Sangi (Japan)

Premodern Japan
Imperial seal of Japan
Part of a series on the politics and
government of Japan during the
Nara and Heian periods
Daijō-daijin
Minister of the LeftSadaijin
Minister of the RightUdaijin
Minister of the CenterNaidaijin
Major CounselorDainagon
Middle CounselorChūnagon
Minor CounselorShōnagon
Eight Ministries
CenterNakatsukasa-shō  
CeremonialShikibu-shō
Civil AdministrationJibu-shō
Popular AffairsMinbu-shō
WarHyōbu-shō
JusticeGyōbu-shō
TreasuryŌkura-shō
Imperial HouseholdKunai-shō

Sangi (参議) was an associate counselor in the Imperial court of Japan from the 8th century until the Meiji period in the 19th century.[1]

This was a position in the daijō-kan, or early feudal Japanese government. It was established in 702 by the Code of Taihō.

In the ranks of the Imperial bureaucracy, the Sangi came between the Shōnagon (minor councillors) and those with more narrowly defined roles, such as the Sadaiben and Udaiben who were the administrators charged with oversight of the eight ministries of the government.[2]

In an early review of the Imperial hierarchy, Julius Klaproth's 1834 supplement to Nihon Odai Ichiran conflated the hierarchical position with a functional role as the director of palace affairs.[2]

Prominent among those holding this office were three brothers:

The position was eliminated in 1885.[1] The House of Councillors (参議院 Sangi'in) and its members were named after it.

  1. ^ a b Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Sangi" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 817, p. 817, at Google Books.
  2. ^ a b Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, p. 426., p. 426, at Google Books
  3. ^ a b c Titsingh, p. 69., p. 69, at Google Books