Monchujo - Monchujo

This was the government office of the Kamakura and Muromachi Shogunates. It was established in October 1184 (Juei 3) during the Kamakura Shogunate. The chief was called a steward, and the first steward was Miyoshi Yasunobu, a nobleman who had come down from Kyoto and excelled in administrative skills. Under the steward were officials called Yoryudo, who handled general lawsuits in the Kanto region. When the Hikitsukeshu were established in 1249 (Kencho 1), the Shomuzata, which handled disputes over the domains, was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Hikitsuke, and only the miscellaneous affairs dealing with movable property rights and credits remained. The Machino and Ota clans, descendants of the Miyoshi clan, inherited the position of steward.

It is thought that the office was established in 1336 (Kenmu 3, Engen 1) during the Muromachi Shogunate. The Machino and Ota clans were appointed as stewards, continuing from the previous generation. The court's function was lost relatively early on, and only the function of storing records from ancient times to the present remained. As an institution with a long history dating back to the Kamakura Shogunate, the steward's family held high status, but in practice they only had the authority to determine the authenticity of documents.

[Kouen Kuwayama]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

鎌倉・室町幕府の政務機関。鎌倉幕府では1184年（寿永3）10月創設。長官を執事とよび、初代の執事には京都から下った公家(くげ)で事務能力に長じた三善康信(みよしやすのぶ)が任ぜられた。執事のもとに寄人(よりゅうど)とよばれる職員がおり、関東の訴訟一般を取り扱った。1249年（建長1）引付(ひきつけ)衆が置かれると、所領の相論を扱う所務沙汰(しょむざた)は引付の管轄に移され、動産物権・債権などを扱う雑務沙汰のみが残された。三善氏の子孫である町野氏、太田氏が執事を世襲した。

　室町幕府においては1336年（建武3・延元1）中に設置されたものと考えられる。執事には前代に引き続いて町野・太田両氏が任ぜられた。裁判機能は比較的早い時期に失われ、ただ古今の記録を保管する機能のみ残った。鎌倉幕府以来の由緒ある機関であったので執事家の格式は高かったが、実務面では文書の真偽を判定する程度の権限しかなかった。

［桑山浩然］

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