Udaijin

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Pre-modern Japan

This article is part of the series:
Politics and government of
Pre-modern Japan

Asuka Period • Nara Period • Heian Period • Kamakura period • Kemmu restoration • Muromachi period • Nanboku-chō period • Sengoku period • Azuchi-Momoyama period

Edo Period, 1603–1868

Daijō-kan
The Great Council of State

The Eight Ministries

Meiji Period,1868–1912 1868–1871
1871–1875

1875–1881
1881–1885

1885–1889
Taishō period, 1912–1926 Shōwa period, 1926–1989 1947

Heisei period, 1989–present

Udaijin (右大臣), most commonly translated as the "Minister of the Right", was a government position in Japan in the late Nara and Heian periods. The position was created in 702 as part of the Daijō-kan (State Department) structure, by the Taihō Code.

The Udaijin was the Junior Minister of State, overseeing all branches of the Department of State (Daijō-kan). He would be the deputy of the Sadaijin (the Minister of the Left).

The post of Udaijin, along with the rest of the Daijō-kan structure, gradually lost power over the 10th and 11th centuries, as the Fujiwara came to dominate politics more and more. The system was essentially powerless by the end of the 12th century, when the Minamoto, a warrior clan, seized control of the country from the court aristocracy (kuge). However, it is not entirely clear whether the Daijō-kan system was formally dismantled prior to the Meiji era.

Contents

[edit] A revealing framework

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 structure Council of State (Daijō-kan) did manage to persist. It is not possible to evaluate any individual office without assessing its role in the context of a durable yet flexible network and hierarchy of functionaries.[1]

The highest positions in the court hierarchy can be cataloged.[2] A dry list provides a superficial glimpse inside the complexity of the court structure:[3]

  • 1. Chancellor of the Realm or Chief Minister (太政大臣 Daijō daijin?)[4]
    • See also, Acting Great Minister of the Council of State (知太政官事 Chi-daijōkanji?).[5]
  • 2. Minister of the Left (左大臣 Sadaijin?).[4]
  • 3. Minister of the Right (右大臣 Udaijin?).[4]
  • 4. Minister of the Center (中大臣 Naidaijin?).[4]
  • 5. Major Counselor (大納言 Dainagon?). There are commonly three Dainagon;[4] sometimes more.[6]
  • 6. Middle Counselor (中納言 Chūnagon?).[4]
  • 7. Minor Counselor (少納言 Shōnagon?). There are commonly three Shōnagon.[4]
  • 8. Director of palace affairs (参議, Sanghi?). This office functions as a manager of activities within the palace.[7]
  • 9. External Secretariat (外記 Geki?). These are specifically named men who act at the sole discretion of the emperor.[7]
  • 10. Major Controller of the Left (左大弁 Sadaiben,?)[5] This administrator was charged or tasked with supervising four ministries: Center, Civil Services, Ceremonies, and Taxation.[7]
  • 11. Major Controller of the Right (右大弁 Udaiben?)[5] This administrator was charged or tasked with supervising four ministries: Military, Justice, Treasury and Imperial Household.[7]
  • 12. First Assistant Controller of the Left (左中弁, Satchūben?).[7]
  • 13. First Assistant Controller of the Right (右中弁, Utchūben?).[7]
  • 14. Second Assistant Controller of the Left (左少弁, Sashōben?).[7]
  • 15. Second Assistant Controller of the Right (右少弁, Ushōben?).[7]
  • 16. First Secretary of the Left (左大史, Sadaishi?).[7]
  • 17. First Secretary of the Right (右大史, Udaishi?).[7]
  • 18. Assistant Secretaries of the Left or Right (史少丞, Si shō-shō?). There are twenty officials with this title.[7]

[edit] The Eight Ministries

A mere list of the court titles cannot reveal nearly enough about the actual functioning of the Daijō-kan; but at least the broad hierarchical relationships become more readily identified:

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Ozaki, Yukio. (2001). The Autobiography of Ozaki Yukio: The Struggle for Constitutional Government in Japan pp. 10-11.
  2. ^ Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, pp. 425-426.
  3. ^ NOTE: In this terse listing, the numbers are an arbitrary addition, intended only to assist in grasping the relative relationships. If these ordinals are perceived as unhelpful, they can be disregarded.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Titsingh, p. 425.
  5. ^ a b c Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, p.272.
  6. ^ Unterstein (in German): Ranks in Ancient and Meiji Japan (in English and French), pp. 6, 27.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Titsingh, p. 426.
  8. ^ a b Titsingh, p. 427.
  9. ^ Titsingh, p. 429.
  10. ^ a b Titsingh, p. 430.
  11. ^ Titsingh, p. 431.
  12. ^ Titisngh, p. 432.
  13. ^ Titsingh, p. 433.