Nanushi

Nanushi (Japanese: 名主) were officials in Japan who administered villages (mura) under a district magistrate (gun-dai) in the Edo period. The most powerful nanushi, the ōjōya (大庄屋), administered up to several dozen villages, and were sometimes allowed privileges traditionally associated with the samurai class. The duties of a nanushi included tax collection and serving as the most local administrator of a rural village in direct contact with the villagers. The term nanushi was used in Kantō, while the official was called shōya (庄屋) in Kansai and kimoiri (肝煎) in Tōhoku and Hokuriku.

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