In principle, these ministries were composed of four classes of government officials (shitokan), namely kami (director), suke (assistant director), jo (inspector), and sakan (secretary), and their authorities were also defined by law.
これらの官庁は原則として長官（かみ）、次官（すけ）、判官（じょう）、主典（さかん）の4等級の官吏で構成され(四等官）、それぞれの権限も法によって規定されている。