Treatise 37: Offices I

¶The system of offices has truly ancient origins. In remote antiquity, when Amaterasu-Ōmikami ruled over Takamagahara, the eight hundred thousand deities were of one mind and in harmony with one another, and each took charge of his own duties to assist and support the heavenly undertaking. The prototype of the offices can be seen here. When the Imperial Grandchild descended to the Central Land of Reed Plains (Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni), Amaterasu-Ōmikami commanded Ame-no-Koyane-no-Mikoto, Ame-no-Oshihi-no-Mikoto, and the other deities to guard the Imperial Grandchild along the way. Thereafter the descendants of those deities inherited their posts generation after generation and assisted the Sovereign. The system by which civil and military offices became hereditary posts arose from this. When the Great Founder (Emperor Jinmu) pacified the central lands, he enfeoffed his meritorious followers as Kuni-no-Miyatsuko and Agatanushi, and the feudal system began at that point. All ministers and officials, inner and outer, succeeded one another as hereditary officeholders in hereditary posts, and served the single person of the Most Exalted. Because status and duty were clear, the rites of governance were rightly carried out. Over a long span of years there were, from time to time, abuses, but enlightened and sagacious sovereigns appeared one after another and tightened the bonds of order, so that the realm remained tranquil and its military strength flourished. Down to the barbarians and savages of the four quarters, there were none who did not come to court and present tribute; this was truly because the national polity was dignified and the laws and institutions were fixed, so that there was something that could not be lightly moved. When the Middle Ancestor (Emperor Tenji) assisted the Taika government, he reformed the old abuses, adopted in addition the distant system of commanderies and counties, and established the Eight Ministries and the hundred offices, so that the eyes and ears of the realm were made new. The achievement of bringing about a flourishing age of government lasting several hundred years may truly be called a great one. At that time, however, the text of the statutes had only just been drafted, and the system of personnel was not yet complete. In the reign of Emperor Monmu the Taihō Code was compiled, the official system was greatly perfected, and it finally became a statute for all ages. Yet from the time that the Kurōdo (Chamberlains) and the Kebiishi (Police Commissioners) were established in the Kōnin era, such offices as the Jijū (Chamberlains-in-Attendance), the Efu (Guards Headquarters), and the Danjō (Board of Censors) gradually lost their authority. When estates (shōen) flourished, the governance of the provincial governors no longer extended through the realm. When appointment by pedigree and lineage came to be prized, offices no longer obtained the right men. When the governance of the court slackened and robbers and bandits became rampant, the power of the warriors arose. After the Disturbances of Hōgen and Heiji, the general trend changed completely; the powers over land and over troops and horses all passed to the military government (bakufu), and the official system of the Taihō Code became wholly nominal. The changes of the ways of the world are truly lamentable. Only the solemnity of the national polity and the distinction between ruler and subject cannot be changed through ten thousand generations. For this reason, even when military men seized the authority of the realm for themselves, what they desired did not go beyond the title of Seii (Barbarian-Subduing General). As for posts such as the Sesshō and Kanpaku (Regent and Chief Advisor), which can in no case be held by anyone other than the Fujiwara, even great traitors and arch-villains did not dare to harbor thoughts of usurping them; this was truly because the principle of status and duty remained. Nevertheless, the abuses of the official system had for days and years grown long-standing. Hence it was also a matter of necessity that name and reality diverged, that confusion arose on all sides, that duties were unclear and jurisdictions ceased to function, that government and teaching declined because of this, and that all undertakings stagnated because of this. Those of later ages who aspire to stable and good government must indeed return to the sacred purpose of the founding of the state, adapt it by addition and subtraction to the times and make it workable, and establish an everlasting system of law. Now, examining the old histories and consulting the various books, we record the origins of the changes in the official system. As to its order, we take the Taihō Code as the sole standard. Offices not provided for in the statutes but having a superior body to which they belong, even if they are not regular offices, are added in due order if they have long been followed and treated like regular offices. Those whose abolition and establishment were unsettled and whose affiliation is unclear, and those set up for a temporary convenience and soon abolished, are all appended at the end of the treatise. Appointment, promotion, performance review, and the like are likewise added by category. Here we compose the Treatise on Offices.

¶In remote antiquity, when Amaterasu-Ōmikami hid herself in the Heavenly Rock Cave, the eight hundred thousand deities were greatly alarmed and gathered at the Heavenly Marketplace (Ama-no-Takechi). Ame-no-Koyane-no-Mikoto was made to recite the norito, Ame-no-Futodama-no-Mikoto was made to prepare the offerings of cloth, and Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto was made to take charge of the sacred dance and music (kagura); the deities each hurried about to present their duties and to offer prayers. (Note: following the Nihon Shoki and the Kogo Shūi.) When Amaterasu-Ōmikami returned to the Auspicious Hall, Ōmiyame-no-Mikoto was stationed in attendance before her, and Toyoiwamado-no-Kami and Kushiiwamado-no-Kami were made to guard the gate of the hall. (Note: following the Kogo Shūi.) When the Imperial Grandchild descended to the Central Land of Reed Plains, Futsunushi-no-Mikoto and Takemikazuchi-no-Mikoto took on the office of commanders and pacified the barbarian rebels. Amaterasu-Ōmikami then issued a decree to the Five Companion Deities to attend the Imperial Grandchild, each to carry out his own duties exactly as in the ceremonies of heaven. She also commanded Ame-no-Oshihi-no-Mikoto and Amatsukume-no-Mikoto to take charge of military guard (jūei). The system of offices truly has its source here. And once status and duty were fixed, they were never again disturbed. (Note: the Nihon Shoki, the Kojiki, and the Kogo Shūi were consulted.) When the Great Founder (Emperor Jinmu) pacified the central land and took his seat in the Kashihara Palace, Ame-no-Tomi-no-Mikoto bore the heavenly regalia of mirror and sword and installed them in the main hall. Ame-no-Taneko-no-Mikoto recited the ancient precedents of the Age of the Gods and the blessing words (yogoto) of the heavenly deities. Michi-no-Omi-no-Mikoto and Ōkume-no-Mikoto led the two bands of Ōtomo and Kume and guarded the palace gates. (Note: the matters from Ōkume-no-Mikoto onward are recorded here as verified from various books. Details appear in the Treatise on Military Affairs.) Umashimade-no-Mikoto led the Uchi-no-Mononobe and served as the ceremonial guard. The people of the four quarters came to court and saw with their own eyes the dignity of the heavenly throne. The system of the hundred officials of the court was first completed at this point. It may be thought that the sacred way places weight on rites and on military affairs. The successive ancestors paid the utmost attention to this. Therefore, when the Great Founder went on his eastern campaign, he sacrificed to and prayed to the deities of heaven, and Michi-no-Omi-no-Mikoto served as chief commander and as the officiant of the rites (saishu). When Emperor Suizei ascended the throne, Kamuyaimimi-no-Mikoto, as the Emperor's elder brother, became the imibito (ritual abstainer). That the ancestors of the Nakatomi and the Inbe took charge of the rites, and the ancestors of the Ōtomo and the Kume took charge of military government, was in every case commanded by Amaterasu-Ōmikami, and they held the post of chief assistants generation after generation. This age was not yet far from the Age of the Gods, rites and government were one, and the officials who served the deities and those who ruled the people were joined in a continuous line. In general, the means by which they oversaw the whole realm, inner and outer, and commanded all under heaven were all based on the intent of revering the deities and honoring martial prowess. That in later ages the Jingikan (Department of Deities) was placed at the head of the hundred offices also arose from this surviving intent. (Note: the general sense of the Nihon Shoki, the Kojiki, the Kuji Hongi, the Kogo Shūi, and the Shokugenshō is summarized here.)

