Dazaifu (term)

Dazaifu (太宰府^?) is a Japanese term derived from the Taihō Codes' administrative innovations of the 8th century.

Dazaifu was a "regional government established by the Taihō Codes for the administration of a special area comprising the provinces of Kyūshū and the islands of Tsushima and Iki."^[1] The all-purpose term variously identifies the region and the regional government.^[2] The term also refers to the headquarters of the regional government, the office at the head of the regional government and the office-holder charged with vice-regal administration of the provinces Kyūshū.

The chief Imperial representative in this region was able to exercise something like vice-regal powers.^[1]

In 1268, envoys bearing letters from Kublai Khan appeared at the Dazaifu court. The letters demanded that Japan recognized China suzerainity. A series of envoys preceded the unsuccessful invasion of 1274.^[3]

Complementary civil and military functions accrued to the roles of governor and vice-governors.^[4] The titles of the vice governors were Dazai dani and Dazai shoni. Among the Dazai shoni was Fujiwara no Hirotsugu in 740.^[5]

The office of Dazai-no-sotsu (Absentee Governor of Kyushu) was restricted to Imperial princes. Among those holding this office was Takaharu-shinnō who would later become Emperor Go-Daigo.^[6]

See also

• Dazaifu, Fukuoka

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Sansom, George. (1958). A History of Japan to 1334, p. 443 n6. at Google Books.
2. ^ Adolphson, Mikael S. et al. (2007). Heian Japan, Centers and Peripheries, p. 5. at Google Books
3. ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, p. 92.
4. ^ Conlan, Thomas D. "The Two Paths of Writing and Warring in Medieval Japan," Taiwan Journal of East Asian Studies, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Issue 15), June 2011, pp. 91 (PDF 7 of 43).
5. ^ Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon, p. 71. at Google Books.
6. ^ Ponsonby-Fane, p. 204.

References

• Adolphson, Mikael S. et al. (2007). Heian Japan, Centers and Peripheries. Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press. 10-ISBN 082483013X/13-ISBN 9780824830137; OCLC 260109801
• Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887
• Sansom, George Bailey. (1958). A History of Japan to 1334. Stanford: Stanford University Press. OCLC 256194432
• 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