ Beasley, p. 323.
- ^ a b c Beasley, p. 334.
- ^ Cullin, L.M. (2003). A History of Japan, 1582-1941, p. 185.
- ^ Beasley, p. 342.
- ^ Beasley, p. 332.
- ^ Beasley, p. 340.
- ^ Beasley, p. 336.
- ^ Beasley, p. 338.
[edit] References
- Beasley, William G. (1955). Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853-1868. London: Oxford University Press. [reprinted by RoutledgeCurzon, London, 2001. 10-ISBN 0-197-13508-0; 13-ISBN 978-0-197-13508-2 (cloth)]
- Cullen, L.M. (2003). A History of Japan, 1582-1941: Internal and External Worlds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-82115-X (cloth) ISBN 0-521-529918-2 (paper)
- Cunningham, Don. (2004). Taiho-jutsu: Law and Order in the Age of the Samurai. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing. 10-ISBN 0-804-83536-5
- Sansom, George. (1963). "A History of Japan: 1615-1867." Stanford: Stanford University Press.10-ISBN 0-8047-0527-5; 13-ISBN 978-0-804-70527-1
[edit] See also
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
