For Kugyō, the Buddhist monk who in 1291 assassinated Kamakura shogun Minamoto no Sanetomo

Minamoto no Sanetomo

Minamoto no Sanetomo was the third shogun of the Kamakura shogunate Sanetomo was the second son of the founder of the Kamakura shogunate Minamoto no Yoritomo, his mother was Hōjō Masako, and his older brother was the second Kamakura shogun Minamoto no Yoriie.His childhood name was...

, see Kugyō (Minamoto no Yoshinari)

Kugyo (Minamoto no Yoshinari)

, also known as or , was the second son of the second Kamakura shogun of Japan, Minamoto no Yoriie. At the age of six, after his father was killed in Shuzenji in Izu, he became his uncle Sanetomo's adopted son and, thanks to his grandmother Hōjō Masako's intercession, a disciple of Songyō,...

".

is the collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan

Emperor of Japan

The Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...

 in pre-Meiji

Meiji period

The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...

 eras. The kugyō was broadly divided into two groups: the , comprising the Chancellor of the Realm, the Minister of the Left, and the Minister of the Right; and the , comprising the Major Counsellor

Dainagon

was a counselor of the first rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century.This advisory position remained a part of the Imperial court from the 8th century until the Meiji period in the 19th century....

, the Middle Counsellor

Chunagon

was a counselor of the second rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century.The role was eliminated from the Imperial hierarchy in 701, but it was re-established in 705...

, the , and members of the Japanese court of the third rank or higher.

As part of the Meiji reforms, a single aristocratic class, the kazoku

Kazoku

The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan that existed between 1869 and 1947.-Origins:Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the ancient court nobility of Kyoto regained some of its lost status...

, was created in 1869 by merging the kuge

Kuge

The was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese imperial court in Kyoto until the rise of the Shogunate in the 12th century at which point it was eclipsed by the daimyo...

(the court nobility in Kyoto, of which the kugyō was a part) and the daimyo

Daimyo

is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

(the feudal land holders and warriors). In the 1870s, the organizational structure of the court itself was also modernized.

In the period after the Second World War, the kazoku was abolished, as a part of post-war Japanese reforms. The remaining political powers of the Emperor were transferred to the constitutional government of Japan, and the responsibility for state matters concerning the Emperor and the Imperial family

Imperial House of Japan

The , also referred to as the Imperial Family or the Yamato Dynasty, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the emperor is the symbol of the state and unity of the people...

 was consolidated entirely into the Imperial Household Office (later Agency)

Imperial Household Agency

The is a government agency of Japan in charge of the state matters concerning Japan's imperial family and also keeping the Privy Seal and the State Seal...

.

See also

• Daijō-kan
• Imperial Household Agency
  Imperial Household Agency
  The is a government agency of Japan in charge of the state matters concerning Japan's imperial family and also keeping the Privy Seal and the State Seal...
  
  
• Kōkyū
  Kokyu
  The is a traditional Japanese string instrument, the only one played with a bow. Although it was introduced to Japan from China along with the shamisen, its material, shape, and sound are unique to Japan...
  
  
• Kuge
  Kuge
  The was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese imperial court in Kyoto until the rise of the Shogunate in the 12th century at which point it was eclipsed by the daimyo...
  
  
• Sesshō and Kampaku
  Sessho and Kampaku
  In Japan, was a title given to a regent who was named to assist either a child emperor before his coming of age, or an empress. The was theoretically a sort of chief advisor for the emperor, but was the title of both first secretary and regent who assists an adult emperor. During the Heian era,...