History of Asia

Taiho Code and job titles and political systems

From the Asuka period to the Nara period, when it became a ritual nation, Japan was an era in which rules such as the law nowadays were clearly stipulated.

701 It can be said that the political system is almost in place by the Taiho Code.

The vinaya is now penal code , Administrative organization and official work regulations The theme of this time is about the "administrative organization" of the decree . It means that.

There are job titles that appear not only in the Nara period but also after this period, so let's investigate a little.

Positions and organizational charts under the Taiho Code

Central administrative organization map

  • Department of Divinities ・ ・ ・ The institution that governs the festival of the gods
  • Daijokan:There is an organization that has jurisdiction over the overall administration.

Furthermore, the role of inspector general and police There is a Danjodai and Goefu with. I think it's easier to understand if you look at the figure, so I'll put it down.

In addition, Daijo-kan is positioned like the Cabinet now, and is the highest institution in the administration . It can be said that it points to. In addition, the Minister of Government of Japan will not be placed unless there is a suitable person at that time.

Local administration organization map

Next, let's look at local organizations. After the whole country is administratively divided into Kinai and Shichido, the country, gunji, and village (later the township) are set up, and the heads of each are appointed.

Kinai is composed of the five countries of Yamato, Kawachi, Yamashiro, Izumi, and Settsu, which are close to Kyoto. increase.

Among them, the area that is said to be important except for Kyo, which was the center of politics, is Saikaido. Diplomatic and military bases have become. So Dazaifu to control Saikaido Will be placed. The Sanyo Expressway (currently Yamaguchi, Hiroshima, Okayama, Hyogo) that connects Dazaifu and Kyoto is connected by the largest road (=Oji).

* Please refer to the following ↓ for roads of this era.

Key organization map

There are other departments that are located at key points like Dazaifu, so let's take a look at the organizational charts that are placed at key points.

A little confusing here is the treatment of the Kokushi. As shown in the figure above, there is no Kokushi in the Settsu profession. I will also touch on Dazaifu and the left and right Kyoto professions.

First from Dazaifu. Dazaifu's jurisdiction is Saikaidō .. In other words, there is an organization called Dazaifu on the Kokushi that organizes each country on the Saikaido. In other words, Daijo-kan-Dazaifu-Country Is the relationship. Next is the left and right Kyoto job. This is Kyo, so managing a city It's just that. There is a separate Kokushi in each country.

Lastly, I would like to talk about the boys included in the left and right Kyoto jobs. Bo is not the name of the official office. Suggest areas to manage It is a word to do.

"Reviving Ancient Yamato Heijo Relocation 1300" Keynote Lecture (Tokyo Shimbun) modified

According to the 2nd edition of the World Encyclopedia, "The east and west rows are called <○ Article> and the north and south rows are called <○ Bo>. At the same time, the system in which the character itself is also called "Bo" is called the Jobou system.

In other words, the part of the blue diagonal line surrounded by the road in the above figure is a ward. If you look at this boy in more detail, it seems that four towns are gathered together. Here, a person with a position called a priest or a decree is attached.

It seems that people lived in an organized way like this. You can see that politics was being carried out more carefully than I had expected.