Kyoto Shoshidai

The nihongo|Kyoto "Shoshidai"|京都所司代|"Kyōto Shoshidai" was an important administrative and political office in the early modern government of Japan. [Ito, Shinsho. [http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/110000302681 "Hideyoshi's Inauguration to Kampaku and the Foundation of Shoshidai,"] "Journal of Japanese history" (日本史研究). Vol.419(19970000) pp. 1-19.] However, the significance and effectiveness of the office is credited to the third Tokugawa shogun, Iemitsu, who developed these initial creations as bureaucratic elements in a consistent and coherent whole. [Brinkley, Frank "et al." (1915). [http://books.google.com/books?id=JlUCAAAAYAAJ&printsec=titlepage&dq=shoshidai&source=gbs_summary_r#PPA632,M1 "A History of the Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era," p. 632.] ]

hogunal deputies during the Kamakura shogunate

Although the office existed from the time of Oda Nobunaga, it was really a replica of the Rokuhara "tandai" of the 13th and 14th centuries. "Tandai" was the name given to governors or chief magistrates of important cities under the Kamakura shogunate. The office became very important under the Hōjō regents and was always held by a trusted member of the family.Murdoch, James. (1996). [http://books.google.com/books?id=32HnwxdP4pMC&pg=PA441&lpg=PA441&dq=shoshidai&source=web&ots=FUe126-RfI&sig=2kZewvlH6nu5Wbvnh6SD5eArksQ&hl=en#PRA1-PA10,M1 "A History of Japan," p. 10 n1.] ]

hogunal deputies during the Tokugawa shogunate

The office was expanded and its duties codified as an office in the Tokugawa shogunate. The "shoshidai", usually chosen from among the fudai daimyo, was the shogun's deputy in the Kyoto region, and was responsible for maintaining good relations and open communication between the shogunate and the imperial court.Beasley, W.G. (1955). "Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853-1868," p. 325.] No less important, this official was also tasked with controlling the access of the "daimyo" to the Court. He was appointed to oversee financial measures and the court, and to ensure the emperor's personal security and for guarding the safety of the court.Brinkley, [http://books.google.com/books?id=JlUCAAAAYAAJ&printsec=titlepage&dq=shoshidai&source=gbs_summary_r#PPA636,M1 p. 636.] ] For example, the "shoshidai" supported the Kyoto magistrate or municipal administrator (the "machi-bugyō") in making positive policy about firefighting for the royal palaces. [Maruyama, Toshiaki. [http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/110004849634/en/ "The Fire Fighting for the Royal Palace by Kyoto "Shoshidai" and "Machi-bugyō-shō: A study on the fire fighting in Kyoto under Tokugawa era (No.3)" (京都所司代・京都町奉行所と御所の消防 : 江戸時代の京都の消防の研究(その3).] "Journal of Architecture and Planning," Architectural Institute of Japan (日本建築学会計画系論文集). No.591(20050530), pp. 149-153. Abstract.] In this context, working with the "shoshidai" would have been the administrator of the reigning sovereign's court (the "kinri-zuki bugyō") and the administrator of the ex-emperor's court (the "sendō-zuki bugyō"), both of whom would have been shogunate appointees.Brinkley, [http://books.google.com/books?id=JlUCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA591&lpg=PA591&dq=shoshidai&source=web&ots=uYELA_Pi1s&sig=npZwlbezLBhxTlRDIcXvlUBIulw&hl=en p. 589.] ] He would have been at the head of a network of spies whose quiet task was to discover and report any covert sources of sedition, insurrection or other kinds of unrest. [Murdoch, James. (1915). [http://books.google.com/books?id=32HnwxdP4pMC&pg=PA441&lpg=PA441&dq=shoshidai&source=web&ots=FUe126-RfI&sig=2kZewvlH6nu5Wbvnh6SD5eArksQ&hl=en#PRA1-PA134,M1 "A History of Japan," p. 134.] ]

As Governor-general of Kyoto and the surrounding eight provinces, [see above] ] the "shoshidai" was responsible for collecting taxes in the home provinces and for other duties attached to this office as well.Brinkley, [http://books.google.com/books?id=JlUCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA591&lpg=PA591&dq=shoshidai&source=web&ots=uYELA_Pi1s&sig=npZwlbezLBhxTlRDIcXvlUBIulw&hl=en#PPA637,M1 p. 637.] ] The municipal administrators of Nara and Fushimi, in addition to Kyoto's municipal governance, the Kyoto deputy (the "daikwan"), and the officials of the Nijō Palace were all subordinate to the "shoshidai." He was empowered to hear suits-at-law and he had oversight control of all temples and shrines. [see above] ] The "shoshidai" had a force of constables ("yoriki") and policemen ("dōshin") under their command. [see above] ]

