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*''Japanese'': [[奉行]] ''(bugyou)''
''Bugyô'', often translated as "magistrate," is a term used in a wide range of titles in medieval and early modern Japan, as well as in [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû]]. In the [[Edo period]], the various ''bugyô'' positions were generally the top-ranking bureaucrat in a particular jurisdiction, often operating out of an office known as a ''bugyôsho''.
Within the [[Tokugawa shogunate]], the most important or most powerful of these magistrates were often called the ''sanbugyô'', or "three magistrates," though each of these three positions was in fact filled by several people simultaneously. They included the ''[[jisha bugyo|jisha bugyô]]'' (Magistrates of Temples & Shrines), five officials who oversaw matters relating to [[Buddhist temples]] and [[Shinto shrines]]; the ''[[Edo]] [[machi bugyo|machi bugyô]]'' (Edo Town Magistrates), a pair of officials in charge of a variety of aspects of administration of the shogunal capital; and the ''[[kanjo bugyo|kanjô bugyô]]'' (Finance Magistrates), four individuals who oversaw the shogunate's revenues and expenses, making them among the most powerful officials in the realm.
Judging from their seats in the audience chambers of [[Edo castle]], the ''jisha bugyô'', typically selected from among the ''daimyô'', were nominally the highest-ranking, followed by the ''Edo machi bugyô'', who were typically selected from among the ''[[hatamoto]]''. That the ''kanjô bugyô'' were the lowest ranking of these three helped place a check on their considerable ''de facto'' power.
Other prominent magistrate positions in Tokugawa Japan included the ''[[Nagasaki bugyo|Nagasaki bugyô]]'' (a pair of officials, one based in Edo and one in [[Nagasaki]], who oversaw commercial activity at that port), and ''machi bugyô'' of other cities.
{{stub}}
==References==
*Mitani Hiroshi, David Noble (trans.), ''Escape from Impasse'', International House of Japan (2006), xxviii.
==See Also==
*[[Go-Bugyo|Go-Bugyô]] - a group of five commissioners appointed by [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] to help in the administration of the realm
*[[Chinzei Bugyo|Chinzei Bugyô]] - a post created in the [[Kamakura period]] to oversee the defense of [[Kyushu]]
*[[Bujo|Bujô]] - the equivalent title/post in Ryûkyû
[[Category:Ranks and Titles]]
[[Category:Edo Period]]
''Bugyô'', often translated as "magistrate," is a term used in a wide range of titles in medieval and early modern Japan, as well as in [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû]]. In the [[Edo period]], the various ''bugyô'' positions were generally the top-ranking bureaucrat in a particular jurisdiction, often operating out of an office known as a ''bugyôsho''.
Within the [[Tokugawa shogunate]], the most important or most powerful of these magistrates were often called the ''sanbugyô'', or "three magistrates," though each of these three positions was in fact filled by several people simultaneously. They included the ''[[jisha bugyo|jisha bugyô]]'' (Magistrates of Temples & Shrines), five officials who oversaw matters relating to [[Buddhist temples]] and [[Shinto shrines]]; the ''[[Edo]] [[machi bugyo|machi bugyô]]'' (Edo Town Magistrates), a pair of officials in charge of a variety of aspects of administration of the shogunal capital; and the ''[[kanjo bugyo|kanjô bugyô]]'' (Finance Magistrates), four individuals who oversaw the shogunate's revenues and expenses, making them among the most powerful officials in the realm.
Judging from their seats in the audience chambers of [[Edo castle]], the ''jisha bugyô'', typically selected from among the ''daimyô'', were nominally the highest-ranking, followed by the ''Edo machi bugyô'', who were typically selected from among the ''[[hatamoto]]''. That the ''kanjô bugyô'' were the lowest ranking of these three helped place a check on their considerable ''de facto'' power.
Other prominent magistrate positions in Tokugawa Japan included the ''[[Nagasaki bugyo|Nagasaki bugyô]]'' (a pair of officials, one based in Edo and one in [[Nagasaki]], who oversaw commercial activity at that port), and ''machi bugyô'' of other cities.
{{stub}}
==References==
*Mitani Hiroshi, David Noble (trans.), ''Escape from Impasse'', International House of Japan (2006), xxviii.
==See Also==
*[[Go-Bugyo|Go-Bugyô]] - a group of five commissioners appointed by [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] to help in the administration of the realm
*[[Chinzei Bugyo|Chinzei Bugyô]] - a post created in the [[Kamakura period]] to oversee the defense of [[Kyushu]]
*[[Bujo|Bujô]] - the equivalent title/post in Ryûkyû
[[Category:Ranks and Titles]]
[[Category:Edo Period]]
