Reconstruction of the residence of the North Edo machi-bugyō in present-day Tokyo.
Bugyō (奉行) was a title assigned to samurai officials in feudal Japan. Bugyō is often translated as commissioner, magistrate, or governor, and other terms would be added to the title to describe more specifically a given official's tasks or jurisdiction.
Pre-Edo period
In the Heian period (794–1185), the post or title of bugyō would be applied only to an official with a set task; once that task was complete, the officer would cease to be called bugyō. However, in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) and later, continuing through the end of the Edo period (1603–1868), posts and titles came to be created on a more permanent basis. [1] Over time, there came to be 36 bugyō in the bureaucracy of the Kamakura shogunate.[2]
In 1587, a Japanese invading army occupied Seoul; and one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's first acts was to create a bugyō for the city, replicating a familiar pattern in an unfamiliar setting.[3]
Edo period
During the Edo period, the number of bugyō reached its largest extent as the bureaucracy of the Tokugawa shogunate expanded on an ad hoc basis, responding to perceived needs and changing circumstances.
Sumo-bugyō (相撲奉行) – Ancestors of the function of gyōji. Officials during the Kamakura shogunate in charge of refereeing sumo matches at the imperial court.[29]
Zaimoku-ishi bugyō (材木石奉行) - Overseer of construction materials for the Shōgun's properties (from 1647)[32]
Zen bugyō (膳奉行) – Overseer of victuals for the Shōgun's table[32]
Meiji period
In the early years of the Meiji Restoration, the title of bugyō continued to be used for government offices and conventional practices where nothing else had been created to replace the existing Tokugawa system. For example, the commander-in-chief of artillery under the early Meiji government was called the Hohei-bugyō.[33] As the new government passed its numerous reforms, the term bugyō was soon phased out of usage.