Ministry of the Center
Open-knowledge reference entry
The Ministry of the Center (中務省, Nakatsukasa-shō) (lit. the department of the inner (or privy) affairs) was a division of the eighth century Japanese government of the Imperial Court in Kyoto, instituted in the Asuka period and formalized during the Heian period. The Ministry was replaced in the Meiji period. In Wago, it is also called "Naka-no-Matsurigoto-no-Tsukasa(奈加乃萬豆利古止乃豆加佐)".
Overview
This ministry encompassed those of the Imperial Household whose functions brought them closest to the emperor. The ceremonies of the Imperial Household evolved over time. Among those holding the highest office in the Imperial Household ministry was Takaharu-shinnō, who would later become Emperor Go-Daigo.
History
The ceremonial nature of the Imperial Household has changed over time. The Ministry was established in 649 as a liaison between the Daijō-kan and the Emperor.
The ambit of the Ministry's activities encompasses, for example:
attendance upon the Emperor, including advice to him on his personal matters, supporting him in the maintenance of a proper dignity and helping him in the observance of proper forms of etiquette
assisting in the inspection and countersigning of drafts of Imperial Rescripts
making of representations to the Emperor
support in the issuance of imperial orders in time of war
monitoring the reception of addresses to the Emperor
compilation of the history of the country
maintenance of the records relating to the gazetteer
maintenance of the records relating to the personal status of imperial princesses from the second to the fourth generation
maintenance of the records relating to the maids of honour and other court ladies
oversight of the submission to the Emperor of the census of the population in the various provinces
oversight of the submission to the Emperor of the accounts of the taxes to be levied
oversight of the submission to the Emperor of the lists of the priests and nuns in the provinces
assistance relating to the Grand Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, and the Empress
supervision of the Imperial archives
administration of the annual expenditure of the court and to various articles to be provided for the use of the Imperial family
supervision of the astronomical calculations and the arrangement of the calendar
oversight of the pictorial artists at court
regulation of medicaments to be supplied to the Emperor and the medical advice to be given him
maintenance of order in the palace
Hierarchy
Amongst the significant Daijō-kan officials within this ministry structure were:
Minister or chief administrator of the Ministry of the Center (中務卿, Nakatsukasa-kyō).
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This entry incorporates text from “Ministry of the Center” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.