Naijusho (Ministry of Royal Pages) (内豎省)
Naijusho was an extra statutory office established in the latter half of the Nara period under the ritsuryo system. Naijusho controlled over the Naiju officials who attended the emperor and the female attendants, while guarded the Imperial Palace.
Summary
Naiju' originally meant the middle and low ranked court officials and government officials who were in charge of miscellaneous affairs and guard in the Imperial Palace, which were gradually organized into a leading agency 'Naijusho' (内豎所) to be established.
On August 12, 767, Naijusho was established to expand the duties of the Naijudokoro (Royal Pages Office). According to "Shoku Nihongi" (Chronicle of Japan Continued), it was supposedly staffed by one Kyo (minister), one Taifu (senior assistant minister), one Sho (junior assistant minister), two Daijo (senior secretary), two Shojo (junior secretary), one Daisakan (senior recorder), and three Shosakan (junior recorder), with subordinate staff such as Shojo (a low-rank official to convey petitions), Shisho (a person doing miscellaneous duties about documents), Shibe (low rank bureaucrats), Jikicho (factotum) and Naiju officials, in the same way as Hassho (eight ministries and agencies).
YUGE no Kiyohito (Senior Third Rank, concurrently served as Vice-Councilor of State and Outer Palace Guard, a real younger brother of Dokyo) was appointed Naijukyo (Minister of Naijusho); FUJIWARA no Korekimi (Junior Fourth Rank, Upper Grade, Head of the Headquarters of the Palace Guards of Left) concurrently took the office of Naijutaifu (Senior Secretary of Naijusho), and FUJIWARA no Oyori (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade, Head of the Headquarters of the Palace Guards of Right) concurrently took the office of Naijusho (Junior secretary of Naijusho). The above-mentioned officials led the Palace Guards, which were the military organizations of the Imperial Palace, and played leading roles of the administrations of Empress Koken, Empress Shotoku, and priest Dokyo (In 769, FUJIWARA no Odamaro [Junior Fourth Rank, Upper Grade, middle controller of the left at the Great Council of State, later concurrently served for Headquarters of the Military Guards of the Right] was appointed to Naijutaifu to replace Korekimi.). Just at that time, Chokushisho (Bureau of Edicts) was established as an economic organization to support the key position of the administration of Empress Shotoku and priest Dokyo; In contrast, Naijusho was considered as a military organization to support the key position of the administration--It is considered that the administration formed these offices as a kind of high ranked court official organization to maintain their own political and military power based in the Grand Council of State to cope with the main steam of the FUJIWARA clan (potential rival of the administration) and the Imperial family's influence.
Later, when Empress Shotoku demised and priest Dokyo and his younger brother were exiled (ironically, Naijutaifu FUJIWARA no Odamaro headed the exile), the organization became meaningless and abolished on March 28, 772, and Naiju was divided and incorporated into Konoefu (Inner Palace Guard), Chuefu (Middle Inner Palace Guard), Sayuhyoefu (Left and Right Division of Middle Palace Guards). Later, Naiju was revived in the original form, then abolished with the duties replaced by Otoneri (Imperial Attendants), but finally after the Konin era, Naiju and Naijusho (内豎所) were revived as subordinate organizations of Kurododokoro (Board of Archivists).