The , also known as Ministry of War

Ministry of War of Japan

The , more popularly known as the Ministry of War of Japan, was cabinet-level ministry in the Empire of Japan charged with the administrative affairs of the Imperial Japanese Army...

and sometimes called Tsuwamono no Tsukasa, was a division of the eighth century Japanese

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 government of the Imperial Court in Kyoto

Imperial Court in Kyoto

thumb|left|350px|Front view of Kyoto imperial palaceImperial Court in Kyoto was the nominal ruling government of Japan from 794 AD until the Meiji Era, in which the court was moved to Tokyo and integrated into the Meiji government....

, instituted in the Asuka period

Asuka period

The , was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 , although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period...

 and formalized during the Heian period

Heian period

The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

. The Ministry was replaced in the Meiji period

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 :...

.

Overview

This part of the government bureaucracy has been variously identified as the Ministry of the Military and the Ministry of War.

The highest ranking official or was ordinarily a son or a close relative of the Emperor. This important court officer was responsible for directing all military matters; and after the beginning in the late 12th century, this military man would have been empowered to work with the shogunate on the emperor's behalf.

The ambit of the Ministry's activities encompasses, for example:

• oversight of the rosters of military officers, including examinations, appointment, ranks, etc.
• dispatching of troops
• supervision of arsenals of weapons, guards, fortifications and signal fires
• maintenance of pastures, military horses, and public and private horses and cattle
• administration of postal stations
• control of the manufacture of weapons and weapon-makers
• oversight of drumming and in flute playing
• control of public and private means of water transportation
• regulation of the training of hawks and dogs.

History

The ministry was established as part of the Taika Reforms and Ritsuryō

Ritsuryo

is the historical law system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism in Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryō is called "Ritsuryō-sei"...

laws which were initiated in the Asuka period

Asuka period

The , was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 , although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period...

 and formalized during the Heian period

Heian period

The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

. After 702, the Hyōbu-shō replaced the Hyōseikan, which was created in 683.

In the Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

, titles associated with the ministry became ceremonial titles.

In the Meiji period

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 :...

, the hyōbu-shō was reorganized into a modern Ministry of War

Ministry of War of Japan

The , more popularly known as the Ministry of War of Japan, was cabinet-level ministry in the Empire of Japan charged with the administrative affairs of the Imperial Japanese Army...

 and Ministry of the Navy

Ministry of the Navy of Japan

The was a cabinet-level ministry in the Empire of Japan charged with the administrative affairs of the Imperial Japanese Navy . It existed from 1872 to 1945.-History:...

.

Hierarchy

The Asuka-, Nara- and Heian-period Imperial court hierarchy encompassed a ministry dealing with military affairs.

In the 18th century, the top ritsuryō officials within this ministry structure were:
, usually a son or a close relative of the Emperor...., two positions., considered a very low rank...

See also

• Daijō-kan
• Imperial Japanese Army
  Imperial Japanese Army
  -Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
  
   (1871–1947)
• Imperial Japanese Navy
  Imperial Japanese Navy
  The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
  
   (1871–1947)
• Japanese Self-Defense Forces (1954–    )

Further reading

• Friday, Karl F. (1992). Hired Swords: the Rise of Private Warrior Power in Early Japan. Stanford: Stanford University Press
  Stanford University Press
  The Stanford University Press is the publishing house of Stanford University. In 1892, an independent publishing company was established at the university. The first use of the name "Stanford University Press" in a book's imprinting occurred in 1895...
  
  . 10-ISBN 0-804-71978-0/13-ISBN 978-0-804-71978-0; 10-ISBN 0-804-72696-5/13-ISBN 978-0-804-72696-2