noun
magistrate; shogunate administrator
Historical term for a magistrate or administrator in the Edo-period shogunate, responsible for specific areas such as finance, temples, or town affairs.
江戸時代、町奉行は江戸の行政と司法を担当した。
In the Edo period, the town magistrate was responsible for the administration and judiciary of Edo.
The finance magistrate was an important post that managed the shogunate's finances.
From the kanji 奉 (offer, serve) and 行 (go, carry out), originally referring to an official who carried out orders on behalf of a superior. The reading ぶぎょう is the Sino-Japanese on'yomi.