Fuyo no ma

• Japanese: 芙蓉の間 (fuyou no ma)

The Fuyô no ma, or Hibiscus Chamber, was an anteroom in Edo castle, to which certain officials were assigned. As such, it was used as a metonym for that group of officials, which included the kattekata kanjô bugyô, kattekata kanjô ginmiyaku, kattekata ômetsuke and metsuke, and the ongoku bugyô.

When consulted as a group, the Fuyô no ma officials were paired or opposed with the officials of the Hyôjôsho, who in the late Edo period were typically much more conservative.

References

• Mitani Hiroshi, David Noble (trans.), Escape from Impasse, International House of Japan (2006), xxx.