Translation and Meaning of: 役場 - yakuba

Explanation and Etymology - (役場) yakuba

役場 is a Japanese word meaning "city hall" or "seat of local government". The word is composed of the characters 役 (yaku), which means "function" or "role", and 場 (ba), which means "place" or "space". The etymological origin of the word dates back to the Edo period (1603-1868), when the central government of Japan established a system of local governance that included the creation of administrative offices in each city and town. These offices were called "yakuba" and were responsible for dealing with local administrative matters such as taxation, birth and death registration, and land management. Over time, the term "yakuba" evolved into "yakusho" and finally into "yakusho-ba", which is the short form of "yakusho-sho-ba", which means "place where the administrative office is located". . The word was later simplified to "yakuba", and finally to "yakuba". Nowadays, the word is used to refer to the seat of local government at any level, from the city to the prefecture.