Machi-bugyō (町奉行) were samurai officials of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan. The office was amongst the senior administrative posts open to those who were not daimyō.[1] Conventional interpretations have construed these Japanese titles as "commissioner" or "overseer" or "governor".
This bakufu title identifies a magistrate or municipal administrator with responsibility for governing and maintaining order in what were perceived to be important cities.[2]
The machi-bugyō were the central public authority in the Japanese urban centers of this period. These bakufu-appointed officers served in a unique role, which was an amalgam of chief of police, judge, and mayor. The machi-bugyō were expected to manage a full range of administrative and judicial responsibilities.[3]
The machi-bugyō was expected to be involved in tax collection, policing, and firefighting; and at the same time, the machi-bugyō needed to play a number of judicial roles – hearing and deciding both ordinary civil cases and criminal cases.[3]
Only high-ranking hatamoto were appointed to the position of machi-bugyō because of the critical importance of what they were expected to do. The machi-bugyō were considered equal in rank to the minor daimyō. There were as many as 16 machi-bugyō located throughout Japan.[3]
Shogunal city
During this period, a number of urban cities—including Edo, Kyoto, Nagasaki, Nara, Nikkō, and Osaka—were considered important; and some were designated as a "shogunal city". The number of such "shogunal cities" rose from three to eleven under Tokugawa administration.[4]