noun
Historical term for a government department between a ministry (省) and a bureau (司) under the ritsuryō system. Not used in modern administrative contexts.
See also: 律令制
律令制では、省の下に職が置かれた。
Under the ritsuryō system, agencies (職) were established below ministries.
司 is a bureau, a lower-level administrative unit than 職.
The kanji 職 originally means 'duty' or 'office'. In the ritsuryō system, it was used to designate a specific level of government agency.