Kannoushi - Envoy for agricultural promotion

Japanese: 勧農使 - かんのうし

From ancient times to the Middle Ages, envoys were sent by manors to their local areas before the start of farming in the spring. They promoted agriculture to ensure smooth farming throughout the year by improving ponds and ditches, allocating farmers to uncultivated fields, and arranging for seeds and farm fees. Under the Taira clan government, they were sometimes placed in provincial offices, and after the downfall of Kiso Yoshinaka in 1184, Minamoto no Yoritomo dispatched Hiki Tomomune, the Kamakura Shogunate's agricultural envoy, to the Hokuriku region. This may indicate the formation of the Kamakura Shogunate's shugo system, but in 1186 the kunijito (local land stewards) who had inherited the tradition of agricultural envoys were abolished, and the Shogunate decided not to interfere in national affairs except in the eastern provinces and Kyushu.

Source : Heibonsha Encyclopedia About MyPedia Information

Japanese:

古代から中世にかけて，春の農耕開始前に荘園領家が現地に派遣した使者。池溝の整備，不作田への作人の割付け，種子・農料の手配など一年の耕作を円滑にする勧農を行った。平氏政権下では国衙(こくが)に置かれた例もあり，1184年の木曾義仲滅亡後は源頼朝が北陸諸国に鎌倉殿勧農使比企(ひき)朝宗を派遣した。鎌倉幕府の守護制度の形成を示すとも考えられるが，1186年には勧農使の伝統を受け継いだ国地頭(くにじとう)が廃され，幕府は東国・九州を除き国務に干渉しないことになった。

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