The was a division of the eighth century Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese government of the Imperial Court in Kyoto

Imperial Court in Kyoto

thumb|left|350px|Front view of Kyoto imperial palaceImperial Court in Kyoto was the nominal ruling government of Japan from 794 AD until the Meiji Era, in which the court was moved to Tokyo and integrated into the Meiji government....

), and it is sometimes identified as the "Ministry of the Interior".
This bureaucracy was instituted in the Asuka period

Asuka period

The , was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 , although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period...

 and formalized during the Heian period

Heian period

The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

. The Ministry was replaced in the Meiji period

Meiji period

The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...

.

Overview

The ministry was organized to address the ceremonial aspects of the Imperial year, to manage the ceremonial nature of formal relations with China, Korea, and other nations, and to oversee the maintenance of Imperial tombs and mausoleums. The ceremonies of the Imperial Household evolved over time.

The ambit of the Ministry's activities encompasses, for example:

• maintenance of the roster of names of officials
• oversight of the succession and marriage of officials of and above the fifth grade of rank
• oversight of formalitie relating to deaths, funerals and the granting of posthumous rank
• management of the memorial activities which honor the anniversaries of the demise of a former Emperor
• monitoring and recording of the names of all the former Emperors, so that none of those names shall be used by any of the succeeding Emperors nor by any subject
• adjudication of disputes about the order of precedence of the various families
• supervision of all matters relating to the music
• registration of names of Buddhistic temples, priests and nuns
• reception and entertainment of foreigners and managing to their presentation to the Emperor
• maintenance of the imperial sepulchers (misasagi) and royal burial mounds (kofun
  Kofun
  Kofun are megalithic tombs or tumuli in Japan, constructed between the early 3rd century and early 7th century. They gave their name to the Kofun period . Many of the Kofun have a distinctive keyhole-shaped mound , unique to ancient Japan...
  
  ), including oversight of those in attendance upon them.

This ministry was also responsible for rules for noble families above the fifth rank.

History

The Ministry was established as part of the Taika Reforms and Ritsuryō

Ritsuryo

is the historical law system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism in Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryō is called "Ritsuryō-sei"...

laws. It was previously called Osamuru-tsukasa.

Hierarchy

The top ritsuryō officials within this ministry structure were:..., two positions. This official is charged with receiving ambassadors from China and Korea and serving as interpreters for them., two positions, two positions, two positions, two positions, two positions, two positions