Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
portsandinquiriesrelatingtohislastmonthonduty.Everydaythemagistrateondutywent
to the Castle, arriving by 10 o'clock in the morning, and not leaving until about 2 o'clock.
HisbusinesswaswiththeSeniorCouncilors,four,orsometimes five,officialswhoheaded
theadministrationandwereresponsibletotheShogunforawiderangeofaffairs.Hewould
report to them any action he had taken and receive their orders.
ThepostofEdomagistratewasreservedforretainersoftheShogunwiththelowrating
of500
koku,
butitcarriedwithitanallowanceof3,000
koku.
Thecourtrankthatwentwith
the position was equal to that of some
daimyō,
and another indication of its importance is
thatoutstandingholdersofotherpoststhatweretechnicallyequalinstatusweresometimes
transferred to that of Edo magistrate. His life was a busy one, for on his return to his office
he would have to deal with the accumulation of paper work and other routine matters. He
was not only responsible for the policing of Edo, but also dealt with civil disputes and is-
sued travel passes. He did not, however, have to deal with
samurai
and priests, for whom
therewerespecial officials. Thesehewouldmeet threetimes amonthwhen,withtheSeni-
orCouncilorsandothers,theywouldformasortofhighcourttodealwiththemoreserious
cases.
Each magistrate had immediately under him
25
yoriki
or assistant magistrates. They
too were
samurai,
direct retainers of the Shogun, with a rating of 200
koku. Yoriki
who
were employed in other departments would normally receive personal appointments and
nothavehereditaryentryintotheirpositions,butthosewhoworkedfortheEdomagistrates
in practice followed their fathers and grandfathers into their profession, entering a sort of
apprenticeship at the age of 13 or thereabouts. This strong family tradition meant that the
yoriki
really knew their Edo, and they clearly formed the permanent cadre of experience
and knowledge that the magistrate himself, especially when newly appointed, would rely
on for the day-to-day running of his office.
The yoriki
had no hope of promotion, and lived
alltogetherinthesamequarters.Theythusformedatightgroup,cutoffbytheirprofession
andclassfromthetownsmenwithwhomtheywereindailycontact,andalsodiscriminated
against by their superiors, for their work debarred them from entering the Castle, for fear
that they would bring in contamination because of their connection with death when crim-
inals were executed—even though the actual execution was carried out by “non-humans.”
The
yoriki
have the reputation of having been very proud of their appearance, with hair
kept very neat, and always wearing two swords, with
hakama
and
haori.
It is probable that
theirofficial income wasaugmented bysubstantial giftsfrom
daimyō,
inreturnforlooking
after their retainers when they got drunk and disorderly.