¶During Emperor Sujin's campaigns of the Four Roads (Shidō), the posts of commander were all held by close relatives of the imperial house. Afterwards, whenever there was trouble on the frontier, he would appoint now an imperial prince, now a minister; they went out as generals and came in as chief ministers, and civil and military duties were not yet divided. (Note: following the Nihon Shoki.) It seems that under the system of that time, the common people who served the royal undertakings were called the shinabe people (people of the occupational bands). A chief was set up over each band to lead it, and they served the court. The Sovereign then fixed clan names (uji) and bestowed hereditary titles (kabane), thereby distinguishing rank and lineage, and they were called Omi, Muraji, and Tomo-no-Miyatsuko. Their kinds were very many, and they were collectively called the Yasotomo-no-O (the eighty chiefs of the bands) and also the hundred and eighty bands. It was something like what we now call the hundred officials. Those among the Omi and Muraji who held the reins of government were called Ōmuraji and Ōomi. The Ōmuraji probably began in the reign of Emperor Suinin. (Note: ○ Upon examination, the Nihon Shoki gives, in the Suinin court, the Ōmuraji Mononobe-no-Tochine. The Shōjiroku says that Takemaritone-no-Mikoto was granted the title Ishitsukuri-no-Ōmuraji in the time of Suinin. The Kuji Hongi likewise states that in the Suinin court Ōniikawa-no-Mikoto was first granted the title Ōmuraji. By this it seems that the Ōmuraji began around this time. However, the Shokugenshō and the Rekiun-ki both say that in the time of Emperor Chūai, Ōtomo-no-Takemochi was made Ōmuraji. The two accounts do not agree and it is not clear which is correct, so for now it is provisionally attached to this reign.) The Ōomi began in the time of Emperor Seimu, and from then on the title was followed as an office name. (Note: following the Nihon Shoki, the Kojiki, and the Kuji Hongi.) In general, ministers great and small all inherited their office-titles and, generation after generation, carried out their duties. Thus it went from the Nakatomi-no-Muraji and the Inbe-no-Obito presenting the rites, the Mononobe-no-Muraji and the Ōtomo-no-Muraji governing military affairs, the Kashiwade-no-Omi and the Ōme-no-Muraji governing the provision of meals, the Mondori-no-Miyatsuko governing drinking water, the Sakabe-no-Kimi governing the brewing of sake, the Hattori-no-Miyatsuko governing clothing, the Kurumamochi-no-Kimi governing carriages and attendants, the Tsumekumi-no-Muraji making canopies, the Tamatsukuri-no-Muraji working jewels, the Kagamitsukuri-no-Miyatsuko making mirrors, the Ishitsukuri-no-Muraji working stone, and the Haji-no-Omi governing the ceremonies of ill omen (funerals), and on to the Kamori-no-Muraji doing the sweeping, the Fune-no-Fuhito governing the levy on ships, the Kurabe governing the storehouses, the Fumi-no-Obito governing the keeping of records, the Akinaga-no-Obito governing trade, and the osa (interpreters) governing translation; in none of these was there any difference between surname and office. The female officials who presented the Sovereign's meals were called uneme, the men who served close to the Emperor were called toneri, those who guarded the palace gates in place of barking dogs were called Hayato, and those who were sent abroad and received guests were called Kishi. (Note: ○ Upon examination, according to the Sui shu and the Dongguk Tonggam, Kishi was originally an official title of the country of Silla. It may be that when the state pacified the Three Han, it employed foreigners (naturalized immigrants) to handle foreign affairs, and the office name was left unchanged, and they were made to carry out those duties in the service of the court. Wani, Atogi, and the like are all examples. There were also native people who became Kishi, and their descendants took it as a surname, as with the Naniwa-no-Kishi and others. Moreover, according to the Shōjiroku, among the foreign-origin clans (banbetsu) many bear the surname Fuhito, and these too were probably all surnames taken from what they governed.) Those who oversaw the Tabe were called Tabe-no-Muraji, those who oversaw the Yamabe, Yamabe-no-Kimi, those who oversaw the Amabe, Azumi-no-Muraji, and those who oversaw the miyake (royal granaries), Miyake-no-Obito. Further down, even to dogs, horses, birds, and beasts, there were in every case bands such as the Umakai and the Torikai who took charge of those matters. Besides these there were the Hinomatsuribe, Tatebe, Kamiyugebe, Kamiyahagibe, Tachihakibe, Takebe, Saekibe, Shitoribe, Shishibito-be, Kinunuibe, Tsukigomebe, Inabe, Osakabe, and the like; the shinabe were extremely numerous and cannot all be recorded here. (Note: following the Nihon Shoki, the Kojiki, the Shōjiroku, the Kogo Shūi, and the Ryō no Gige.)

¶The feudal system (hōken), the institution for governing provinces and districts and shepherding the people, truly began with the Great Founder (Emperor Jinmu). Once the Great Founder had pacified the central lands, he divided the realm among his meritorious followers and made them Kuni-no-Miyatsuko and Agatanushi. In the reign of Emperor Seimu, establishment on a large scale was carried out: chiefs (miyatsuko) of provinces and districts and Inaki of the prefectural settlements were fixed as screens and bulwarks guarding the center, and shields and spears were bestowed as their emblems. Thereupon the feudal system became ever more complete, and all of these were hereditary offices in hereditary posts, and unless they committed a great crime they were not dismissed. (Note: following the Nihon Shoki and the Kojiki. From "all were hereditary offices" onward, the Kuji Hongi and the Shoku Nihongi were taken into account.) After the reigns of Emperor Chūai and Emperor Ōjin, further ones were added from time to time. The number of Kuni-no-Miyatsuko was about one hundred and forty-four, and those on islands were called Shima-no-Miyatsuko. (Note: following the Kuji Hongi.) As for cases such as Emperor Sujin's commanding Toyokiirihiko-no-Mikoto to govern the eastern provinces, and Emperor Keikō's having Hikosashima-no-Mikoto oversee fifteen provinces as commander-in-chief, in every case imperial princes and imperial grandsons held the post, and the jurisdiction was extremely vast, beyond comparison with that of an ordinary Kuni-no-Miyatsuko. But this too was not a system for all time. (Note: following the Nihon Shoki.) After Empress Jingū pacified the Three Han, she fixed the inner government estates (Uchitsumiyake), established the Nihon-fu (Japanese Office) in Mimana, and placed a field marshal to pacify and govern the Korean lands. The reach of her awe-inspiring spirit truly shook the lands overseas. (Note: following the Nihon Shoki and the Kojiki.) For this reason the doctors (hakase) of the Five Classics, calendrical science, and medicine, the herb gatherers, painters, and musicians (Note: for the painters, following the Shōjiroku) were all persons tendered as tribute from the Three Han, and the court accordingly bestowed surnames on them and made them hold their posts hereditarily. (Note: from "the court" onward, the Shōjiroku was taken into account.) The Nihon-fu was later moved to Tsukushi. This is the Dazaifu (Governor-General's Headquarters) of Tsukushi. (Note: following the Nihon Shoki.)

¶In general, from the Great Founder down to the Middle Ancestor (Emperor Tenji), in the system of offices, from the Ōmuraji and Ōomi, the Omi, Muraji, Tomo, and Miyatsuko, the hundred and eighty bands, the Kuni-no-Miyatsuko and Agatanushi, and the officers of mountains and seas, the overseers of fields and pastures, and the governors who garrisoned the frontier, to officials inner and outer, great and small, there was nothing whose establishment and arrangement was not complete. For this reason the state could be managed and constructed well, and a flourishing age of government lasting several thousand years could be brought about. As time passed, however, there were cases where families of hereditary office lost their posts, and where nobles and great clans were not necessarily suited to their positions. When the laws and institutions fell into disorder and long-accumulated abuses arose, change became unavoidable. Therefore the Taika Reform was carried out, the Eight Ministries and hundred offices were established, Kokushi (provincial governors) and Gunryō (district magistrates) were installed, and the feudal system was completely changed into rule by commanderies and counties. Yet in such cases as the Nakatomi and the Inbe governing the deities of heaven and earth, the Ōtomo and the Saeki governing the Efu (Guards Headquarters), the Takahashi and the Azumi governing the Naizen (Palace Kitchen), and the Kuni-no-Miyatsuko and Agatanushi becoming district magistrates, the name changed but the substance did not; it was, as it were, a combined use of the feudal and the commandery-and-county systems. This was a measure taken to suit the times, weighing past and present and adding to and subtracting from the laws and regulations. (Note: the general sense of the Nihon Shoki, the Kojiki, the Shōjiroku, and the Shoku Nihongi was taken into account.)

