Ministry of War (pre-modern Japan) (original) (raw)
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| Premodern Japan | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Part of a series on the politics andgovernment of Japan during theNara and Heian periods | |
| Daijō-kan (Council of State) | |
| Chancellor / Chief Minister | 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 |
| vte |
The Ministry of War or Military Ministry[1] (兵部省, Hyōbu-shō), sometimes called Tsuwamono no Tsukasa, was a division of the eighth century Japanese government of the Imperial Court in Kyoto,[2] instituted in the Asuka period and formalized during the Heian period. The Ministry was replaced in the Meiji period.
The highest-ranking official or head of the military (兵部卿,, _Hyōbu-kyō) was ordinarily a son or a close relative of the Emperor. This important court officer was responsible for directing all military matters; and after the beginning in the late 12th century, this military man would have been empowered to work with the shogunate on the emperor's behalf.[3]
The ambit of the Ministry's activities encompasses, for example:
- oversight of the rosters of military officers, including examinations, appointment, ranks, etc.[4]
- dispatching of troops[4]
- supervision of arsenals of weapons, guards, fortifications and signal fires[4]
- maintenance of pastures, military horses, and public and private horses and cattle[4]
- administration of postal stations[4]
- control of the manufacture of weapons and weapon-makers[4]
- oversight of drumming and in flute playing[4]
- control of public and private means of water transportation[4]
- regulation of the training of hawks and dogs.[4]
The ministry was established as part of the Taika Reforms and Ritsuryō laws which were initiated in the Asuka period and formalized during the Heian period. After 702, the Hyōbu-shō replaced the Hyōseikan, which was created in 683.[5]
In the Edo period, titles associated with the ministry became ceremonial titles.
In the Meiji period, the hyōbu-shō was reorganized into a modern Ministry of War and Ministry of the Navy.
The Asuka-, Nara- and Heian-period Imperial court hierarchy encompassed a ministry dealing with military affairs.[1]
In the 18th century, the top ritsuryō officials within this ministry structure were:
- Minister or chief official (兵部卿, Hyōbu-kyō), usually a son or a close relative of the Emperor.[6]
- First assistant to the Minister (兵部大輔, Hyōbu-taifu).[3]
- Second assistant to the Minister (兵部少輔, Hyōbu-shōfu).[3]
- Senior staff officer (兵部大丞, Hyōbu-taijō).[3]
- Junior staff officers (兵部少丞, Hyōbu-shōjō), two positions.[3]
- Director of dance (隼人正, Hayato no kami), considered a very low rank.[3]
- First assistant director (隼人佑, Hayato no jō).[3]
- Alternate assistant director (隼人令史, Hayato no sakan).[3]
- Daijō-kan
- Imperial Japanese Army (1871–1945)
- Imperial Japanese Navy (1871–1945)
- Japan Self-Defense Forces (1954–)
- Ministry of Defense (Japan)
- ^ a b Ministry of War, Sheffield.
- ^ Kawakami, Karl Kiyoshi. (1903). The Political Ideas of the Modern Japan, pp. 36-38., p. 36, at Google Books
- ^ a b c d e f g h Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, p. 431., p. 431, at Google Books
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Kawakami, p. 37 n3,, p. 37, at Google Books citing Ito Hirobumi, Commentaries on the Japanese Constitution, p. 87 (1889).
- ^ Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric et al. (2005). "Hyōbusho" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 363., p. 363, at Google Books
- ^ Varley, Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, p. 272; Titsingh, p. 431.
- Kawakami, Karl Kiyoshi. (1903). The Political Ideas of the Modern Japan. Iowa City, Iowa: University of Iowa Press. OCLC 466275784. Internet Archive, full text
- Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 48943301
- Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Nihon Odai Ichiran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. 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. ISBN 978-0-231-04940-5; OCLC 59145842
- Friday, Karl F. (1992). Hired Swords: the Rise of Private Warrior Power in Early Japan. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-804-71978-0; ISBN 978-0-804-72696-2