Official - Gonkan

One of the posts placed outside the fixed number of posts set by the ritsuryo system. It is not always easy to distinguish between gonkan and ingeikan, but gonkan are posts that are not limited to the fixed number of posts as seikan under the ritsuryo system, and were mainly appointed as Kyoto officials and local officials during the Nara period. Since the imperial edict of 781 (Ten'o 1) abolished all ingei posts, both internal and external, civil and military, except for gunji and gunki, gonkan have flourished in their place. However, although gonkan do appear in the Nara period, most of them were "temporary posts," meaning that they were temporarily involved in the management of government affairs. The appointment of Fujiwara no Tamaro as Chue gondaisho in 779 (Hōki 10) may have been the first time that a regular gonkan was seen. After that, the number of gonkan for both internal and external posts increased during the Heian period.

[Naohiko Watanabe]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

令制(りょうせい)で定められた定員以外に置かれた官の一つ。権官と員外官との区別はかならずしも容易ではないが、員外官は令規の正官と並ぶ定員外の官で、主として奈良時代に京官、地方官に任命された。781年（天応1）の詔により、郡司、軍毅(ぐんき)を除いて、内外文武官を問わず、員外の任はいっさい廃止されて以来、権官がこれにかわって盛行する。ただし、奈良時代においても権官はみえるが、多くは「かりの官」として、暫定的に政務の運営に参与させたという意味である。779年（宝亀10）藤原田麻呂(たまろ)をもって中衛(ちゅうえ)権大将に任命したのが正規の権官の初見か。以後、平安時代に入ると内外官ともに権官が増加する。

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