History of Asia

Main positions of the Edo Shogunate

When Ieyasu Tokugawa became a shogun, he formed a master-slave relationship with about 260 daimyo. The government of the Tokugawa clan is called the shogunate, and the place governed by the daimyo clan is called the clan.

In this way, the rule system in which the shogunate and the clan govern the land and the territory by a shogun and a daimyo with strong sovereignty was called the bakuhan system.

This system was established by the time of the third generation Iemitsu.

In the Edo Shogunate, politics was centered around this Bakuhan system.

When Ieyasu Tokugawa opened the shogunate, the number of battles decreased and people began to live in a stable environment.

As a result, it was difficult to confirm the loyalty of the vassals to the shogun, so the shogun imposed a change of attendance, castle construction, and hydraulic work on each clan.

In addition to this, in order to suppress the authority of public houses and the imperial court, the emperor was completely excluded from politics by enacting various laws of prohibited public houses.

In this way, all power was concentrated on the Tokugawa Shogunate, and for about 260 years, the Edo Shogunate took power, and 15 generals ruled Japan. Some generals have been in politics on their own, but many generals have left their work to the old, middle, old, and young.

Therefore, in order to avoid concentration of power, many positions were created, and measures were taken such as assigning multiple people to the main positions. It seems that some of them changed their affairs every month.

Of course, the highest authority of the Edo Shogunate is the Shogun, but many positions were created in the Shogunate to support it.

Main positions of the Edo Shogunate

Elder

Famous places are Naosuke Ii Was in charge of affairs as an elder.

In the shogunate, it seems to have played a role in coordinating politics as a whole. Of the more than 100,000 Fudai Daimyo, Sakai, Doi, Ii, and Hotta are selected as the elders. Was elected from.

It was not always placed, it was often placed temporarily, and it seems that it was not placed depending on the times.

Tokugawa Iemitsu is [ my right hand ] Called Tadakatsu Sakai and Toshikatsu Doi It is said that this position began when he ordered the elder. Also, Hoshina Masayuki of the 4th Shogun Ietsuna And the 5th Shogun, Tsunayoshi's servant, Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu Although he is not an elder, [ elder ] Was treated in the same way.

In the history of the Edo Shogunate, two people were killed during the tenure of the elders.

Masatoshi Hotta in the Tsunayoshi era Has been murdered by Inaba Masayasu due to a difference in policy views.

Naosuke Ii at the end of the Edo period Is Sakuradamon Incident He was attacked by Mito and Satsuma Ronin and became a person who never returned.

Rōjū

Like the elder, he was always in the position of assistant to the shogun.

When the elder is not placed, it will be the highest position among the positions of the shogunate, and considering that the elder can only be a certain daimyo, the highest position in the career of other Fudai daimyo is said to be this old man. Will be. In addition to summarizing the whole politics, he is also in charge of diplomacy, and 3 to 5 people were selected from Fudai Daimyo.

From the middle of Iemitsu's reign, the person in charge of business is changed every month [ Monthly Rōjū ] Has come to be done. At the end of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1867, the monthly system was abolished and a different system was created, but it seems that the flow of the defeat could not be changed.

I work in Edo Castle from 10 am to 2 pm and live a life of returning home, which makes me feel white at first glance, but when trouble occurs, a messenger of a foreigner daimyo will come to my house at any time. It was never easy.

Young people

It is a position that assists the elders and middle-aged people, and is considered to be one of the executives of the shogunate.

About 4 people are always selected from the Fudai Daimyo, and the falconry head, Shoin-ban in charge of falconry , Fixed fire extinguisher, etc. I was given the role of saying. In addition, it was the role of supervising the samurai who can be used directly by the shogunate, such as Hatamoto and Gokenin.

As the role mentioned above

Shoin-ban

In the Shogun's Guard, he served as a guard in a three-shift system, and also guarded when the Shogun went out.

