The Samurai-dokoro (侍所 - Board of Retainers) was an office of the Kamakura and Muromachi shogunates. The role of the Samurai-dokoro was to take the leadership of gokenin, the shogun's retainers, and to be in charge of the imprisonment of criminals. It was established in 1180 by Minamoto no Yoritomo, the founder of the Kamakura shogunate.

History

Kamakura period During the Kamakura period, the Samurai-dokoro was in charge of calling in and directing the gokenin, the shogun's retainers. It was also in charge of the imprisonment of criminals.

The office was administered by officials called shoshi or samuraidokoro-no-tsukasa, who were made up from the most powerful gokenin. The most senior of the officials, the president of the Samurai-dokoro, was called bettō. The office was established by Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1180, who appointed Wada Yoshimori its first bettō. However, after Yoshimori was killed during the Wada Rebellion, the shikken (regent of the shogunate) took over the post of bettō.

In the Engyobon Heike Monogatari, the Samurai-dokoro was established upon the request of Wada Yoshimori, and it was modeled after the Taira government period office called samurai bettō that Fujiwara no Tadakiyo was appointed to rule over the samurai of the eight provinces of Bandō (present-day Kantō region). If this is true, the Samurai-dokoro was not modeled after the household agency of noble families that shares the same name.

As Yoritomo's position rose, the Samurai-dokoro began to also take on the role of a domestic administration institution. In the Kenkyū era, Wada Yoshimori, the bettō, was in charge of military affairs in general as well as domestic administration, and Kajiwara Kagetoki, a shoshi, was in charge of directing the gokenin, the basis of the Kamakura shogunate.

Muromachi period Under the Muromachi shogunate, the Samurai-dokoro was led by a tōnin or shoshi, who was assisted by a shoshi-dai. Bugyōnin was in charge of administrative paperwork, and there were junior officers, kodoneri, zōshiki, and others. Additionally, kaikō took on the duties of a clerk, metsuke worked as an inspector, and yoriudo took on the duties of an investigator, among other officials.

The Samurai-dokoro was largely dependent on the military power of the daimyo, and in reality the shoshi-dai, a high-ranking retainer of the shoshi, was in charge of the Samurai-dokoro. During events like the Tsuchi-ikki peasant uprising, a powerful military was required to suppress the chaotic situation, and in such cases the Samurai-dokoro asked help from the daimyo and the kenmon (powerful families).

Between the late Muromachi period and the Sengoku period, shoshi and shoshi-dai were no longer appointed, and the kaikō was in turn charge of the Samurai-dokoro. The shogunate bugyōnin was appointed this post and was either from the Matsuda clan or the Īno'o clan. The kaikō was required to stay in Kyoto and be in charge of Kyoto's public security and the management of prisons, and also served as an advisor to the shogun and other kenmon on judgements. Additionally, after mid-Muromachi period, the kaikō formed its own military by recruiting local Kyoto jizamurai and skilled vagrants. After the Ōnin War (1467-77), the military power of the shoshi weakened, and the kaikō's hikan and the officials of another Samurai-dokoro took over the public security. Additionally, the military power of the kaikō directly played a part in the military power of the Ashikaga shoguns, and according to the records at the time, the kaikō could mobilize an estimated 200 to 300 men.

Bettō NameTermWada Yoshimori1180 - 119?Ōtomo Yoshinao (acting)1194Kajiwara Kagetoki119? - 1199Wada Yoshimori1200 - 1213Hōjō Yoshitoki1213 - 1224Hōjō Yasutoki1224 - 1242Hōjō Tsunetoki1242 - 1246Hōjō Tokiyori1246 - 1256Hōjō Nagatoki1256 - 1264Hōjō Masamura1264 - 1268Hōjō Tokimune1268 - 1284Hōjō Sadatoki1284 - 1301Hōjō Morotoki1301 - 1311Hōjō Munenobu1311 - 1312Hōjō Hirotoki1312 - 1315Hōjō Mototoki1315 - 1316Hōjō Takatoki1316 - 1326Hōjō Sadaaki1326Hōjō Moritoki1326 - 1333Hōjō Sadayuki1333

Tōnin NameTermMiura Sadatsura1336Sasaki Nakachika1336Kō no Moroyasu1336Miura Takatsugu1337Minami Munetsugu1338 - 1339Hosokawa Kazuuji1340Hosokawa Akiuji1340 - 1344Niki Yoshinaga1344Yamana Tokiuji1345Hosokawa Akiuji1346Niki Yoriaki1350Hosokawa Yoriharu1352Kyōgoku Hidetsuna1352Toki Yoriyasu1353 - 1354Satake Yoshiatsu1354 - 1357Kyōgoku Takahide1357 - 1363Toki Naouji1364 - 1365Shiba Yoshitane1365 - 1366Niki Yorinatsu1366Imagawa Sadayo1366 - 1367Imagawa Kuniyasu1368Toki Yasuyuki1369Kyōgoku Takahide1370 - 1372Toki Yoshiyuki1373Imagawa Kuniyasu1373Hosokawa Yorimoto1373 - 1375Yamana Tokiyoshi1375Hatakeyama Motokuni1376Yamana Ujikiyo1377Imagawa Yasunori1378Yamana Yoshiyuki1378 - 1379Toki Akinao1380Isshiki Akinori1381 - 1383Yamana Tokiyoshi1384 - 1385Toki Mitsusada1385Yamana Tokiyoshi1386Akamatsu Yoshinori1388Toki Yorimasu1388 - 1389Akamatsu Yoshinori1389 - 1391Hatakeyama Motokuni1392 - 1394Kyōgoku Takanori1394 - 1398Akamatsu Yoshinori1399 - 1402Toki Yorimasu1403 - 1403Kyōgoku 1403Isshiki1405 - 1406Akamatsu Yoshinori1406 - 1408Kyōgoku Takamitsu1409Akamatsu Mitsusuke1411 - 1413Yamana Tokihiro1414Isshiki Yoshitsura1414 - 1421Kyōgoku Takakazu1421 - 1428Akamatsu Mitsusuke1428 - 1432Isshiki Yoshitsura1432 - 1436Akamatsu Mitsusuke1438Toki Mochimasu1439Yamana Mochitoyo1440 - 1441Kyōgoku Mochikiyo1441 - 1447Isshiki Norichika1447 - 1449Kyōgoku Mochikiyo1449 - 1466Akamatsu Masanori1471 - 1483Kyōgoku Kimune1485

See also Kondeidokoro

References