¶In the eleventh year of Suiko (603), cap ranks were first established, twelve grades in all: Greater Virtue (Daitoku), Lesser Virtue (Shōtoku), Greater Benevolence (Daijin), Lesser Benevolence (Shōjin), Greater Propriety (Dairei), Lesser Propriety (Shōrei), Greater Faith (Daishin), Lesser Faith (Shōshin), Greater Righteousness (Daigi), Lesser Righteousness (Shōgi), Greater Wisdom (Daichi), and Lesser Wisdom (Shōchi); the system of cap ranks began with this. When Emperor Kōtoku ascended the throne, he completely changed the laws and institutions. In the first year of Taika (645) he established the Ministers of the Left and Right (Sadaijin and Udaijin) and the Naishin (Inner Minister), and had them jointly conduct the great government, and abolished the title Ōmuraji of high antiquity. (Note: following the Nihon Shoki and the Shokugenshō.) In the second year (646) he established Kokushi (provincial governors), Gunji (district governors, that is, the Gunryō), Shusei and Shuchō (district secretaries and clerks), and Bōrei and Bōchō (ward commanders and ward chiefs). He also established Sōryō (Area Commanders, also called Dazai) to oversee several provinces. (Note: from "also established" onward, the Shoku Nihongi and the Hitachi no Kuni Fudoki were consulted.) In the third year (647) the system of cap ranks was revised to seven categories and thirteen grades: Greater Woven (Daishiki), Lesser Woven (Shōshiki), Greater Embroidered (Daishū), Lesser Embroidered (Shōshū), Greater Purple (Daishi), Lesser Purple (Shōshi), Greater Brocade (Daikin), Lesser Brocade (Shōkin), Greater Blue (Daishō), Lesser Blue (Shōshō), Greater Black (Daikoku), and Lesser Black (Shōkoku). In the fifth year of Kenmu (Note: so in the source; since the context concerns the Taika period, the fifth year of Taika (649) appears to be meant) (Note: ○ an original note states that the initial rank is also called Risshin), the grades were increased to nineteen; the six grades from Greater Woven to Lesser Purple all kept their old names, and the grades below were Greater Flower Upper (Daikajō) (Note: ○ "Flower" is the same as "Brocade." For this reason this book, from Emperor Kōtoku to the early years of Emperor Tenji, frequently uses both names interchangeably), Greater Flower Lower (Daikage), Lesser Flower Upper (Shōkajō), Lesser Flower Lower (Shōkage), Greater Mountain Upper (Daisenjō), Greater Mountain Lower (Daisenge), Lesser Mountain Upper (Shōsenjō), Lesser Mountain Lower (Shōsenge), Greater Otsu Upper (Daiotsujō), Greater Otsu Lower (Daiotsuge), Lesser Otsu Upper (Shōotsujō), Lesser Otsu Lower (Shōotsuge), and Risshin (Establishing Oneself); on this basis an edict was issued establishing the Eight Ministries and the hundred offices. In the Kinoe-ne year of Emperor Tenji (664) the grades were increased further to twenty-six. From Greater Woven to Lesser Purple all again remained as of old (Note: ○ this book writes "embroidered" with a different character, but that character is the same as "embroidered"), and the grades below were Greater Brocade Upper, Middle, and Lower, Lesser Brocade Upper, Middle, and Lower, Greater Mountain Upper, Middle, and Lower, Lesser Mountain Upper, Middle, and Lower, Greater Otsu Upper, Middle, and Lower, Lesser Otsu Upper, Middle, and Lower, and Greater Ken (Daiken) and Lesser Ken (Shōken); "Flower" was changed to "Brocade," and from Brocade through Otsu a Middle grade was added to each. (Note: "Middle" is written in this book with the character for "ten" or "six," both of which are errors; here it is corrected according to the sense of the preceding passage.) Greater Ken and Lesser Ken are the initial ranks. (Note: following the Nihon Shoki.) In the second year (Note: the source's year numbers are kept as written; the Nihon Shoki places this and the next event in the eighth and tenth years of Tenji, 669 and 671), Nakatomi-no-Muraji Kamatari, the Naishin, was made Naidaijin (Inner Minister), was granted the Great Woven Cap (Taishokkan), and was ranked above the Ministers of the Left and Right. (Note: following the Nihon Shoki, the Kugyō Bunin, and the Shokugenshō.) In the fourth year Prince Ōtomo was made Daijō-daijin (Chancellor) and three Gyoshi-taifu (Censors-in-Chief) were established. Soon after, the matter of cap ranks was proclaimed and carried out, and ranks were divided into inner and outer. (Note: following the Nihon Shoki. ○ This book does not record the year and month of the division of inner and outer ranks. On examination of this book, in the first year of Emperor Kōbun there is mention of Azumi-no-Muraji Inashiki of Inner Lesser Otsu Rank; in the first year of Emperor Temmu, Sataku Shōmyō of Greater Brocade Lower is recorded as having died and been posthumously granted Outer Lesser Purple. From this it is known that the division of inner and outer ranks took place before Emperor Kōbun. But as there is no clear evidence, it is provisionally attached here.) In the first year of Emperor Kōbun (672) the Gyoshi-taifu were renamed Dainagon (Major Counselors). (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin.) In the third year of Emperor Temmu (674) the posts of Heiseikan-chō (Head of the Military Affairs Office), Taifu (Senior Assistant), and the like were established. In the fourth year (675) an edict ordered that, with the exception of the Home Provinces, Mutsu, and Nagato, all those appointed Kokushi be persons of Greater Mountain Rank or below. In the thirteenth year (684) the ranks of nobility were revised and the grades increased. The Bright Rank (Myōi) had two grades and the Pure Rank (Jōi) four, each with a Greater (Dai) and a Broad (Kō) division, twelve grades in all, and these were the ranks for princes and above. The Correct Rank (Shōi) four grades, the Upright Rank (Jikii) four grades, the Diligent Rank (Gon'i) four grades, the Industrious Rank (Mui) four grades, the Pursuing Rank (Tsui'i) four grades, and the Advancing Rank (Shin'i) four grades, each with Greater and Broad divisions, forty-eight grades in all, were the ranks for the various ministers. (Note: following the Nihon Shoki.) In the spring, third month, of the first year of Taihō (701) under Emperor Monmu, official titles and rank names were changed in accordance with the new statutes, and two offices were created. One was the Jingikan (Department of Deities), which devoted itself solely to the ceremonial rites of worship. The other was the Daijōkan (Council of State), where the Three Ministers oversaw the vital affairs of the realm, and the Eight Ministries and the various bureaus and offices were all subordinate to it. For imperial princes (Shinnō) there were the Bright Cap (Myōkan) in four grades, from First Rank to Fourth Rank (Ippon to Shihon). For princes of the blood (Shoō) there were the Pure Cap (Jōkan) in fourteen grades, from Senior First Rank to Junior Fifth Rank Lower, eighteen grades in all. For ministers there was the Correct Cap (Shōkan) in six grades, from Senior First Rank to Junior Third Rank; the Upright Cap (Jikikan) in eight grades, from Senior Fourth Rank Upper to Junior Fifth Rank Lower; the Diligent Cap (Gonkan) in four grades, from Senior Sixth Rank Upper to Junior Sixth Rank Lower; the Industrious Cap (Mukan) in four grades, from Senior Seventh Rank Upper to Junior Seventh Rank Lower; the Pursuing Cap (Tsuikan) in four grades, from Senior Eighth Rank Upper to Junior Eighth Rank Lower; and the Advancing Cap (Shinkan) in four grades, from Greater Initial Rank Upper to Lesser Initial Rank Lower; thirty grades in all. The outer ranks (Geni) ran from Senior Fifth Rank Upper of the Upright Cap to Lesser Initial Rank Lower of the Advancing Cap, twenty grades in all. The merit ranks (Kun'i) ran from Senior Third Rank of the Correct Cap to Junior Eighth Rank Lower of the Pursuing Cap, twelve classes in all. From this time the bestowal of caps was discontinued and replaced by rank certificates (iki). Soon afterward the names from the Diligent Rank downward were changed, and the inner and outer ranks of Sixth Rank and below were advanced by one grade. (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi.) In general, among the offices inner and outer, those with assigned duties were Shikiji-kan (officers with duties) and those without assigned duties were Sankan (officers without duties). The Five Guards (Goefu), the army corps (gundan), and the other offices that bore arms were military offices, and all others were civil offices. The offices in the capital were capital offices (Keikan), and all others were outer offices (Gekan). Those of Fifth Rank and above, inner and outer, were granted by imperial decree (chokuju); those of inner Eighth Rank and outer Seventh Rank and above were granted by memorial (sōju); those of outer Eighth Rank and the initial ranks, inner and outer, were all granted by the decision of the office (kanpanju). As for appointment to office, from Dainagon upward, the Left and Right Major Controllers (Sadaiben and Udaiben), the Ministers (kyō) of the Eight Ministries, the Commanders (Kami) of the Five Guards, the Governor (In) of the Danjō (Board of Censors), and the Governor-General (Sotsu) of Dazaifu were appointed by imperial decree (chokunin); the other offices were appointed by memorial (sōnin); the Shusei, Shuchō, household stewards (Karei), and the like were appointed by decision (hannin); and the toneri (attendants), shishō (scribes), shibu (messengers), tomobe (corvée groups), chōnai and shijin (retainers assigned to the nobility), and the like were decided and appointed by the Shikibu (Ministry of Ceremonial). (Note: following the Ryō no Gige.)

¶At first, in the time of Emperor Tenji, an edict had new statutes drawn up, and they were brought to completion in the Taihō and Yōrō eras. The official systems of later ages all took these statutes as their standard. Newly established offices not provided for in the statutes were called ryōge-no-kan (extra-statutory offices). (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi, the Ruijū Sandaikyaku, and the Shokugenshō.) In the autumn of this year the Daijōkan issued a ruling that, for all who were transferred, those of the sōnin grade and above should have their registers sent to the Daijōkan, while for the hannin grade the Shikibu was to make the selection and then send them on. In the second year (702), seals and keys (inyaku) were for the first time bestowed on the provincial governors and other officials. (Note: from "the second year" onward, following the Ranshōshō.) In the third year of Keiun (706), seven articles were enacted. The third of them, on appointment and promotion, says: "According to the statutes, the transfer and replacement of all permanently serving officials (chōjō-kan) is in every case limited to six evaluations (kō, that is, six years of service reviews). For other offices, two evaluations are added according to category, and twelve evaluations form the term for selection. Since this period is far too long, two evaluations should be reduced in each case and the law fixed accordingly. Furthermore, those who enter service by hereditary privilege (on'i) are in every case outside the ordinary rules of selection, except those handled by separate imperial ruling and those by recommendation (kōkyo). Those who have been struck from the rolls under the penal code (ritsu) are permitted to receive rank only after six years. The statutes do not yet record this, so the procedure for conferring rank after the term has expired should be deliberated and made a statutory article." In the fourth year (707) the Hyōbushō (Ministry of Military Affairs) was for the first time to record the number of days of court attendance of those of Fifth Rank and above in the Five Guards and send it to the Daijōkan. In the first year of Wadō (708) under Emperor Genmei, the Shikibu was ordered to examine and verify, and to correct such abuses as persons who entered service by hereditary privilege being included in selection without any evaluations, and commoners (hakutei) falsely using names to take part in recommendation. It was also decreed: "For the selection by evaluation of the doctors (hakase) and physicians (ishi) of the provinces, follow the precedent of the shishō (scribes), with the evaluation grades following their respective categories. If local people and those from neighboring provinces are to be employed, in every case follow the articles of the statutes. For sons of rank holders (shii) and recommended men (kōnin) whose registers are fit for recommendation, the home office is in every case to keep a record, and when they are to be used the Shikibu is to send instructions to the home office and summon them." In the second year (709) it was decreed that the evaluation and selection documents of the offices inner and outer should first be submitted to the Controllers' Office (Benkan), returned and attached to the home office, and forwarded to the Shikibu and the Hyōbushō. In the third year (710) it was decreed that those being granted rank must not have their previous evaluations counted together. In the fifth year (712) an edict stated: "Hitherto the district governors (Gunji), Shusei, and Shuchō have all been arbitrarily appointed by the provincial governors, who sent in the registers of names. Hereafter the person himself is to be inspected in fact, and only after a trial conducted in accordance with the regulations is he to be appointed." In the sixth year (713) the Daijōkan ruled: "The merits and faults of the various offices are all to be sent to the Controllers' Office and passed down to the Shikibu." In the first year of Yōrō (717) under Emperor Genshō it was decreed: "With the exception of the Zōgūshō (Office of Palace Construction), the assistant secretaries (hangan) of the extra-statutory offices, regardless of the size of the office's rank, are to follow the precedent of the statutory assistant secretaries as fixed in the statutes. Furthermore, where one person holds several offices, if the days of attendance (jōjitsu) at the higher office are few and those at the lower office are many, the stipend is to be given according to the office with the greater number of days. (Note: from "furthermore, where one person" onward, the Ryō no Gige was taken into account.) The seasonal stipend of the shishō of the extra-statutory offices is to be one grade lower than that of the sakan (clerk) of the same office. Except where an imperial edict has specially been issued on account of skill, all are to follow this precedent." In the following year (718) the Daijōkan ruled: "In cases where a Shusei or Shuchō who had been formally appointed is dismissed for cause and reduced once more to commoner status, his earlier service is already voided while his later toil is truly great. Considered by reason, this is clearly contrary to principle. Following the law of entering service, even after dismissal he should still go up to the provincial office and continue his service. The inner and outer holders of unassigned rank (san'i) should also be exempted from labor service (zōyō)." In the third year (719) the system of holding the ceremonial baton (shaku) was fixed: "The shishō, Shusei, Shuchō, Taiki, and Shōki (colonels and lieutenant colonels of the army corps) of the provinces; the Miyaji (shrine masters) of the Jingikan; the Left and Right Ōtoneri; the permanently serving officials appointed by special decree in the bureaus; the painters of the Gakōshi (Office of Painters); the various masters of the Utaryō (Bureau of Court Music); the mathematicians (sanshi) of the Zōgūshō, the Kazoe-ryō (Bureau of Accounts), and the Chikara-ryō (Bureau of Taxes); the milk masters of the Tenyakuryō (Bureau of Medicine); the physicians of the Left and Right Ejifu; the horse doctors of the Left and Right Bureaus of Horses; and the like, in succession before and after, are all permitted to hold the baton. For the first time, sons of those of outer Sixth Rank, inner and outer initial ranks, and Merit Seventh Class, aged twenty or above, are to be made rank-assigned attendants (ibun-shijin), to be replaced after eight years." In this year Azechi (Inspectors) were established, each overseeing more than thirty provinces, to expose wrongdoing and restrain deceit. Afterwards there were further additions, the details of which appear in the Treatise on Food and Goods. In the seventh year (723) an edict ordered: "In the provinces governed by an Azechi, doctors and physicians are to be appointed; the doctors of all other provinces are to be abolished." (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi.)