Until the middle of the Edo period, the role of Sunpu Castle was played in the Shoin-ban. It seems that there were some people who had the same work content and played the role of Kosho-gumi. I'm not sure why it was divided.

Metsuke

It is a position to monitor the work attitude of almost all samurai, from the shogunate and daimyo to the hatamoto and gokenin.

Even in the old age, the consent of the basis weight was required when implementing the measures, so there was a complicated thing that the upper and lower positions and the authority did not match.

Use number

It is a position derived from a messenger and a messenger in the world of the Warring States, but since the work in the war has disappeared after the Shimabara Rebellion, Ongoku-bugyō I became a supervisor of (Tenryo =a representative of the area under the direct control of the Shogunate).

In this way, it is said that the younger generation was in a position to take on everything from work near the shogun to liaison and surveillance officers to distant places. Rōjū was often selected from those who could work younger, and work in these regions would have been useful for the reign of Edo.

Bugyo

Temple and shrine magistrate, town magistrate, account magistrate San-bugyō It's called.

Jisha-bugyō

Among them, the Jisha-bugyō was the most powerful, managing temples and shrines nationwide, and supervising trials and cases in the territory of temples and shrines and in the town of Monzen. Again, four people were selected from the Fudai Daimyo.

In addition, under the terauke system, the shrines and temples managed all the rebookings by shūmon ninbō, which could be called the family register of the common people at that time. I was in charge of the administration to do.

In the early stages of the Shogunate, it seems that monks such as Iemitsu Den were in charge of temples and shrines, but during the Iemitsu era, they were selected from among the Fudai Daimyo.

Machi-bugyō

Machi-bugyō is administrative and judicial in the territory Was in charge of.

It has a capacity of two people, and was initially selected from Fudai Daimyo, but was later appointed by Hatamoto. After Hatamoto was appointed, Machi-bugyō was considered to be the highest position for Hatamoto, and those with experience in justice, civil welfare, and finance were selected.

Since he was in charge of the judiciary, administration, and security maintenance of the town of Edo, it seems that many people died from overwork due to what is now called black work. In addition to that, he also works on disaster prevention in the town, and it is said that he was doing what is now called a government office work.

Kanjo Bugyo

He also supervised the chief executive officer of the shogunate, who controls the finances and the territory under the direct control of the shogunate. It had been set up since Ieyasu opened the shogunate, but the shogunate's finances were not stable, and there were times when it was necessary to reform the shogunate.

Player number

It is said that he played the role of confirming the contents of the gift, reporting the gift to the shogun, and teaching etiquette and manners to the daimyo and the crown prince.

About 20 to 30 people were assigned to this position.

Kyoto Shoshidai

It is appointed by a Fudai Daimyo with a capacity of more than 30,000 stones, and it is said that it is a job to protect the emperor, but in reality it is a position to convey the policy of the shogunate to the imperial family and the imperial court and monitor it. was.

Osaka Jodai

Ieyasu, who won the siege of Osaka, abolished the Osaka clan and placed it under the direct control of the shogunate.

Edo is located in the Kanto region, and was entrusted with Osaka Castle on behalf of the shogun in the Kansai region. By saying that he was acting for the shogun, he was allowed to move at his own discretion, so it seems that he had a certain position in his work.

Finally ...

In addition, the number of positions increased with the times, and it is said that in the latter half of the Edo period, there were 470 positions in the Edo Shogunate, including daimyo, hatamoto, and gokenins.

In this way, the Tokugawa dictatorship was created, internal divisions were prevented, distant daimyo ruled each country, and the imperial court was firmly controlled by law. In order for each feudal lord to prove the master-slave relationship, the world of Tokugawa has been realized for more than 200 years with a political system that has no chance of changing attendance and not giving the capacity to cause a rebellion.

There are still many job titles if I write them in detail, but I intend to write the main job titles, so I would appreciate it if you could refer to them.

* February 6, 2021 Updated job title charts


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