Prime Minister - Saisho

An official position in old China. The highest administrative head who assists the emperor in governing the country, equivalent to the Prime Minister. However, there is not always one person, and there can be several. The name "Prime Minister" is said to come from a type of cook who was the chief of the slaves in the emperor's entourage in ancient times, but the name has varied throughout the ages and has often changed even within a single dynasty. Roughly speaking, in the Former Han Dynasty, it was the Prime Minister, the Grand Marshal, and the Chief Censor, and in the Later Han Dynasty, it was the Grand Marshal, the Situ, and the Sikong, which were called the Three Dukes. In the Tang Dynasty system, it was the Shangshu Ling, or the alternatives, the Left and Right Ministers, the Zhongshu Ling, and the Menxia Shizhong, but later, the Tongzhongshu Menxia Pingzhangji, or Tongpingzhangji for short, became the role of Prime Minister, and this continued until the Northern Song Dynasty. In the Southern Song Dynasty, they were the Left and Right Prime Ministers, and from the Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty they were the Cabinet Grand Scholars, but from the time of the Qing Emperor Yongzheng, they were replaced by the Minister of Military Affairs.

In Japan, it was used as the Tang dynasty name for a councilor, and is now sometimes used as an alternative name for the Prime Minister.

[Miyazaki City]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

旧中国の官職。天子を助けて政治を行う最高の行政首長をいい、内閣総理大臣に相当する。ただし1人とは限らず、数人に及ぶこともある。宰相という名は、上古の天子側近の奴隷の長である料理番の類に由来するといわれるが、歴代その名を異にし、一王朝でもしばしば変更される。ごく大まかにいえば、前漢では丞相(じょうしょう)、太尉(たいい)、御史大夫(ぎょしたいふ)、後漢(ごかん)では太尉、司徒、司空で、これを三公という。唐の制では尚書令、またはこれにかわる左(さ)・右僕射(うぼくや)と、中書令、門下侍中であるが、のちに同中書門下平章事、略して同平章事が宰相の任となり、北宋(ほくそう)まで続いた。南宋(なんそう)では左・右丞相、明(みん)から清(しん)初までは内閣大学士で、清の雍正帝(ようせいてい)時代から軍機処大臣がこれにかわった。

　なお、日本では参議の唐名として使われ、現在は総理大臣の異称として使われることがある。

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