In addition to administrative duties, the "shoshidai"'s participation in ceremonial events served a function in consolidating the power and influence of the shogunate. For example, in September 1617, a Korean delegation was received by Hidetada at Fushimi Castle, and the "shoshidai" was summoned for two reasons (1) for the Koreans, to underscore the importance accoreded the embassy, and (2) for the "kuge" courtiers in attendance, to make sure that they were properly impressed. [Toby, Ronald. (1991). [http://books.google.com/books?id=2hK7tczn2QoC&pg=PP1&dq=Inaba+Masanobu&lr=&sig=VRkSm2YmCoRG2EIqcHPVV0If3AM#PPA69,M1 "State and Diplomacy in Early Modern Japan: Asia in the Development of the Tokugawa Bakufu," p. 69.] ]

To qualify for this high office, it eventually developed that service as governor of Osaka was a prerequisite. The close, personal link with the shogun was maintained through visits to Edo every five or six years to report directly to the shogun. [see above] ] The conventional route of promotion was from governor of Osaka (the "judai") to the "shoshidai" of Kyoto and from that position to the highest governing council ("rōjū"). [see above] ] The "shusidai" earned 10,000 "koku" annually, in addition to the income from his own daimyoate. [see above] ]

In September 1862, a concurrent, nearly co-equal office was created, the "Kyoto "shugoshoku"", was created in an attempt to strengthen the nihongo|"kōbu-gattai"|公武合体| marital unity of the Imperial and Tokugawa families faction. The "kōbu-gattai" were feudal lords and Court nobles who sought a greater share of political power without actually destroying the shogunate, as contrasted with a more radical faction, the nihongo|"tōbaku"|倒幕| overthrowing the shogunate, which attracted men like Okubo Toshimichi. The related office of the "shugoshoku" had essentially the same functions as that of the "shoshidai," but it was considered the senior of the two; and only members of the Matsudaira family were appointed. [see above] ]

The last Kyoto "shoshidai", Matsudaira Sadaaki, came from a collateral Tokugawa branch. As a practical matter, it could be said that this office ended with his resignation in 1867; but matters were not so unclouded in that time. After the Imperial edict sanctioning the restoration of Imperial government (November 1867), there was a time lag before the office of "shoshidai" was abolished (January 1868) and affairs of the city were temporarily entrusted to the clans of Sasayama (Aoyama), Zeze (Honda) and Kameyama (Matsudaira). [Ponsonby-Fane, Richard A.R. (1956). "Kyoto: the Old Capital, 794-1869," pp. 326-327.]

Kyoto "shoshidai" of the Edo period

Notes

References

* Bolitho, Harold. (1974). "Treasures among men; the fudai daimyo in Tokugawa Japan". New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-3000-1655-7
* Beasley, W.G. (1955). [http://books.google.com/books?id=jjOCAAAAIAAJ&dq=Niigata+bugyo&pgis=1 "Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853-1868."] London: Oxford University Press. [reprinted by RoutledgeCurzon, London, 2001. 10-ISBN 0-197-13508-0; 13-ISBN 978-0-197-13508-2 (cloth)]
* Brinkley, Frank and Baron Kikuchi. (1915). "A History of the Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era." New York: Encyclopedia Britannica.
* Murdoch, James. (1996). [http://books.google.com/books?id=32HnwxdP4pMC&dq=shoshidai&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 "A History of Japan."] London: Routledge. 10-ISBN 0-415-15417-0
* Ponsonby-Fane, Richard A. B. (1956). "Kyoto: The Old Capital of Japan, 794-1869." Kyoto: The Ponsonby Memorial Society.
* Toby, Ronald P. (1991). [http://books.google.com/books?id=2hK7tczn2QoC&dq=Inaba+Masanobu&lr=&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 "State and Diplomacy in Early Modern Japan: Asia in the Development of the Tokugawa Bakufu."] Stanford: Stanford University Press. 10-ISBN 0-804-71952-7