The Privy Council is a group of advisors that counsels the sovereign in matters of state. Essentially the same as the Cabinet. The Naiden would thus be equivalent to the Oval Office, or more generally the White House, while the Gaiden could be analogized to the Capitol.

The ritual boundaries described in this chapter are not foreign to modern politics. For example, the President of the United States cannot enter the House or Senate without being formally invited (typically for the State of the Union). Similar rules dictate when the Queen of Great Britain can enter Parliament.

See the notes for chapter 2 for a further discussion of the Rikkan.

外殿　[がいでん]　Gaiden, lit. "outer palace"
内殿　[ないでん]　Naiden, lit. "inner palace"
冢宰　[ちょうさい]　Chousai (title), Minister-in-Chief of the Rikkan
靖共　[せいきょう]　Seikyou
太宰　[だざい]　Tasai (title), head minister of the Ministry of Heaven
瑛州　[えいしゅう]　Ei Province