¶In the fifth year of Jinki (728) under Emperor Shōmu, the Daijōkan submitted a memorial: "Inner ranks and outer ranks have since antiquity been distinct designations. The grades of ceremony cannot be treated as equivalent. For those of Fifth Rank and above, we request that they be allowed to line up their caps in the court ranks. Those in the classics (myōgyō) and the talented scholars (shūsai) who are fit for the service of the state should be conferred inner rank, and the others should be conferred outer rank. However, those of outer rank who have accumulated merit and ought to enter the inner ranks should be conferred the rank corresponding to them." An edict approved this. (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku.) Further, on the basis of the regulation of the third year of Yōrō (719), the selection by evaluation of attendants (shijin) was fixed. Only after the completion of eight evaluations were they to choose their appropriate category. For attendants of outer rank, selection was completed after ten evaluations, and it was permitted to take them from among holders of unassigned rank, merit rank, sons of rank holders, commoners, and others alike. On this account the grant of guards (bōkō) to capital officials of Fifth Rank and above was discontinued, and a special allowance for horse fodder was granted instead. In summer, Abe-no-Asomi Obimaro and others were granted Outer Junior Fifth Rank Lower. An edict was then issued stating: "Now, why should those to whom we grant outer Fifth Rank remain at this grade? In accordance with their diligent service, they ought by rights to be conferred inner rank. Do not slacken your efforts." In autumn the Daijōkan submitted a memorial: "The number of provincial scribes (shishō), doctors, and physicians is fixed. The limit for evaluation and promotion is as follows: for scribes, four in a large province, three in a superior province, and two in a middle or lower province, with selection completed after six evaluations and replacement when the term is full. Doctors and physicians complete selection after eight evaluations; one doctor is appointed for every three or four provinces, a physician is appointed for each province, and when selection is complete they are replaced in the same way as scribes." In the third year of Tenpyō (731) it was decreed: "The evaluation and selection of military officers, physicians, messengers (shibu), and horse doctors of the Left and Right Bureaus of Horses who bear arms, and the dismissal of military officers, were by old precedent all handled by the Shikibu, but as this is inconvenient in practice, from now on the Hyōbushō is to handle them. However, the persons themselves are to remain as before and are to serve on duty (jōge) in the bureaus." Soon afterwards the Kinai Sōkan (Commanders-in-Chief of the Home Provinces) and the Shodō Chinbushi (Pacification Commissioners of the Circuits) were established. Under the system for the Commander-in-Chief (Daisōkan), he wore a sword and awaited imperial orders. The Deputy Commander-in-Chief was the same as the Commander-in-Chief, with two assistant secretaries and four clerks (sakan) established. The Pacification Commissioner was the same as the Commander, with one assistant secretary and one clerk. Officials inner and outer of Sixth Rank and below who were versed in the arts of war and in writing were assigned to these posts. The Commander-in-Chief was given ten attendants (kenjō) and the Deputy Commander six. The Pacification Commissioners were given four escorts (zuishin) if of Third Rank and two if of Fourth Rank. All bore bows and arrows and attended him morning and evening. When a Commander entered territory under his charge on business, he was permitted to take thirty cavalrymen with him. His duties were to dispatch the troops and horses of the capital region; to search out and arrest those who gathered parties and extended their factional strength; to restrain those who threatened the aged and the young and plundered the poor and lowly; to discuss current government and assess persons; to suppress perversity and wrongful accusation, robbers and bandits, and false rumors, and unarmed persons in the Guards; and to report at once to the throne the good and bad administrative performance of provincial and district officials. Soon after, the fixed quota of holders of unassigned military rank (bu-san'i) was set at two hundred. In the following year (732) Setsudoshi (Military Commissioners) were established in the four circuits of Tōkaidō, Tōsandō, San'indō, and Saikaidō, and for each circuit four assistant secretaries, four clerks, one physician, and one onmyōji (diviner) were established, with two post-station bells and one white-bronze seal granted to each. In the fifth year (733) it was decreed: "When provincial governors are replaced and set out for the capital, in some cases they depart before their successors have arrived, and in some cases, though replaced, they do not attach a certificate of handover (geyu). For this reason the Chōshūshi (provincial envoys to the court) were instructed in the third year of Tenpyō (731), but the governors were lax and did not willingly comply. As a result, those who have been transferred cannot remain in office, and those without posts are not permitted to take night duty in the bureaus. How can it be reasonable to spend months and days idly? Be well aware of the circumstances: those who are replaced must without fail attach a certificate of handover and send it to the office, and this is to become a permanent rule from now on." In the following year (734) it was forbidden to nominate persons aged seventy or over as district governors. In the seventh year (735) the numbers of outer holders of unassigned rank and of merit rank in all the provinces of the realm were for the first time fixed, differing from province to province, and for the rest it was permitted, following the regulations, to pay for qualification and continue their service. It was then decreed: "In the provinces of the Home Provinces and the Seven Circuits, apart from the candidates nominated by the province, four or five persons of heavy pedigree (fudai) since the Naniwa court should separately be selected and added to them. Those without pedigree but of surpassing talent and outstanding service should have a separate statement attached, and all should be handed to the Chōshūshi and forwarded. They are to be assembled at the Shikibushō by the first day of the twelfth month." In summer of the eleventh year (739), because the number of district officials in the provinces was too great and they were encroaching on and exploiting the common people, an edict ordered: "Reduce the old numbers and fix a new system." The details appear below. In autumn the Daijōkan ruled: "The Shikibushō is to send the grandsons by hereditary privilege (on-shison) and the sons of rank holders (shii), regardless of whether they are older or younger, to the University (Daigaku) and make them devote themselves wholly to study." In the fourteenth year (742) it was decreed: "In nominating anyone from the Shōryō (Junior District Governor) upward, the provincial governor, down to the scribes, are to take part in the selection together, and must without fail take those who are respected and trusted in that district. Those with a good reputation in neighboring districts are to be recommended, office by office, according to the number needed. If anyone recommends persons arbitrarily out of favoritism, the provincial governor is to judge the matter as it warrants. Furthermore, those who present uneme are from now on to present one from each district." In the sixteenth year (744), before this, the Dazaifu had been abolished and the Chinzeifu (Western Pacification Office) established, with one general and one deputy general and two assistant secretaries and two clerks. Now the Daijōkan submitted a memorial: "Let the office of general be treated as equivalent to Junior Fifth Rank, the assistant secretaries as Junior Sixth Rank, and the clerks as Junior Seventh Rank; let their seasonal stipends and monthly allowances be doubled, and let the tax goods in kind (chō and yō) sent to the capital be jointly arranged so that they may be supplied from them as needed." An edict approved this, and an office seal and a post-station bell were bestowed. In the following year (745) the Dazaifu was reestablished, and twelve seals for the various offices within its jurisdiction were granted.

