Folklore includes idioms.
were magistrates or municipal administrators with responsibility for governing and maintaining order in the shogunal city of Edo .. Machi-bugyo were samurai officials of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan .. samurai. samurai. Tokugawa shogunate. Tokugawa shogunate. Edo period. Edo period. Appointments to this prominent office were usually hatamoto , this was amongst the senior administrative posts open to those who were not daimyo .. hatamoto. hatamoto. Conventional interpretations have construed these Japanese titles as `` commissioner '' or `` overseer '' or `` governor . ''. During the Edo period , there were generally two hatamoto serving simultaneously as Edo machi-bugyo .. Edo period. Edo period. hatamoto. hatamoto. There were two Edo machi-bugyo-sho within the jurisdictional limits of metropolitan Edo ; and during the years from 1702 though 1719 , there was also a third appointed machi-bugyo .. The Edo machi-bugyo were the central public authorities in this significant urban center .. These men were bakufu-appointed officials fulfilling a unique role .. They were an amalgam of chief of police , judge , and mayor .. The machi-bugyo were expected to manage a full range of administrative and judicial responsibilities .. Each machi-bugyo was involved in tax collection , policing , and firefighting ; and at the same time , each played a number of judicial roles -- hearing and deciding both ordinary civil cases and criminal cases .. In this period , the machi-bugyo were considered equal in status to the minor daimyo .. At any one time , there were as many as 16 machi-bugyo located throughout Japan , and there were always two in Edo .