Danjodai (Board of Censors) (弾正台)
Danjodai is as follows. one of the government-regulated organizations or facilities under the Ritsuryo system (a system of centralized government based on the ritsuryo code). It was one of the government offices in the Meiji period.
Danjodai (under the Ritsuryo system)
Danjodai under the Ritsuryo system was a supervision and police agency.
One of the agency's main duties was to regulate the central administration and public morals. It had the right to detect the wrong doings of Sadaijin (Minister of the left) and under. It was established as an independent agency so as not to be affected by Daijokan (Grand Council of State). But, in fact, there were few cases that the agency functioned well because of the Daijokan's supreme power to control all the departments in the ancient court. Gyobusho (Ministry of Justice) and each official had jurisdiction and police power. Therefore, even when the officials of the agency found violations, they could not arrest or put the violators to court for trial. In, who was the chief of the agency, was an official equivalent to Junior third court rank, and in many cases Imperial princes were appointed to the position and called Danjo no Miya. Also, Dainagon (chief counselor of state) sometimes filled the position of Danjodai, and in such cases they were called In Dainagon. In addition, when it is called simply 'danjo', it means the officials of danjodai.
Since the position of kebiishi (officials with judicial and police powers) was established during the era of Emperor Saga, danjodai was gradually shorn of its authority and became titular.
In addition, Nobunaga ODA came from a clan whose successive lords called themselves 'danjo no chu' (Kiyosu sanbugyo [three magistrates of Kiyosu] danjo no chu family), and the clan was a branch family of Oda clan, the shugodai (deputy military governor) of half part of Owari Province (also called Kiyosu sanbugyo in Owari province shugodai family or the Oda Yamatonokami family). Therefore, Nobunaga called himself danjo no chu.
In addition to Nobunaga, the well-known busho (Japanese military commander) who called themselves danjo no chu are Hidehisa MATSUNAGA who was one of the most fierce warriors in Sengoku period (period of warring states) and the three danjo in the vassals of Takeda clan: Masanobu KOSAKA (the nige [fleeing] danjo), Yukitaka SANADA (the seme [offensive] danjo) and Masatoshi HOSHINA (the yari [spear] danjo).
Staff
Shitokan (four classifications of bureaucrats' ranks) are as follows.
Danjoin (President of the Board of Censors)
one
Daihitsu (senior assistant)
one
shohitsu (assistant director of danjodai)
one
Daichu
one
Shochu (Junior inspector, third highest of the four administrative ranks of the ritsuryo period)
two
Daiso
one
Shoso
two
Under the Shoso, the positions of daisho (administrative officials of danjodai) and junsatsu-danjo (patrolling censors) were set up.
Danjodai (Meiji Period)
In the Meiji Period, in 1869 it was newly established in Kyoto City as an inspection agency of the new government. When it was established, the agency employed many radical discontented elements in the party of Sonno Joi (advocating respecting the Emperor and excluding of foreigners) in order to conciliate them, who had been beyond control of the new government that were advancing the policy of "opening the country." Therefore, as the radicals often opposed the reform policy of the new government, they were increasingly confronted with other agencies in the government. However, their authority was small because it was an inspection agency. Sonno Joi party in danjodai that was out of the mainstream had to be content with only severely criticizing kaikokuha (the opening country wing) which was their rival by nominally accusing other agencies and fu-han-ken (prefectures) of their wrong doings. (In one instance, daigaku daijo [chancellors of universities] Hiroyuki KATO [later president of Tokyo University]) was accused by danjodai and suspended because he was absent from the event of tencho setsu (the birthday of the reigning emperor).
Especially, in the case of assassination of Shonan YOKOI and Masujiro OMURA, Juro KOGA and Nobuyoshi KAIEDA in danjodai who should have cracked down on it criticized the policy of Yokoi and Omura. They insisted that Yokoi and Omura got what they deserved, and so far as to ask for the assassin's reduced sentence. In May, 1870, Koga who was extremely radical and eight other Dai junsatsu were dismissed in the name of the reduction of personnel. Taking this opportunity, the government began in earnest discarding the sonjo party. And with the decision to integrate danjodai into Gyobusho (the department of criminal punishments), danjodai itself was integrated into the Ministry of Justice. In addition, dismissed Koga with Michiteru OTAGI were sentenced to exposure of their severed heads in 1872 on the charge of the attempt to topple the government (Nikyo Jiken [The Incidents triggered by two court nobles]).
The family name of 'DANJO'
Some people in Sado Island have the family name of 'Danjo.'