The Ministry of the Military (兵部省 Hyōbu-shō), also known as Ministry of War and sometimes called Tsuwamono no Tsukasa, was a division of the eighth century Japanese government of the Imperial Court in Kyoto,[1] instituted in the Asuka period and formalized during the Heian period. The Ministry was replaced in the Meiji period.
Overview[]
This part of the government bureaucracy has been variously identified as the Ministry of the Military[2] and the Ministry of War.[3]
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.[2]
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]
History[]
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.
Hierarchy[]
The Asuka-, Nara- and Heian-period Imperial court hierarchy encompassed a ministry dealing with military affairs.[3]
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).[2]
- Second assistant to the Minister (兵部少輔 Hyōbu-shō).[2]
- Senior staff officer (兵部大丞 Hyōbu no dai-jō).[2]
- Junior staff officers (兵部少丞 Hyōbu no shō-jō), two positions.[2]
- Director of dance (隼人正 Hayato no kami), considered a very low rank.[2]
- First assistant director (隼人佑 Hayato no jō).[2]
- Alternate assistant director (隼人令史 Hayato no sakan).[2]
See also[]
- Daijō-kan
- Imperial Japanese Army (1871–1947)
- Imperial Japanese Navy (1871–1947)
- Japanese Self-Defense Forces (1954– )
Notes[]
- ↑ Kawakami, Karl Kiyoshi. (1903). The Political Ideas of the Modern Japan, pp. 36-38., p. 36, at Google Books
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, p. 431., p. 431, at Google Books
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ministry of War, Sheffield.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 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.
References[]
- 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. 10-ISBN 0-674-01753-6; 13-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. 10-ISBN 0-231-04940-4; 13-ISBN 978-0-231-04940-5; OCLC 59145842
Further reading[]
- Friday, Karl F. (1992). Hired Swords: the Rise of Private Warrior Power in Early Japan. Stanford: Stanford University Press. 10-ISBN 0-804-71978-0/13-ISBN 978-0-804-71978-0; 10-ISBN 0-804-72696-5/13-ISBN 978-0-804-72696-2
The original article can be found at Ministry of the Military and the edit history here.