Dainagon (大納言) was a counselor of the first rank in the Imperial court of Japan.[1] The role dates from the 7th century.
This advisory position remained a part of the Imperial court from the 8th century until the Meiji period in the 19th century.[2]
The post was created in 702 by the Taihō Code, and evolved out of the earlier post Oimonomōsu-tsukasa. Holders of the office were of the Senior Third Rank. They assisted the Minister of the Left (the Sadaijin) and the Minister of the Right (the Udaijin).[3]
By the mid-17th century, the Dainagon counselor or state, was expected to work closely the Minister of the Center (the Naidaijin), whose position ranked just below the Udaijin and the Sadaijin. This court position evolved to ensure that someone will be always prepared to replace or assist the main court officials if, for any reason, it should be impossible for one of the two senior counselors to devote himself to his duties and responsibilities in all matters.[4]
The Dainagon ranked just above all other kuge in the kugyō except the Daijō-daijin, Udaijin,Sadaijin, and Naidaijin.
This ancient office would have been roughly equivalent to that of vice-minister in the modern cabinet system. It was abolished in 1871.[5]
Any exercise of meaningful powers of court officials in the pre-Meiji period reached its nadir during the years of the Tokugawa shogunate, and yet the core structures of ritsuryō government did manage to endure for centuries.[6]
In order to appreciate the office of Dainagon, it is necessary to evaluate its role in the traditional Japanese context of a durable yet flexible framework. In this bureaucratic network and a hierarchy of functionaries, the Dainagon functioned like mouthpieces to and from the board, and in consultation with the board.[7]
The role of Dainagon was an important element in the Daijō-kan (Council of State). The Daijō-kan schema proved to be adaptable in the creation of constitutional government in the modern period.[8]
The highest positions in the court hierarchy can be cataloged.[9] A dry list provides a superficial glimpse inside the complexity and inter-connected relationships of the Imperial court structure.
The government ministries were eight semi-independent bureaucracies. A list alone cannot reveal much about the actual functioning of the Daijō-kan, but the broad hierarchical categories do suggest the way in which governmental functions were parsed:
^Dickson, Walter G. et al. (1898). "The Eight Boards of Government" in Japan, pp. 55-78., p. 56, at Google Books; excerpt at p. 56, "Klaproth has given in his "Annals of the Emperors" a sketch of these eight boards, with the offices under each. It is ... a concise account of the government of Japan. The study of such a subject is rather dry and uninteresting, but it is necessary for any one who wishes to make himself acquainted with Japanese history, either of the past or of the present day...."
