Dainagon

Any exercise of meaningful powers of court officials in the pre-Meiji period reached its nadir during the years of the Tokugawa shogunate, and yet the core structures of ritsuryō government did manage to endure for centuries.Dickson, Walter G. et al. (1898). {{Google books|s9YeAAAAMAAJ|"The Eight Boards of Government" in Japan, pp. 55-78.|page=56}}; excerpt at p. 56, "Klaproth has given in his "Annals of the Emperors" a sketch of these eight boards, with the offices under each. It is ... a concise account of the government of Japan. The study of such a subject is rather dry and uninteresting, but it is necessary for any one who wishes to make himself acquainted with Japanese history, either of the past or of the present day...."

In order to appreciate the office of Dainagon, it is necessary to evaluate its role in the traditional Japanese context of a durable yet flexible framework. In this bureaucratic network and a hierarchy of functionaries, the Dainagon functioned like mouthpieces to and from the board, and in consultation with the board.Dickson, {{Google books|s9YeAAAAMAAJ|p. 60.|page=60}}

The role of Dainagon was an important element in the Daijō-kan (Council of State). The Daijō-kan schema proved to be adaptable in the creation of constitutional government in the modern period.Ozaki, Yukio. (2001). {{Google books|VmFdariJ8hcC|The Autobiography of Ozaki Yukio: The Struggle for Constitutional Government in Japan pp. 10–11.|page=10}}

The highest positions in the court hierarchy can be cataloged.Titsingh, {{Google books|18oNAAAAIAAJ|pp. 425-426.|page=425}} A dry list provides a superficial glimpse inside the complexity and inter-connected relationships of the Imperial court structure.

• Daijō-daijin (Chancellor of the Realm or Chief Minister).Titsingh, {{Google books|18oNAAAAIAAJ|p. 425|page=425}}; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, p.272.
• Sadaijin (Minister of the Left).
• Udaijin (Minister of the Right).
• Naidaijin (Minister of the Center).

The next highest tier of officials were:

• Dainagon (Major counselor, chief counselor of state). There are commonly three Dainagon; sometimes more.[http://www.unterstein.net/ Unterstein (in German)]: [http://www.unterstein.net/or/docs/JapanPeers.pdf Ranks in Ancient and Meiji Japan (in English and French)], p. 6.
• Chūnagon (Middle counselor).
• Shōnagon (Minor counselor); there are commonly three Shōnagon.

Other high-ranking bureaucrats who function somewhat flexibly within the Daijō-kan were;

• Sangi (Associate counselor).Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Sangi" in {{Google books|p2QnPijAEmEC|Japan Encyclopedia, p. 817|page=817}}. This office functions as a manager of Daijō-kan activities within the palace.
• {{nihongo|Geki|外記|}} (Secretariat). These are specifically named men who act at the sole discretion of the emperor.

The government ministries were eight semi-independent bureaucracies. A list alone cannot reveal much about the actual functioning of the Daijō-kan, but the broad hierarchical categories do suggest the way in which governmental functions were parsed:

The specific ministries above are not grouped arbitrarily. The two court officials below had responsibility for them as follows:

• {{nihongo|Major Controller of the Left|左大弁|Sadaiben}}Varley, p. 272. This administrator was charged or tasked with supervising four ministries: Center, Civil Services, Ceremonies, and Taxation.
• {{nihongo|Major Controller of the Right|右大弁|Udaiben}} This administrator was charged or tasked with supervising four ministries: Military, Justice, Treasury and Imperial Household.

• Daijō-kan
• Sesshō and Kampaku
• Kōkyū
• Kuge
• Imperial Household Agency

{{reflist|1}}

• Dickson, Walter G. and Mayo Williamson Hazeltine. (1898). [https://books.google.com/books?id=s9YeAAAAMAAJ&q=waler+dickson "The Eight Boards of Government" in Japan.] New York: P. F. Collier. [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/285881 OCLC 285881]
• Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). "Chunagon" in [https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&q=chunagon Japan Encyclopedia.] Cambridge: Harvard University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-674-01753-5}}; [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/48943301/editions?editionsView=true&referer=br OCLC 48943301]
• Ozaki, Yukio. (2001). [https://books.google.com/books?id=VmFdariJ8hcC The Autobiography of Ozaki Yukio: The Struggle for Constitutional Government in Japan], translated by Fujiko Hara. Princeton: Princeton University Press. {{ISBN|9780691050959}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/123043741 OCLC 123043741]
• ____________. (1955). 尾崎咢堂全集. 第11卷, 咢堂自伝: 日本憲政史を語る (Ozaki gakudō zenshū. 11, Gakudō jiden: nihon kenseishi o kataru) Tokyo: Kōronsha. [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/672920518 OCLC 672920518]
• Sansom, George (1958). A History of Japan to 1334.] Stanford: Stanford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8047-0523-3}}; {{OCLC|224793047}}
• Screech, Timon. (2006). Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822. London: Routledge Curzon. {{ISBN|978-0-203-09985-8}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/65177072 OCLC 65177072]
• Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Nihon Ōdai Ichiran; ou, [https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&q=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran Annales des empereurs du Japon.] Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/5850691 OCLC 5850691]
• Varley, H. Paul. (1980). [https://books.google.com/books?id=tVv6OAAACAAJ Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns.] New York: Columbia University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-231-04940-5}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/59145842 OCLC 59145842]-4

• Dickenson, Walter G. (1869). Japan: Being a Sketch of the History, Government and Officers of the Empire. London: W. Blackwood and Sons. {{OCLC|10716445}}

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Category:Government of feudal Japan