Ekitei-Shi (government office in charge of transportation and communication) (駅逓司)
Ekitei-Shi is a government office in charge of transportation and communication, formed on June 11, 1868. It was later renamed as Ekitei-Ryo/Ekitei-Kyoku and became the former body of Teishin-Sho (Ministry of Communication).
It was established under Kaikei-Kan (Ministry of Finance), when Kaikei-Kan was created based on the Constitution of 1868.
Next year, it was moved with Minbu-Sho (Ministry of Popular Affairs), and played a part in virtual Okura-and-Minbu-Sho (which actually remained as two separate ministries in the government organization - Minbu-Sho and Okura-Sho (Ministry of Finance) -, but virtually functioned as one)
On April 20, 1871, officials from Ekitei-Shi, including Hisoka MAEJIMA and Jo SUGIURA, launched the postal system. In the same year, Minbu-Sho was integrated with Okura-Sho, and elevated to be Ekitei-Ryo (according to the change of the government system from Ryo to Kyoku in January 1877, it changed its name to Ekitei-Kyoku). The importance of the postal system has increased as it added exchange system (postal money order) in January 1875 and banking service (postal savings) in May. It was also a part of Ekitei-Shi's responsibility to reform the transportation system, which was caused by the abolition of Sukego system (tax system imposed to villages based on their amount of crop, and paid in labor; villages designated as Sukego had to provide laborers, horses and sometimes sailors to help their neighboring post-station town) in the shogunate system.
On the other hand, Ekitei-Kyoku itself became independent as a newly established Teishin-Sho in 1885, after it had been moved to Naimu-Sho (prewar Ministry of Home Affairs), which had separated from Okura-Sho in 1874, and then to No-Shomu-Sho (Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce), which had separated from Naimu-Sho in 1881.