Sangi (Japan)
| Premodern Japan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Daijō-daijin | |
| Minister of the Left | Sadaijin |
| Minister of the Right | Udaijin |
| Minister of the Center | Naidaijin |
| Major Counselor | Dainagon |
| Middle Counselor | Chūnagon |
| Minor Counselor | Shōnagon |
| Eight Ministries | |
| Center | Nakatsukasa-shō |
| Ceremonial | Shikibu-shō |
| Civil Administration | Jibu-shō |
| Popular Affairs | Minbu-shō |
| War | Hyōbu-shō |
| Justice | Gyōbu-shō |
| Treasury | Ōkura-shō |
| Imperial Household | Kunai-shō |
Sangi(Tham nghị)was an associate counselor in the Imperial court of Japan from the 8th century until theMeiji periodin the 19th century.[1]
This was a position in thedaijō-kan,or early feudal Japanese government. It was established in 702 by theCode of Taihō.
In the ranks of the Imperial bureaucracy, theSangicame between theShōnagon(minor councillors) and those with more narrowly defined roles, such as theSadaibenandUdaibenwho were the administrators charged with oversight of the eight ministries of the government.[2]
In an early review of the Imperial hierarchy,Julius Klaproth's 1834 supplement toNihon Odai Ichiranconflated the hierarchical position with a functional role as the director of palace affairs.[2]
Prominent among those holding this office were three brothers:
- Fujiwara no Fusasakiheld the office ofSangiuntil he died in 737(Tenpyō9, 4th month)[3]
- Fujiwara no Maroheld the office ofSangiuntil he died in 737(Tenpyō 9, 7th month)[3]
- Fujiwara no Umakaiheld the office ofSangiuntil he died in 737(Tenpyō 9, 8th month)[3]
The position was eliminated in 1885.[1]TheHouse of Councillors( tham nghị viện Sangi'in) and its members were named after it.
Sangi in context
[edit]Any exercise of meaningful powers of court officials in the pre-Meiji periodreached its nadir during the years of theTokugawa shogunate,and yet the core structures ofritsuryōgovernment did manage to endure for centuries.[4]
In order to appreciate the office ofSangi,it is necessary to evaluate its role in the traditional Japanese context of a durable yet flexible framework. This was a bureaucratic network and a hierarchy of functionaries. The role ofSangiwas an important element in theDaijō-kan(Council of State). The Daijō-kanschemaproved to be adaptable in the creation of constitutional government in the modern period.[5]
Highest Daijō-kan officials
[edit]The highest positions in the court hierarchy can be cataloged.[6]A dry list provides a superficial glimpse inside the complexity and inter-connected relationships of the Imperial court structure.
- Daijō daijin(Chancellor of the Realm or Chief Minister).[7]
- Sadaijin(Minister of the Left).[7]
- Udaijin(Minister of the Right).[7]
- Naidaijin(Minister of the Center).[7]
The next highest tier of officials were:
- Dainagon(Major counselor). There are commonly threeDainagon;[7]sometimes more.[8]
- Chūnagon(Middle counselor).[9]
- Shōnagon(Minor counselor); there are commonly threeShōnagon.[7]
Other high-ranking bureaucrats who function somewhat flexibly within theDaijō-kanwere;
- Sangi(Associate counselor).[1]This office functions as a manager ofDaijō-kanactivities within the palace.[2]
- Geki(Ngoại ký)(Secretariat). These are specifically named men who act at the sole discretion of the emperor.[2]Among the duties of theGekiinclude writing out the patents and titles conferred by the emperor. In cases of dispute between high officers, theGekidraft a statement of the case for both sides. Also, they look after any newly introduced business.[9]
The Eight Ministries
[edit]The government ministries were eight semi-independent bureaucracies. A list alone cannot reveal much about the actual functioning of theDaijō-kan,but the broad hierarchical categories do suggest the way in which governmental functions were parsed:
|
|
The specific ministries above are not grouped arbitrarily. The two court officials below had responsibility for them as follows:
- Major Controller of the Left(Tả đại biện,Sadaiben)[16]This administrator was charged or tasked with supervising four ministries:Center,Civil Services,Ceremonies,andTaxation.[2]
- Major Controller of the Right(Hữu đại biện,Udaiben)[16]This administrator was charged or tasked with supervising four ministries:Military,Justice,TreasuryandImperial Household.[2]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^abcNussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Sangi" inJapan Encyclopedia,p. 817,p. 817, atGoogle Books.
- ^abcdefTitsingh, Isaac. (1834).Annales des empereurs du japon,p. 426.,p. 426, atGoogle Books
- ^abcTitsingh,p. 69.,p. 69, atGoogle Books
- ^Dickson, Walter G.et al.(1898)."The Eight Boards of Government" inJapan,pp. 55-78.,p. 56, atGoogle Books;excerpt at p. 56, "Klaproth has given in his" Annals of the Emperors "a sketch of these eight boards, with the offices under each. It is... a concise account of the government of Japan. The study of such a subject is rather dry and uninteresting, but it is necessary for any one who wishes to make himself acquainted with Japanese history, either of the past or of the present day...."
- ^Ozaki, Yukio. (2001).The Autobiography of Ozaki Yukio: The Struggle for Constitutional Government in Japanpp. 10–11.,p. 10, atGoogle Books
- ^Titsingh,pp. 425-426.,p. 425, atGoogle Books
- ^abcdefTitsingh,p. 425,p. 425, atGoogle Books;Varley, H. Paul. (1980).Jinnō Shōtōki,p.272.
- ^Unterstein (in German):Ranks in Ancient and Meiji Japan (in English and French),p. 6.
- ^abDickson,p. 60.,p. 60, atGoogle Books
- ^abTitsingh,pp. 427.,p. 427, atGoogle Books
- ^Titsingh,pp. 429.,p. 429, atGoogle Books
- ^abTitsingh,pp. 430.,p. 430, atGoogle Books
- ^Titsingh,pp. 431.,p. 431, atGoogle Books
- ^Titsingh,pp. 432.,p. 432, atGoogle Books
- ^Titsingh,pp. 433.,p. 433, atGoogle Books
- ^abVarley, p. 272.
References
[edit]- Dickson, Walter G. and Mayo Williamson Hazeltine. (1898). "The Eight Boards of Government" inJapan.New York: P.F. Collier.OCLC 285881
- Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéricand Käthe Roth. (2005).Japan encyclopedia.Cambridge:Harvard University Press.ISBN978-0-674-01753-5;OCLC 58053128
- Ozaki, Yukio.(2001).The Autobiography of Ozaki Yukio: The Struggle for Constitutional Government in Japan,translated by Fujiko Hara. Princeton: Princeton University Press.ISBN9780691050959;OCLC 123043741
- Titsingh, Isaac.(1834).Annales des empereurs du Japon(Nihon Odai Ichiran). Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland.OCLC 5850691
- Varley, H. Paul.(1980).Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns.New York: Columbia University Press.ISBN978-0-231-04940-5;OCLC 59145842