Under the Ritsuryo system (a system of centralized government based on the Ritsuryo code), graves, including imperial mausoleums, were supposed to be managed by the central government, and the codes of law formulated during the Taiho and Yoro eras (known respectively as the Taiho-ryo and the Yoro-ryo) defined a government officer (called "shoryoshi" in Japanese) who managed graves under the supervision of the Ministry of Civil Administration (Jibusho).
律令制下においては、天皇陵をはじめとする陵墓は国家によって管理されることになっており、大宝令・養老令では担当部署として治部省下に諸陵司が置かれている。