¶In the first year of Tenpyō Kanpō (749) an edict was issued: "In recent years, when provincial governors have appointed district magistrates (Gunryō), they have first examined the height or lowness of pedigree, the superiority or inferiority of ability, and the order of uncle and nephew, elder and younger, and reported to the Shikibushō, which questioned the candidates orally to compare their merits and only then made the appointment. In some cases a man of light pedigree is recommended for his service, and in others a man of weighty family is rejected as inferior. For this reason the sources of disputes are not single, the lines of one family branch in many directions, descendants multiply, and lawsuits do not cease. Each follows his own desires and pays no regard to propriety. The way of filial piety and fraternal duty has already declined, and customs are gradually growing thin. From now on, the former practice is to be changed: those of heavy pedigree since the founding of the district are to be selected, the main line is to succeed from generation to generation, and collateral kin are not to be used. The source of litigation is to be stopped and the hope of presumptuous ambition cut off. If the heir has committed a crime or cannot bear the post through illness, a substitute is to be installed as before." When Empress Kōken ascended the throne, she established the Shibi Chūdai (Palace Secretariat) and fixed its officials. The Director (Rei) was one person of Senior Third Rank, and Fujiwara-no-Asomi Nakamaro was appointed to it. The two Senior Assistant Directors (Dai-hitsu) were Senior Fourth Rank Lower, the three Junior Assistant Directors (Shō-hitsu) Junior Fourth Rank Lower, the four Senior Secretaries (Dai-chū) Senior Fifth Rank Lower, the four Junior Secretaries (Shō-chū) Junior Fifth Rank Lower, the four Senior Clerks (Dai-so) Junior Sixth Rank Upper, and the four Junior Clerks (Shō-so) Senior Seventh Rank Upper. Soon afterward Nakamaro was made Shibi Naishō (Palace Secretariat Inner Minister).

¶In the second year of Tenpyō Hōji (758) under the Deposed Emperor (Emperor Junnin), Nakamaro was made Taiho (Grand Protector) and the official titles were greatly changed. The Daijōkan was renamed Kenseikan (Office of Heavenly Government), the Daijō-daijin became Taishi (Grand Preceptor), the Sadaijin became Taifu (Grand Tutor), the Udaijin became Taiho, the Dainagon became Gyoshi-taifu (Censor-in-Chief), and the Shibi Chūdai became Konkūkan (Office of the Earthly Palace). Of the Eight Ministries, the Nakatsukasashō (Ministry of Central Affairs) became the Shinbu (Ministry of Trust), the Shikibushō the Bunbu (Ministry of Letters), the Jibushō the Reibu (Ministry of Rites), the Minbushō the Jinbu (Ministry of Benevolence), the Hyōbushō the Bubu (Ministry of Martial Affairs), the Gyōbushō the Gibu (Ministry of Righteousness), the Ōkurashō the Setsubu (Ministry of Moderation), and the Kunaishō the Chibu (Ministry of Wisdom). The Danjōdai (Board of Censors) became the Kyūseidai (Board of Correcting Government), the Zushoryō (Bureau of Books) the Naishikyoku (Inner Historiography Office), the Onmyōryō (Bureau of Yin-Yang) the Taishikyoku (Great Historiography Office), and the Chūefu (Middle Guards) the Chinkokue (Guards for Pacifying the Realm); the Taishō (General) became Taii (Grand Commandant), the Chūi (Middle Commandant) became Gyōki Shōgun-ingai-shō (Supernumerary Commander of the Fierce Cavalry), and the Shōshō (Lesser Commander) became Jishō (Secondary Commander); the Emonfu (Gate Guards) became the Shimon-e, the Left and Right Eji-fu (Guards) the Left and Right Yūshi-e (Brave Warrior Guards), and the Left and Right Hyōefu (Military Guards) the Left and Right Koben-e (Tiger Guards). This was truly in accordance with Nakamaro's proposal, adopting the institutions of Tang. When Retired Empress Kōken came to favor the monk Dōkyō, Nakamaro was estranged from her, resented it, and plotted rebellion, but was put to death. An edict then restored all of the official titles that he had changed to their old forms. Before this, the replacement of provincial governors had been changed to six evaluations, but at this point the system of four evaluations of the fourth year of Keiun (707) was restored. The Sovereign (Kōken) had by then returned to the throne (as Empress Shōtoku), made Dōkyō the Hōō (Dharma King), and accordingly established the Hōōgūshiki (Household Office of the Dharma King), with one each of Taifu (Master), Suke (Assistant Master), Daishin (Senior Secretary), Shōshin (Junior Secretary), and Daisakan (Senior Clerk), and two Shōsakan (Junior Clerks). There were also such posts as Hōshin (Dharma Minister) and Hō-sangi (Dharma Counselor). The debasement of titles and offices was beyond words.

¶When Emperor Kōnin ascended the throne, he was by nature generous and did not like petty scrutiny. He cut away redundant offices and valued simple, easy governance. In the first year of Hōki (770), because the number of extra-statutory officials was large and needlessly consumed the resources of the state, he ordered them all abolished. In the second year (771) the officials of Chikuzen Province were abolished and made subordinate to the Dazaifu. The Dazaifu reported: "The doctors and physicians of Hyūga, Ōsumi, Satsuma, Iki, and Tane, once appointed, are never transferred during their lives. For this reason later students do not apply themselves to their studies. We request that the rule be changed to transfer and replacement after eight years." This was approved. In the fourth year (773) it was decreed: "District officials of the provinces who have burned government goods are, from the rank of Shuchō upward, all to be removed from their present posts. Those who went to the capital on official business, and those who captured the arsonists, are to be dealt with as the circumstances warrant. Persons of the pedigree class who harbor presumptuous ambition and are involved in deliberate arson are never to be selected. Persons in the district who are upright and clean and equal to the business of the time are to be chosen and appointed. Army officers (gunki) who did not put out the fire are likewise to be dismissed in the same way as district officials." In the fifth year (774) an edict stated: "In recent years the number of supernumerary provincial governors has been truly large. They bring loss through bother and no benefit of instruction. Their abuses have long been spoken of, and by reason they should be abolished. The offices in charge are ordered to dismiss all who have served five years or more, and those whose terms are not yet complete are to be dismissed as each reaches five years, retiring without awaiting a written order (fu)." In the tenth year (779) the Daijōkan submitted a memorial: "Since the new rule was established in the second year of Jingo (766), the doctors, physicians, and scribes of the provinces have been given concurrent posts and increased in number. As a result the standards differ from province to province and appointments are in disorder. In accordance with the size of the province, we request that there be five in a large province, four in a superior province, and two each in a middle or lower province, and that the law of replacement be limited to four years. For doctors and physicians who hold concurrent posts in other provinces, the burdens of food and medical relief are very great. One of each should be placed in each province, and all should be replaced after six evaluations." This was approved. In the eleventh year (780) the Daijōkan submitted a memorial: "The Dazaifu lies at an important place on the frontier; it guards against unforeseen events and receives foreign guests, and its duties differ from those of other circuits. Yet the replacement of its officials is limited to four years. With persons being sent off and welcomed so that the roads face one another, it is for this reason that the Dazaifu and the provinces are worn out. Moreover the kitchen provisions (kuriyamono) supplied are excessive, and if they are provided according to the old practice, the entertainment of foreign guests may fall short. We request that the allowance for replacement be suspended and that the length of service be increased to five years." This was approved.

¶When Emperor Kanmu ascended the throne, he first abolished the supernumerary posts, civil and military, inner and outer. He repeatedly admonished the provincial governors by edict and had them examine the good and bad of their administrative records so as to apply reward and punishment. In the first year of Enryaku (782), the two offices Zōgūshō (Office of Palace Construction) and Chokushishō (Office of Imperial Edicts), and the two bureaus Hokkeshi (Lotus Sutra Office) and Jusenshi (Mint), were abolished; the miscellaneous workers, craftsmen, and hands of the two offices were attached to the Mokuryō (Bureau of Carpentry), the Kuraryō (Bureau of the Imperial Storehouse), and the like according to their abilities, and the rest were assigned to their respective home offices. (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi.) In the twelfth year (793) an edict was issued: "As the Great Palace of Naniwa has already been abolished, the Settsushiki (Settsu Office) shall be changed into a provincial governorship. The monthly allowances of its seasonal stipends are all to be suspended." Another edict said: "The regulation of the fifth year of Jinki (728) is to be amended. It disparages and suppresses the outer Fifth Rank too severely and is not appropriate as a rule." In autumn of the fourteenth year (795), the messengers (shibu) of the Emon, the Left and Right Ejifu, the Arsenal (Hyōgo), the Konoefu (Inner Guards), the Chūefu (Middle Guards), and others were reduced and fixed by degrees. (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku.) In winter the Daijōkan requested: "Grandsons and descendants of those of Third Rank and above, and sons of those of Fourth and Fifth Rank, who have reached the age of twenty, should be conferred rank by hereditary privilege (on-kai) in accordance with the statutes, without waiting for the completion of six evaluations." This was approved. In the fifteenth year (796), because the imperial kin were numerous and there was no fixed standard for their advancement and retirement, an edict took pity on them and gave them relief. Princes of the fourth and fifth generation, and the legitimate sons of fifth-generation princes, who had reached the age of twenty-one, were to be conferred Senior Sixth Rank, and illegitimate sons were conferred one grade lower; this was fixed as a system for all ages. (Note: following the Ryō no Shūge.) In spring of the seventeenth year (798) he admonished the provincial governors by edict, saying: "District officials originally have a fixed number. Now, whenever a single post falls vacant, several persons are immediately nominated. To set up further deputy nominees beyond the regular holder brings no benefit to the public house and merely enriches private families. Nothing harms and injures the common people more than this. Select those who can bear the duties of office and use them as regular appointees; beyond that, deputies are not to be set up in addition." (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku.) Another edict said: "In former times, when the Naniwa court first established the districts, it selected those with meritorious service and made them district magistrates (Gunryō). Their descendants succeeded one another and held the post for a long time. (Note: ○ This book has a lacuna in the middle. Examining a surviving fragment of the Nihon Kōki, an edict of the fifth month of the seventeenth year of Enryaku says: "The soothing and governing of local customs is entrusted to the district officials. Now the pedigree system is to be suspended and persons of ability are to be carefully selected. However, those who serve in rotation as palace guards (shukue-banjō) have long performed service and have achieved great merit. Without passing through their home province, the Shikibushō is ordered to test and select them." This also agrees with the sense of the present text. Probably what is said here is that the pedigree system for the district magistrates had, as the years passed, given rise to abuses. The reader should consider the two together.) From now on, appointment by pedigree is to be suspended, and persons with talent and skill who can bear the governing of a district are to be selected and appointed." (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi.) Soon afterwards an edict said: "As the pedigree system has already been abolished for district magistrates, the Kuni-no-Miyatsuko and the Hyōe (Guards) should likewise be suspended. However, those who were previously appointed as Kuni-no-Miyatsuko and have meritorious service in the palace guard are to have the title of Kuni-no-Miyatsuko removed and be appointed anew as Hyōe." Before this, in the third year of Keiun (706), the Izumo Kuni-no-Miyatsuko had been made concurrently the Senior District Governor (Tairyō) of Ou District. Since then he had repeatedly used divine rites as a pretext to neglect public duties and had harmed the people, yet there was no reproach for neglect of office. An edict was therefore issued: "Change the old system: the Kuni-no-Miyatsuko and the district magistrate shall each be appointed from different persons." Later another edict said: "Suspend the concurrent holding of the post of priest (kannushi) of the Munakata Shrine by the Senior District Governor of Munakata District in Chikuzen Province." (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku.) In the seventeenth year (798) the Kageyushi (Examiners of Handover Documents) submitted a memorial: "For provincial governors who have been transferred and those newly appointed, the business is divided and handed over to the incoming holder (juryō). Those for whom this procedure is delayed beyond one hundred and twenty days are to be removed from their present posts and have their stipends confiscated. Those whose replacement is past the deadline likewise forfeit their stipends as punishment. Where the official storehouses have shortfalls, and the matter is dragged out past the time limit, or where persons knowing the circumstances tolerate it, and no one takes over within the period, they are to be sentenced according to law and the goods in question are to be recovered at once." (Note: following the Kōtaishiki.) In the eighteenth year (799) the Kageyushi petitioned for raising the ranks of the Konoefu and the Emonfu, and also said: "The Right Hyōefu is a post of palace guard, and in commanding its divisions and keeping watch it is no different from the other Guards. Now there are few officials but much to be done. We wish to add and establish a Shōi (Junior Lieutenant) and a Shōshi (Junior Clerk) to manage the affairs of the Guards. The order of their office and rank should in every respect follow the Emonfu." Both were approved. (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku and the Nihon Kōki.) In the twenty-second year (803) Sugano-no-Asomi Mamichi, the Kageyushi, and Wake-no-Asomi Hiroyo, the vice-director, and others compiled one volume of the Regulations for the Replacement of Provincial Governors (Shokokushi Kōtaishiki) and submitted it: "We wish to have the Chōshūshi of the Five Home Provinces and Seven Circuits each copy one text and store it in the government storehouses. Let the provinces follow it respectfully and examine matters on that basis, so that there is no doubt." An edict approved this. (Note: following the Kōtaishiki.)

