Kuge
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The '''''kuge''''' (公家) was a [[Japan]]ese [[aristocratic]] [[Social class|class]] that dominated the Japanese imperial court in [[Kyoto]] until the rise of the [[Shogunate]] in the [[12th century]] at which point it was eclipsed by the [[daimyo]]. The ''kuge'' still provided a weak court around the [[Emperor of Japan|Emperor]] right up until the [[Meiji Restoration]].
The word means literally "public house" or "public family" and originally described the Emperor and his court. The meaning of the word changed over time to designate [[bureaucrat]]s at the court. Later, in the [[Kamakura period]], ''kuge'' became an antonym to ''buke'' (warriors' house), that is, samurai who swore loyalty to the Shogunate. At this point, ''kuge'' began to be used to describe those who worked in the Court; both aristocratic noblemen and commoners.
Two classes formed the kuge: the ''dōjō'' (堂上) noblemen who sat on the floor with the Emperor and the ''[[jige]]'' (地下) who where unable to sit with the Emperor. Although kuge included those two classes, mainly this word described the dōjō, the noblemen.
The highest offices at the court were called ''[[kugyō]]'' (公卿) and eligibility was limited to members of dōjō kuge. During Edo period there were about 130 families of dōjō kuge. The most prominent members of the ''kuge'' became ''[[sessho]] or [[kampaku]], acting as imperial [[regent]]s. These ''[[daijō-kan]] offices were restricted to members of the [[Fujiwara family]].
Though they lost the most of their political power, they sustained the court culture and maintained a cultural influence. In particular, after the [[Sengoku]] period they lost most of their financial basis and were no longer in a position to act as patrons of culture. But they passed on their knowledge as masters of particular fields such as writing [[Waka (poetry)|waka]] and playing instruments like the [[biwa]], and had disciples among the [[daimyo]] and sometimes rich commoners. As masters of a certain field, kuge gave their disciples many licences certifying that the disciples had learned a certain field and allowed them to do practice in public or sometimes to teach others. Disciples were expected to pay their master a fee for each issued license. During the Edo period, this was an important source of income for the ''kuge''.
In [[1869]] during the [[Meiji restoration]] the ''kuge'' merged with the daimyo to form a single aristocratic group, the ''[[kazoku]]''.
Others associated with the ''kuge'' included [[Buddhist]] priests, Kyoto cultural patrons, [[geisha]], and [[actor]]s.
== Classification ==
In the 12th century among ''dōjō'' conventional differences were established separating the ''kuge'' into groups according to their office at court. These determined the highest office to which they could be appointed. Ths groupings were:
*'''''Sekke''''': could be appointed to [[sessho]] and [[kampaku]]: Highest class of kuge. Only five families belonged to this class, all derived from [[Fujiwara no Michinaga]].
*'''''Seigake''''': could be appointed ''[[daijin]]'' (minister), including ''[[daijō-daijin]]'', the highest of the four ''daijin'' of the court. They derived from the [[Fujiwara clan]] or [[Minamoto clan]], descendants of the emperors.
*'''''Daijinke''''': could be appointed ''[[naidaijin]]'', if this office became vacant. In reality, the highest office they could achieve was ''[[dainagon]]''.
*'''''Urinke''''': military class; could be appointed ''dainagon'' -- rarely to ''naidaijin''.
*'''''Meika''''': civilian class; could be appointed ''dainagon''. Sometimes referred to as ''Meike''.
*'''''Hanka''''': the lowest class among the dōjō, a class created in the late [[Sengoku period]]. They could only be appointed to lower ranks than ''[[sangi]]'' or ''[[chūnagon]]''. Sometimes referred to as ''Hanke''.
Most of highest classed kuge belonged to the [[Fujiwara clan]] and [[Minamoto clan]]. But there were still other clans like the [[Sugawara clan]], the [[Kiyohara clan]] and the [[Ōe clan]].
==See also==
*[[List of Kuge families]]
[[Category:Kuge of Classical Japan|*]]
[[Category:Kuge of Feudal Japan|*]]
[[Category:Japanese nobility]]
[[Category:Japanese historical terms]]
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