Okimi no Tsukasa (Imperial Family Office) (正親司)
Okimi no tsukasa was one of the institutions belonging to Imperial Household Agency in the Ritsuryo system (a system of centralized government based on the ritsuryo code) in ancient Japan.
It is also called 'Okindachi no tsukasa.'
Official duties
Okimi no tsukasa administered the register of the Imperial family and did office work concerning the salary (kiroku [salary paid to the officers under the ritsuryo system], jifuku [allocations of cloth]) to the Imperial family. Before the Ritsuryo system, there was no such institution and it is considered to have imitated the Court of the Imperial Clan (Zongzheng Si) in the Ritsuryo system during the Tang Dynasty. To control the name list of Imperial families, princes were often appointed to Kami, who was an administrator, during the Nara period and after the Heian period the Shirakawa family (Kazan-Genji [Minamoto clan], the Hakuo family) were appointed for generations. Unlike other tsukasa, Okimi no Tsukasa was never abolished or merged; rather 'betto' (chief officer) was ranked above 'kami' (equivalent to Shorokuinojo [Senior Sixth Rank, Upper Grade]) within the institution. Aristocrats served as 'betto' to administer the institution and in many cases the post was under the control of 'ryo' (bureau), and only Naizen no tsukasa (Imperial Table Office) other than Okimi no tsukasa had the position of 'betto' among others. For this reason, the institution was an important one for a long time.
Personnel
Betto, the time of establishment unknown, the presidency of Okimi no tsukasa. Kami (corresponding to Shorokuinojo [Senior Sixth Rank, Upper Grade]) one member. Jo (secretary) (corresponding to Jushichiinoge [Junior Seventh Rank, Lower Grade]) one member. Daireishi (corresponding to Daihatsuinojo [Greater Initial Rank, Upper Grade]) one member, Shoreishi (corresponding to Daihatsuinoge [Greater Initial Rank, Lower Grade]) one member. Shibu (low rank bureaucrats) ten members. Kanjin shicho (a manservant doing odd jobs) one member.
In September 796, two Kanjin Zonin (lower-ranking government official) were added.