¶When Emperor Heizei ascended the throne, he also made it his task to cull redundant offices, and a great many were merged or omitted. (Note: the Nihon Kōki, the Ruijū Kokushi, and the Ruijū Sandaikyaku were consulted.) In the summer of the second year of Daidō (807), an edict said: "The Chūefu has the same duties as the Konoefu. They are divided east and west and set up their encampments, and strive in public service morning and evening. There is no particular difference in their solemnity, and by reason the name should be made one. From now on the Konoefu is to be changed into the Left Konoe, and the Chūefu is to be the Right Konoe." (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku and the Nihon Kiryaku.) Abe-no-Asomi Eo, Kansatsushi (Inspector) of the San'indō, said: "In recent years, at the replacement of provincial governors, the two sides, outgoing and incoming, argue with one another. In some cases the newcomer says the other has acted contrary to reason, in others the one taking over says the other lacks ability. Each insists on his own view, and the petitions are in confusion. From now on, for the day of inspection, the statements of both parties should be recorded, and even without entering them in the handover certificate (geyu-jō), the predecessor and successor should both sign and report to the throne within the time limit. In this way right and wrong will be made plain, matters can be decided cleanly, and there will be no delay." This was approved. The other circuits followed the same rule. (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku.) The replacement of provincial governors had been limited to four evaluations since Tenpyō Hōji (757-765). In the winter of this year the high ministers (kugyō) petitioned for a return to the system of six evaluations in the statutes, and this was approved. (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku and the Nihon Kiryaku.) In this year the staff of the Tōgū (Crown Prince's Household) were merged and reduced, and one clerk (reishi) was added to each bureau. In spring of the third year (808) an edict said: "To establish regulations according to the times and set up laws in consideration of the age has been the practice since antiquity and remains so to the present. Adding to and subtracting from, changing and adapting, is never fixed. Now we wish to reduce and cut offices so as to remove the redundancy and excess of officials and bring cleanliness and simplicity to the conduct of affairs." Thereupon more than ten offices, including the Gakōshi (Office of Painters), the Nuribeshi (Office of Lacquerers), the Hakosuebeshi (Office of Box and Ceramic Makers), and the Kajishi (Office of Smiths), were merged or omitted. (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku and the Ryō no Shūge.) Originally the Dazaifu had held Chikuzen Province concurrently, and the history of changes in between was not uniform. In the sixteenth year of Enryaku (797) the province had been abolished and made subordinate to the Dazaifu. Afterwards the officials of the Dazaifu also conducted the provincial administration, but they shifted responsibility onto one another and did not exert themselves in official business, so that all matters stagnated and unpaid taxes were very numerous. At this point the Gen (inspectors) and Sakan (clerks) of the Dazaifu were reduced to two each, and it was ordered that, as officials of Chikuzen Province, one Kami (Governor), one Suke (Deputy Governor), one Jō (Third Official), and one each of Daisakan (Senior Clerk) and Shōsakan (Junior Clerk) be established. (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Ruijū Sandaikyaku.) Soon afterwards the length of service of the officials of the Dazaifu and of the provinces under its jurisdiction was increased to five years. (Note: following the Nihon Kōki.) In autumn the Daijōkan submitted a memorial: "Patrolling and inspecting the palace guard at appropriate times is the duty of the Ejifu. The Emon's present duties are no different, and there is no need to establish separate officials. We wish to abolish the Emon, merge it into the Eji, and have the Ejifu handle all matters such as the guarding of the various gates and the etiquette of entering and leaving." This was approved. The numbers of soldiers of the various Guards were then revised and fixed. The details appear in the Treatise on Military Affairs. In this year the paper makers, brush makers, and book-wrapper makers of the Zushoryō; the shoe keepers, flower keepers, oiled-silk makers, and makers of imperial combs and shoes of the Kuraryō; the pattern masters (tōmonshi) of the Orimonoshi (Weaving Office); the dyers of the Nuidonoryō (Bureau of Sewing); the head cook (shokuryōri chōjō) of the Naizenshi; the master carpenters (mokukō chōjō) of Yakushiji, Saidaiji, Hokkeji, and Akishinodera; and the permanently serving officials appointed by special decree at Tōdaiji were each reduced and fixed by degrees, all becoming subjects of retrenchment. In the following year (809), according to the lightness or heaviness of duties, the numbers of scribes (shishō) of the various ministries, bureaus, offices, and boards were fixed, some newly established, some added to, and some reduced, each by degrees. (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Ryō no Shūge.) Another edict said: "The scribes of the offices under the Hyōbushō are from now on to be appointed by the Hyōbushō." (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku.)

¶When Emperor Saga ascended the throne, he made Kose-no-Asomi Notari and Fujiwara-no-Asomi Fuyutsugu Kurōdo-no-Tō (Heads of the Chamberlains), and also established the Kebiishi (Police Commissioners). These two offices began here. (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin, the Ruijū Sandaikyaku, and the Shokuji Bunin.) In the second year of Kōnin (811), Fujiwara-no-Asomi Sonondo, the Dainagon (Major Counselor), submitted a memorial: "For district officials, persons from families of meritorious service ought to be used; that is where the hearts of the people are inclined, and such persons are truly different from others. Now, to take only talent and skill and to cut off the pedigree system for good is something to which popular feeling does not submit, and people do not accept the judgments rendered. Let pedigree first be exhausted and only afterward let talent and skill be considered." This was followed. The system of the Enryaku era thereupon ceased to be applied. (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku and the Nihon Kōki.) In the thirteenth year (822), before this, in the third year (812), it had been decreed: "In selecting district officials, follow wholly the provisions of the province. If a man is chosen who is not the right one and no results are seen in his administration, the officials who handled the registers shall all be dismissed from their present posts and never again employed." At this point Yoshimine-no-Asomi Yasuyo, the Chūnagon (Middle Counselor), submitted a memorial: "The difficulty of knowing men was a source of distress even to the ancients. From now on, let the matter first be memorialized, and then selection made; let the candidates experience various duties for three years, their ability or inability be observed, and only then let the selection be reported." This was followed. In the following year (823) the officials of the Danjōdai (Board of Censors) were increased and reduced. (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku.)

