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''Machi bugyô'', or "City Magistrates," were [[Tokugawa shogunate]] officials who oversaw the administration of certain cities during the [[Edo period]].

''Machi bugyô'', or "City Magistrates," were [[Tokugawa shogunate]] officials who oversaw the administration of certain cities during the [[Edo period]].

[[Edo]] was administered by two ''machi bugyô'', who were divided into North and South town offices. Though [[Aoyama Tadamasa]] was the first to be granted this title, in [[1601]],<ref>Morgan Pitelka, ''Spectacular Accumulation'', University of Hawaii Press (2016), 86.</ref> it was in the 1630s that the powers and responsibilities of this and other positions were more thoroughly articulated. Alongside the ''[[jisha bugyo|jisha bugyô]]'' (Magistrates of Temples & Shrines) and ''[[kanjo bugyo|kanjô bugyô]]'' (Finance Magistrates), they were known as the ''Sanbugyô'' (Three Magistrates), one group of the most powerful officials in the city. The ''machi bugyô'' also served as members of the ''[[Hyojosho|Hyôjôsho]]'', the chief judicial organ of the shogunate government, alongside the ''[[roju|rôjû]]'', the ''jisha bugyô'', ''kujikata kanjô bugyô'' (Magistrate of Judicial Finances) and their associated ''kanjô ginmiyaku'', and the ''kujikata ômetsuke'' and ''[[metsuke]]'' (Inspectors).<ref>Mitani Hiroshi, David Noble (trans.), ''Escape from Impasse'', International House of Japan (2006), xxx.</ref> They were assisted by officials known as the ''[[machi doshiyori]]''.<ref>[[Arai Hakuseki]], Joyce Ackroyd (trans.), ''Told Round a Brushwood Fire'', University of Tokyo Press (1979), 321.</ref>

[[Edo]] was administered by two ''machi bugyô'', who were divided into North and South town offices. Though [[Aoyama Tadamasa]] was the first to be granted this title, in [[1601]],<ref>Morgan Pitelka, ''Spectacular Accumulation'', University of Hawaii Press (2016), 86.</ref> it was in the 1630s that the powers and responsibilities of this and other positions were more thoroughly articulated. Alongside the ''[[jisha bugyo|jisha bugyô]]'' (Magistrates of Temples & Shrines) and ''[[kanjo bugyo|kanjô bugyô]]'' (Finance Magistrates), they were known as the ''Sanbugyô'' (Three Magistrates), one group of the most powerful officials in the city. The ''machi bugyô'' also served as members of the ''[[Hyojosho|Hyôjôsho]]'', the chief judicial organ of the shogunate government, alongside the ''[[roju|rôjû]]'', the ''jisha bugyô'', ''kujikata kanjô bugyô'' (Magistrate of Judicial Finances) and their associated ''kanjô ginmiyaku'', and the ''kujikata ômetsuke'' and ''[[metsuke]]'' (Inspectors).<ref>Mitani Hiroshi, David Noble (trans.), ''Escape from Impasse'', International House of Japan (2006), xxx.</ref>  

 

The ''machi bugyô'' answered directly to the ''rôjû''. They were assisted by officials known as the ''[[machi doshiyori]]'',<ref>[[Arai Hakuseki]], Joyce Ackroyd (trans.), ''Told Round a Brushwood Fire'', University of Tokyo Press (1979), 321.</ref> and commanded the city's ''[[yoriki]]'' and ''[[doshin|dôshin]]'' (constables & patrolmen) and prison wardens.

As ''[[daimyo yashiki|daimyô yashiki]]'', other samurai property, Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, and certain other areas did not fall directly under shogunate authority, these magistrates chiefly oversaw only [[chonin|merchant and artisan]] neighborhoods. As those neighborhoods expanded dramatically following the [[1657]] [[Meireki Fire]], the jurisdiction of the ''machi bugyô'' expanded accordingly, though it began to run into grey areas, where ''[[daikan]]'' overseeing the rural areas outside of Edo proper claimed jurisdiction. Beginning in [[1746]], the ''machi bugyô'' were granted additional authority, shifted from the authority of the ''jisha bugyô''.

As ''[[daimyo yashiki|daimyô yashiki]]'', other samurai property, Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, and certain other areas did not fall directly under shogunate authority, these magistrates chiefly oversaw only [[chonin|merchant and artisan]] neighborhoods. As those neighborhoods expanded dramatically following the [[1657]] [[Meireki Fire]], the jurisdiction of the ''machi bugyô'' expanded accordingly, though it began to run into grey areas, where ''[[daikan]]'' overseeing the rural areas outside of Edo proper claimed jurisdiction. Beginning in [[1746]], the ''machi bugyô'' were granted additional authority, shifted from the authority of the ''jisha bugyô''.