院庁いんのちょう

also: いんちょう

Meanings

office of a retired emperor

Historical term referring to the administrative office of a retired emperor (上皇) in the Heian period and later. Used in contexts discussing Japanese court history.

院庁いんのちょうは、上じょう皇こうの政せい務むを補ほ佐さする機き関かんだった。
The In-no-chō was an organ that assisted the retired emperor in governmental affairs.
白しら河かわ上じょう皇こうは院庁いんのちょうを通つうじて政せい治じを行おこなった。
Retired Emperor Shirakawa conducted politics through the In-no-chō.

Kanji

院Inst., institution, temple
庁government office

Related words

院いん政せい
院政 refers to the system of rule by a retired emperor, while 院庁 is the specific administrative office that supported that rule.

Written forms

院庁Usage100%
- いんのちょう
  Standard kanji spelling for the office of a retired emperor.
- いんちょう
  Alternate reading いんちょう, restricted to the 院庁 spelling; less common than いんのちょう.
院いんの庁ちょう
Explicit spelling with の, making the reading いんのちょう unambiguous.
いんちょう

Etymology

Compound of 院 (in, 'retired emperor') and 庁 (chō, 'government office'). The reading いんのちょう reflects the historical possessive particle の, while いんちょう is a contracted reading.