Local government officials - Zaichoukanjin

Also called Chokan or Zaicho. A local official who worked in the provincial government offices of various provinces from the mid-Heian period onwards. In the original kokushi system under the Ritsuryo code, the four ranks of officials below Kami shared responsibility and handled national affairs, but from the mid-Heian period onwards, authority was concentrated in the head of the kokushikan (or, in the absence of Kami, Suke), and under the circumstances where Zonin kokushi were no longer appointed, the practical aspects of kokuga administration came to be carried out by lower-ranking officials in the region. They often had the title of Hangandai or Sou Hangandai. In many cases, they were from the local influential class that descended from the previous Gunji class, and the term Zaichokanjin first appeared in historical documents in 910 (Engi 10) in the First Appointed Kokushi Chosen (Chono Gunzai, vol. 22). They carried out their duties under the orders of the Chief of the Kokushikan, but as remote duties became more common, the local officials based themselves in their residences and took charge of the overall administration of the Kokuga. Many of them became samurai after the late Heian period, and one notable example was the Bando Heishi clan.

[Morita Tei]

"Study on the Collapse of the Kokushi System" by Yoshimura Shigeki (1957, University of Tokyo Press)" ▽ "Ritsuryo System and Aristocratic Government" by Takeuchi Rizo (1958, Ochanomizu Shobo)" ▽ "The Emergence of the Samurai" by Takeuchi Rizo (1965, Chuokoron-Shinsha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

庁官、在庁ともいう。平安中期以降、諸国国衙(こくが)で実務をとった地方役人。律令(りつりょう)本来の国司制においては、守(かみ)以下の四等官が責任を分有し国務にあたることになっていたが、平安中期以降国司官長（守ないし守を欠く場合介(すけ)）に権限が集中し、雑任(ぞうにん)国司らの赴任がみられなくなった状況下において、国衙行政の実務は在地の下役人が担うようになった。判官代(はんがんだい)ないし惣(そう)判官代を肩書とすることが多い。従前の郡司層の系譜を引く在地有力層出身の場合が多く、在庁官人という語の史料上の初出は、910年（延喜10）初任国司庁宣である（『朝野群載』22）。国司官長の命を受け、事にあたったが、遙任(ようにん)が一般化してくると、在庁官人らは留守所(るすどころ)に拠(よ)り、国衙行政の全般を取り仕切った。平安後期以降武士化する者が多く、著名なものに坂東平氏がある。

［森田　悌］

『吉村茂樹著『国司制度崩壊に関する研究』（1957・東京大学出版会）』▽『竹内理三著『律令制と貴族政権』（1958・御茶の水書房）』▽『竹内理三著『武士の登場』（1965・中央公論社）』

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