The King, his Chief Councillor or Sessei, and the Three Councillors called the Sanshikan constituted the top level of the Shuri royal government.
Anything related to financial matters (taxes) was under the jurisdiction of the Board of Finance. Tax collection was so important that each of the sanshikan also supervised one of the Board of Finance’s departments. The Board of General Affairs handled all other matters.
Agencies under Board
of Finance
·
Department
of Domestic Affairs - This department was responsible for agricultural administration,
and perhaps more importantly, for collection and storage of tax goods. It consisted of nine bureaus.
·
Department
of Land Control – The department’s primary function was to monitor and
audit the assignment of lands, inspections, and payments of government stipends
to the fief holders. They also monitored maritime affairs and tax cloths. It consisted
of six bureaus.
In the feudal system, lands were granted to
persons in return for a pledge of service (enfeoffment). Ryukyu was initially valued 89,000 koku by
Satsuma, with 50,000 stipulated for public expenditure, and 39,000 for stipend
payments to aristocrats.
·
Department
of Provisions – Consisting of six bureaus, this department handled food procurement
matters within the royal palace, and the stockpiling of grains and food for
emergencies, which each village was required to maintain. Another function was to monitor and control the
growing and cultivation of sugar cane, a highly valuable tax export item. They also were in charge of forest management
and conservation, to control how many trees were cut per year to avoid
deforestation.
Agencies under the
Board of General Affairs
·
Department
of External Affairs – This department consisted of four bureaus and handled
the activities of Naha and Kume regarding foreign affairs, especially tribute
missions to China. Chief envoys on
tribute missions came from Kume. Another bureau supervised the National
Academy and other schools in Shuri. The Bureau
of Genealogy, created in 1690, was also part of this department.
·
Department
of Palace Affairs – Five bureaus in this department supervised the workforce,
palace attendants to the royal family, court functions, and matters related to
palace affairs. They also monitored the crafting of stone, metal, and wood used
to make utensils, mats, and other goods for the royal family. A fourth bureau
supervised shell-craft works.
·
Department
of Tomari – This department handled the local affairs of Tomari. It included the Bureau of Household Registry to record births and deaths of
aristocracy. Its work supplemented that
of the Bureau of Genealogy. The purpose
was to keep records in order to handle disputes of succession. Births and deaths of commoners was not
recorded. A Bureau of Temples and
Shrines controlled the affairs of
Buddhist and Shinto shrines. Other
bureaus were those of Fire, Police Inspection, Repair and Maintenance,
Smithery, and Tile Works. In all, there were a total of eight bureaus.
·
Department
of Justice – This department had only one bureau. It dealt with civil and
criminal cases in the four urban areas. Criminal
cases included damages done to the royal mausoleum and other holy places in Shuri,
or misbehavior of high officials of government. Civil cases usually involved disputes of
succession to aristocratic houses.
Case trials were closed sessions with
several judges. The judges would present
a written opinion to the superintendent of Justice for his decision. His
decision then went to the Council of State for review and action, with final
approval of the king.
Penalties could include: imprisonment in jail, confinement in a temple,
payment of fines, beating with whips, tattooing, or exile to remote islands.
Local Governments
Local governments of the 4 urban areas of Shuri, Naha, Kume
and Tomari were closely tied with central government of the kingdom. Each one
operated slightly differently, however.
Local governments on Okinawa Island outside the four urban
districts were separate from the central government and were run by a local
district (majiri) magistrate, not the
aristocrat to whom the area was officially granted. The fief holder was actually
required to live in one of the four urban areas, usually Shuri. The local
magistrate had a staff that took care of inspection of agricultural activities
of peasants, forest conservation and management, police, bookkeeping,
accounting, etc.
This local magistrate of the district reported directly to
the Board of Finance, not the fief holder.
The local governments of the four urban areas fell under the Board of
General Affairs. By doing this, the
central government of Shuri maintained strong control over the outlying areas, and the
aristocracy itself.
The fief holder, however, had a strong influence in who
filled these local government positions.
Typically the landowner, or fief holder, would send teachers from the urban areas to
rural areas to train commoners or peasants in administration and cultural
topics. At age 15 those chosen ones
would come to Shuri as stewards of the fief holder. In this way the landowner could further train them
and also judge-first hand their abilities, and character. These people would
then be recommended for local government positions when they were sent back to
their village.
The local official and fief holder maintained strong contact with each
other as to what was going on in the territory.
This process also developed a strong loyalty/protection bond between
them.
The governments of Sakishima (Miyako
and Yaeyama) and Kume island were a mixture of a central government and local government
functions. People on these islands were considered
to be in a special social class – inferior to Okinawa aristocrats but superior commoners.
References:
Mitsugu Matsuda, “The Government of the Kingdom of Ryukyu, 1609-1872”. Gushikawa City, Okinawa, Japan: Yui Publishing Co., 2001.
George H. Kerr, "Okinawa: the History of an Island People, revised edition". Tokyo: Tuttle, 2000.
George H. Kerr, "Okinawa: the History of an Island People, revised edition". Tokyo: Tuttle, 2000.
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