Gaikoku bugyō

Gaikoku bugyō (外国奉行?) were the commissioners or "magistrates of foreign affairs" appointed at the end of the Edo era by the Tokugawa shogunate to oversee trade and diplomatic relations with foreign countries. In essence this was the beginning of the creation of a Ministry of Foreign Affairs after Japan's long period of isolation (sakoku).

Contents

Historical background

The Gaikoku bugyō system began just prior to the negotiations which resulted in the Harris Treaty.[1] 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.[2] 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 daimyo. 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.[3]

The office was often held concurrently with that of kanjō-bugyō or the office was held concurrently by those serving the bakufun as governor of one of the great ports (Nagasaki bugyō or Kanagawa bugyō).[3]

The Gaikoku bugyō system ended in 1869 when the new Meiji government was formed;[2] but some of the foundational work of this period proved useful to the nascent Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Some 70 Gaikoku bugyō commissioners were named during this significant period. Hotta succeeded Abe Masahiro, and in his short 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 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by implication, for dealing with matters involving foreigners—for example, kaibō-gakari-ōmetsuke which later came to be superseded by the term gaikoku-gakari.[4]

Gaikoku-bōeki-toshirabe-gakari

Rōjū Hotta Masayoshi formed an ad hoc committee of bakufu 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).[3]

List of gaikoku bugyō

The numbers of gaikoku bugyō varied throughout the Edo period:

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Cullin, L.M. (2003). A History of Japan, 1582-1941, p. 185.
  2. ^ a b Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Gaikoku bugyō" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 229 at Google Books; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, see Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File.
  3. ^ a b c Beasley, W.G. (1955). Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853-1868, p. 322.
  4. ^ Beasley, p. 323.
  5. ^ a b c Beasley, p. 333.
  6. ^ Beasley, p. 26.
  7. ^ a b Beasley, p. 338.
  8. ^ Beasley, p. 337.
  9. ^ a b Beasley, p. 340.
  10. ^ Beasley, p. 336.
  11. ^ National Diet Library: Okubo Ichio, image
  12. ^ Beasley, p. 331.
  13. ^ a b Beasley, p. 334.
  14. ^ National Diet Library: Kurimoto Joun, image; Beasley, p. 335.
  15. ^ Sawada, Janine Anderson. (2004). Practical Pursuits: Religion, Politics and Personal Cultivation in Nineteenth Century Japan, p. 194.
  16. ^ National Diet Library: Narushima Ryuhoku, image

References