¶In the summer of the second year of Tenchō (825) under Emperor Junna, an edict said: "In recent years, when envoys have been dispatched on some business, provincial governors have often shown an attitude of non-compliance. This is because the envoys lack authority. From now on, the circuit inspectors (junsatsushi), re-examination envoys (fukumonshi), tax inspection envoys (kenzeishi), replacement envoys (kōtaishi), the Home Province field-redistribution envoys (kōhanden-shi), the envoys sent to ask the people's grievances (monminkushi), and the like shall be treated like imperial edict envoys (shōshi), relief-distribution envoys, damaged-field inspection envoys, and irrigation-works envoys, and indeed as official envoys." In autumn the Dazaifu submitted a memorial: "The miscellaneous affairs of this office are many, yet its staff is insufficient. The minor business is left wholly to clerks (shosei) and to district officials who have had their names entered. Since the third year of Kōnin (812) the appointment of district officials has been made wholly according to the province's rules. Afterwards the clerks and others have competed to take posts in their home provinces and no longer wish to remain at the office, and the miscellaneous affairs have stagnated as a result. We request that clerks directly attached to the office be provisionally appointed, according to their ability, to posts from Shuchō upward, up to a limit of ten persons, and as district officials whose names have been entered be allowed to continue the pedigree on the strength of their service." This was followed. In the third year (826), on the memorial of the Chūnagon Kiyohara-no-Mahito Natsuno, the three provinces of Kazusa, Hitachi, and Kōzuke were designated provinces of the imperial princes (shinnōkoku). The governor was called Taishu (Grand Governor) and was an official appointed by imperial decree, his rank being raised to Senior Fourth Rank Lower, but this was for a single generation only and was not to be a permanent precedent. In the following year (827) the Bubushō (that is, the Hyōbushō) submitted a memorial: "District officials who were employed without pedigree shall, from now on, not share in pedigree even if they accumulate service and reach a second generation or beyond. Those who have already passed through two generations or more shall still follow the precedent." This was approved. (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku.)

¶In the fifth year of Jōwa (838) under Emperor Ninmyō, an edict said: "For the grandsons by hereditary privilege (on-shison) and sons of rank holders (shii) and others who are presented, on the day when the Shikibushō and the Minbushō collate the registers, an entry of pass or fail should be noted above the surname and personal name. The secretaries (jō) of the two ministries are to sign beneath it, and the Jibushō and the Hyōbushō are to do the same. From now on let this be the regular practice." In the following year (839) it was decreed: "The attendants (chōnai and shijin) provided for in the statutes are all limited to eight years. The regulation of the fifth year of Jinki (728) states: 'For attendants of outer Fifth Rank, selection is completed in ten years.' From now on the term for selection of attendants of outer Fifth Rank is to follow the statutes. However, the Jingūshi (Shrine Overseers), negi (priests), hōri (priests), Kuni-no-Miyatsuko, district officials of outer unassigned rank, and the like are not bound by this limit." (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki.) In the tenth year (843) the Shikibushō submitted a memorial: "By the old precedent, persons who have undergone registry examination (kanjaku) have been appointed to the rotating posts (banjō) of the various offices. The difficulty of entering service as a toneri of the various Guards has been so since antiquity. Apart from the fixed number, all should once pass through selection and be appointed to other categories." An edict followed this. Those who, on the basis of evaluations outside the regular system, were appointed as Bō-toneri (attendants of the Crown Prince's Household), and those who were transferred and appointed to other districts and removed from office for cause and the like, were fixed at forty a year, and those specially permitted to enter and leave the Chūgū (Empress's Household) were to follow the same rule from now on. In the fourteenth year (847) the Tōgūbō (Crown Prince's Household) said: "Commoners cannot be appointed, and toneri posts have many vacancies. We request that, as under the old precedent, appointments be made after waiting for vacancies." This was approved. (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku and the Ruijū Kokushi.) In the second year of Kashō (849) the Dazaifu said: "The officials of the other circuits memorialize on administrative matters as convenient and thereby spare the provinces their troubles. Only the officials within our jurisdiction cannot go up to the capital. We request that one of the Chief or the Deputy be permitted, once or twice during his term, to enter the capital by sea and settle miscellaneous business." An edict followed this. (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku.) In the third year of Ninju (853) under Emperor Montoku, Sugawara-no-Asomi Koreyoshi, Monjō Hakase (Professor of Letters), submitted a memorial: "We request that students of letters (monjōshō) who have not yet entered service be allowed, after they have passed the examination, to share in the evaluation regulations without passing through registry examination." This was approved. (Note: following the Montoku Jitsuroku.)

¶In the fifth year of Jōgan (863) under Emperor Seiwa, the Daijōkan ruled: "The sons of rank holders presented by the provinces of the capital region and the Seven Circuits are, from now on, to pass through registry examination three times." In the seventh year (865) Fujiwara-no-Yoshifusa, the Daijō-daijin, and fourteen others submitted a memorial, saying: "As to the annual allowances (nenryō) of the imperial princes of the six reigns from Enryaku to Ninju, it had been fixed that the clerks (sakan), scribes (shishō), and the like were one each per reign, each called a single reign and not counted together. As a result, at times they are paid every year and at other times only after several years. Or princes within a ministry do not share in the allotment precedent, and so on; each side has its own claim, and lawsuits arise without interruption. Now, in the allowances paid out during the year, from the three offices down to the various bureaus, there are many who ought to be filled in recognition of service, and we are constantly troubled by shortage of allowances. Moreover the imperial princes number more than forty, and without passing several years they cannot all be paid. We request that all the imperial princes be counted together, without distinction of reign, and that the allowances be paid in rotation. In this way the order will not be disturbed and there will be no resentment over earlier and later. However, those separately provided for by special imperial edict are not bound by this. We humbly request the Emperor's ruling." The memorial was approved. (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku.) In the summer of the tenth year (868), at the request of the Senkyakusho (Office for Compiling Regulations), the system of the Chōshūshi making oral statements in person was changed, and provincial governors were permitted to go up to the capital once during their terms and memorialize on stagnated business; however, Mutsu, Dewa, and the area under the Dazaifu were not bound by this. (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku.) The governor of Yamato said: "An edict of the seventeenth year of Enryaku (798) states: 'Provincial governors are to examine the evaluations of negi, hōri, and the like.' But now the Shinji (shrine priest) are not subordinate to the provincial governor. For this reason there is no way to examine their merits and faults during their terms. We request that for the evaluation of shrine priests too, praise and blame be applied according to the actual circumstances, so as to make clear good and bad." This was followed. In winter it was decreed: "At the end of each year the Shikibushō is to send to the Minbushō the registers of the provisional provincial governors (gon-no-kokushi), as well as of the scribes, doctors, and physicians of the provinces; let this be fixed as a permanent rule." In the twelfth year (870) it was decreed: "For those in the provinces who are not regular doctors or physicians, the term of office is limited to four years. However, the provinces of Dewa and those under the Dazaifu are limited to five years. Moreover, those who serve as absentee governors (yōnin) must pass four years, and where they yield to another, they must without fail complete six years; the period of absentee service is also to be counted, and they are to complete the full limit of consecutive service. Further, officials and toneri of the various Guards who hold concurrent posts as scribes of the provinces are to be transferred from the Shikibushō to the Hyōbushō. Further, those who move from civil to military office, or from military to civil office, are to be transferred and sent by the Shikibu and Hyōbu, the two ministries, to each other. Those who move from other offices to the jurisdiction of the Hyōbushō are likewise treated in the same way. Further, after provincial governors and below have been dismissed, those who, regardless of whether they have a handover certificate, arbitrarily go elsewhere, or flee and avoid signing, shall be charged with the offense of delaying public business. The circumstances shall be sent down to the office directly in charge for examination and report, and their applications are not to be allowed. If the documents handled by the predecessor are not entered by the successor, this gives rise to lawsuits, so the same offense is to be charged and their stipends confiscated." In the sixteenth year (874) this regulation was announced anew. (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku.) Emperor Seiwa ascended the throne while still a child, and his maternal grandfather, the Daijō-daijin Fujiwara-no-Yoshifusa, became Sesshō (Regent). In the time of Emperor Yōzei, Yoshifusa's son Mototsune likewise became Sesshō as Udaijin, following the precedent of Yoshifusa. At the start of the reign of Emperor Uda, an edict ordered the hundred officials that in all matters of state they should first consult the Kanpaku (Chief Advisor) Mototsune and only thereafter carry them out. Sesshō and Kanpaku began here. (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku, the Fusō Ryakki, and the Seiji Yōryaku.) In the third year of Kanpyō (891) an edict said: "The number of officials of the Six Guards (Rokuefu) is recorded in the articles of the regulations. In recent years, however, on the grounds that persons with special skills are needed for banquets (sechie), important registers, and errands and the like, each Guard has submitted requests, so that the numbers are nearly double the original. From now on it is ordered that the number of supernumerary toneri be reduced and fixed." In the fifth year (893), on the petition of Ōmi Province, the nominated district officials of the provinces were suspended, and appointed instead to offices inner and outer and as household stewards (karei). In the following year (894) an edict said: "District officials of the provinces, whether or not they have extraordinary ability, shall not be made to bear posts in the Left and Right Konoe, the Emon, or the Hyōe." (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku.) Afterwards the Emperor (Uda) employed Sugawara-no-Michizane and greatly tightened the bonds of order. But the Fujiwara had long monopolized power and the court nobles' factions were very numerous, so when the Emperor abdicated, Michizane was the first to be demoted. (Note: the Seiji Yōryaku, the Ōkagami, the Taiheiki, and the Egara Engi were consulted.)

¶In the time of Emperor Daigo, commoners of the provinces who had financial means mostly held posts as toneri of the Guards and became miscellaneous servants (zōshiki) of princely and ministerial houses. They paraded their authority and oppressed the provinces and districts, and the provincial governors were unable to restrain them. (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku.) In the thirteenth year of Engi (913), Minamoto-no-Yori, Dazai-no-Daini (Senior Assistant Governor-General), was stripped of office for not proceeding to his post. (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku.) In the twenty-second year (922), because many provincial governors did not take up their posts, an edict had inspection and verification applied. Those who remained in the capital without reason were all to be dismissed. (Note: following the Hokuzanshō.) During Emperor Daigo's reign, the kyaku and shiki (supplementary regulations and procedures) were compiled by imperial order, and the regulations on the official system were recorded in them in considerable detail (Note: the Engishiki), but even so, the abuses of long standing could not be corrected. Originally, after Emperor Saga established the Kurōdo, the Shōnagon (Lesser Counselors) and the Jijū (Chamberlains-in-Attendance) lost their functions, and after the Kebiishi were established, the Danjō, the Efu, the Gyōbu (Ministry of Justice), and the Kyōshiki (Capital Office) all lost their authority. The institutions of Taihō and Yōrō began at this point to develop abuses. Once the Sesshō and Kanpaku system arose, those posts were always held concurrently by a Fujiwara among the Three Ministers, followed through the generations and treated like regular offices, and the governance of all affairs returned wholly to them. But the Three Ministers merely filled out the numbers, and the various offices and hundred officials too, for the most part, merely kept to the old rules and carried out precedents. (Note: the general sense of the Seiji Yōryaku, the Fusō Ryakki, and the Shokugenshō was weighed.) For this reason selection and promotion merely discussed pedigree and family standing, and no longer asked whether there was ability. By the height or lowness of the surname, the inner or outer position of rank was distinguished, every office and post was matched to a class of lineage, and the court nobles (kugyō) likewise called the offices their fathers and grandfathers had held in succession their "destination" (sento), and regarded their descendants' obtaining them almost as an inherent right. (Note: following the Gōke Shidai, the Ōkagami, and the Shokugenshō.) Those without pedigree could not rise to prominent offices even if they had talent and skill. For this reason men of heroic caliber took no pleasure in serving in the capital and often ran wild in the provinces and districts. When Taira-no-Masakado sought to become a Kebiishi and the court still would not grant it, it finally brought about the Tengyō disturbance. (Note: following the Konjaku Monogatari, the Shōmonki, the Geki Nikki, and the Aigyūshō.) When appointment by pedigree had already come to be valued and the court nobles and below at last became holders of hereditary office, then down to the Jingi of the Shirakawa clan, the Left and Right Scribes (Sashi and Ushi) of the Ozuki clan, the Yin-Yang of the two clans Kamo and Abe, the University of the two clans Sugawara and Ōe, and the Tenyaku (Medicine) of the two clans Wake and Tanba, all became their hereditary posts, and persons of other surnames could in no way share in them. (Note: the general sense of the Kugyō Bunin, the Shokugenshō, and the Fuke Keizu-san.) Those of high family and reputation were called tenjōbito (those admitted to the Courtiers' Hall), and the lowly were called jigenin (those not admitted). Once the qualification was fixed, there was no moving again. When by chance someone was promoted for meritorious service or special favor, people were all astonished and doubtful and condemned it as contrary to proper ceremonial. (Note: following the Shokugenshō, the Shōyūki, and the Heike Monogatari.) As a result, sons and younger brothers of other clans who had talent but no pedigree sometimes attached themselves to families of hereditary office and even falsely took their clan names in order to seek advancement. (Note: following the Chōya Gunsai, the Nakahara Keizu, the Takashina Keizu, the Kiyohara Keizu, the Sakanoue Keizu, and the Geki Nikki.) The abuses of pedigree and hereditary office reached their extreme here. At that time the houses of the powerful and exalted, and the descendants of provincial officials, competed to take possession of estates (shōen), so that many lands in the realm paid no taxes, and the system of provinces and districts was greatly destroyed. (Note: following the Shōyūki, the Chūyūki, and the Jinnō Shōtōki.)

¶Emperor Go-Sanjō applied himself keenly to government, first took back power from the regent houses and corrected the abuses of the estates. He set up the Kirokujo (Records Office) in the Asadokoro (morning hall) of the Daijōkan, decided affairs of state himself, and the abuses of long accumulation were gradually removed. But he died without having reigned long. (Note: following the Gukanshō, the Chūyūki, and the Jinnō Shōtōki.) Emperor Shirakawa was most devoted to Buddhism and fond of building, so the finances of the state became strained. The appointment and replacement of provincial governors came to deviate considerably from the old statutes. Those who offered goods in the tens of thousands of koku and tens of thousands of bolts could easily become provincial governors. Father and sons, three or four at a time, were appointed simultaneously, and even small children were given office. (Note: following the Shōyūki, the Chūyūki, and the Jinnō Shōtōki.) Emperor Shirakawa and Emperor Toba in succession conducted government from within the cloister (in), and established many estates. Thereafter, estates were newly set up and sprang up throughout the realm, and the land governed by provincial governors came to be less than one hundredth of the whole. (Note: following the Jinnō Shōtōki.) Moreover, many court nobles requested vacant provinces (kekkoku) and were appointed to them, and were called Ōsuke (Great Deputy Governors). (Note: Chōya Gunsai, Oyama documents, Owari Ōkunitama Shrine documents, Tōji documents, Genpei Jōsuiki.) Remaining themselves in the capital, they set up officials to manage provincial affairs, and these were called Kokushidai (provincial governor's proxy). (Note: Tōji documents, Kizuki Shrine documents, Hitachi Fuchū Sōja documents, Wakasa Shugoshoku Shidai, Shimōsa Katori Myōjin Festival Illustrations.) Provincial governors too sometimes did not proceed to their posts and sent their subordinates or house retainers to handle matters, and these were called Mokudai (deputy governor). Civil administration grew more abusive with each day, and the provinces and districts became ever more troubled. (Note: Geki Nikki, Chūyūki, Tōji documents, Hizen Yodohime Shrine documents, Nejime documents, Jinnō Shōtōki.) Originally the court's official system divided civil and military posts, valuing letters and slighting arms. As its abuses advanced, the court nobles made it their sole concern to become proficient in etiquette and ceremonial deportment and no longer studied military matters. The officials of the Six Guards too merely supplied escorts for ceremonies. But the descendants of provincial officials who lived in the provinces and districts multiplied as clans, for the most part prized valor, established their prestige in their home districts, called themselves warriors (bushi), and the two clans Minamoto and Taira became their leaders. For this reason, whenever warfare or banditry arose, the court always ordered these two clans to put it down. The power and prestige of the two clans grew greater and greater, and the authority over land and over troops and horses in the end came to rest with them. The various powerful clans submitted to them and secretly came to form a relationship of lord and vassal. (Note: the Chōya Gunsai, the Konjaku Monogatari, the Sonpi Bunmyaku, and the Shoke Keizu-san were consulted.) In the Disturbances of Hōgen and Heiji, Taira-no-Kiyomori pressed the court on the strength of his military achievements and leapt up to Daijō-daijin, and his sons all took their places as ministers and generals. From this time imperial authority greatly declined, titles and offices were treated lightly, and it finally opened the way for the arrogance of the warriors. (Note: Hōgen Monogatari, Heiji Monogatari, Azuma Kagami, Jinnō Shōtōki.) When Minamoto-no-Yoritomo destroyed the Taira, he took warning from the weakness of the court's civil culture, opened a military government (bakufu) in the Kantō, and conducted government by martial decision. He petitioned to be made Sōtsuibushi (Constable-General of the Realm) himself, placed shugo (provincial constables) over the provincial offices and jitō (land stewards) over the estates, and so held the whole realm in his grasp. Thereupon provincial governors and estate proprietors (ryōke) all lost their posts, and the retainers of the shogun filled the provinces and districts. He also requested that ten persons, including Fujiwara-no-Kanezane, the Udaijin, and Fujiwara-no-Sanesada, the Naidaijin, be made Gisōkan (Deliberating Officials) to take part in and decide court government. The great affairs of the court came to be carried out only after consultation with the military ministers. From this time the general trend changed completely, and the Seii Taishōgun (Barbarian-Subduing Generalissimo) alone held the authority of the realm, privately set up subordinates, and had them manage the various affairs of government. The court merely guarded empty vessels, and the hundred officials were all in name only. (Note: Kugyō Bunin, Heike Monogatari, Azuma Kagami, Jinnō Shōtōki, Shokugenshō.)

¶At the Restoration under Emperor Go-Daigo, the system of capital offices was left entirely as in the previous age, but the post of Kanpaku was in particular abolished. (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin.) He established the Ketsudansho (Court of Decisions), made court nobles its chiefs (tōnin), and had them discuss the rights and wrongs of lawsuits. At the Kirokujo he had warriors attend on duty, and when there was a great matter the Emperor himself at once presided and decided. He also established the Mushadokoro (Warriors' Office), ordered warriors to separate from their former lords and be directly attached to him, and had them guard the capital in rotation. (Note: Kenmu Ninen-ki, Baishōron, Taiheiki.) He sent out two imperial princes to pacify the northeast and had court nobles and warriors assist them. (Note: Jinnō Shōtōki, Taiheiki.) In his system of provinces and districts, those who appointed court nobles and aristocrats were called Kokushi (provincial governors), and those who appointed warriors were called Shugo. There were also cases where Kokushi and Shugo were both placed, in which the Kokushi naturally also held military command and the Shugo were also versed in civil administration. In general the intent of his measures was to combine civil and military in one. (Note: Taiheiki.) But rewards and punishments were excessive, grants were unequal, and the method of control was mistaken, so that flatterers and schemers were suddenly favored. Meanwhile generals and warriors who had performed meritorious service sometimes lost their posts on the contrary. Not only did the warriors become indignant and resentful and think of rebellion, but many of the court nobles too were disappointed, and in the end the realm fell once more into great disorder. (Note: Jinnō Shōtōki, Baishōron, Taiheiki.)

¶When Emperor Go-Murakami ascended the throne, Minamoto-no-Chikafusa (Kitabatake Chikafusa), Jungō (Semi-Empress rank), though himself outside the capital, was troubled that the official system of the court was unclear. He therefore returned to the purpose with which the Taihō Code set up its offices, examined the changes from ancient to modern, composed the Shokugenshō in two volumes, and presented it to the Emperor. But at that time the court rested in a remote region and there was much to attend to in both military and state affairs. It is said that there was no leisure to discuss anew the system of offices. (Note: Ōun-ki, Taiheiki.)