History of Asia

Why did Emperor Kanmu abolish the corps?

I briefly wrote about the abolition of the corps and soldiers in the political reform of Emperor Kanmu, but I also investigated the reason for the abolition, so I wrote it.

Emperor Kanmu abolishes the corps

Emperor Kanmu Abolition of Corps Was done in 792 ..

Even though the corps has not been abolished in Tohoku and Kyushu, I wonder if the rebellion has continued since 774 (38-year war) in Tohoku. After all, Tohoku finally settled down in 811.

Emperor Kanmu in the first place 701 until disarmament Taiho Code made in The military power was maintained under the. This Taiho Code In itself, a big defeat in the war with the Tang-Silla Union and the battle of Baekgang It was made with a crisis.

In other words, gathering soldiers is not intended for Japan, but " army created for foreign war . ]. When this happens, the size of the army must be very large. Therefore, it can be said that at the beginning it was necessary to have a large army for the population.

It is said that the total force was about 200,000 for a population of about 6 to 7 million. Currently, Japan has a population of more than 120 million, so if the ratio at that time is converted to the current standard, it is calculated that there are nearly 4 million SDF personnel (actually, it is about 250,000). You can see how big it was.

Reason for disarmament

So why was it possible to reduce the number of soldiers destined for foreign countries? ??

It is necessary to look at the situation in Tang, not just in Japan.

In Tang, a large-scale rebellion from 755 to 763, An Lushan Rebellion (It is said that Yang Guifei was the origin of the turbulence). Luoyang falls , which can be said to be the sub-city of Tang The capital city, Chang'an, is also temporarily suppressed by the rebels I will fall into the situation of being done. At that time, it will be a big mess, such as requesting reinforcements to Uighur and Tibet taking advantage of the turmoil to suppress Chang'an. The prestige of the Tang dynasty was damaged, and the neighboring countries were in a situation of strengthening.

At the time of the An Lushan Rebellion, Fujiwara no Nakamaro was at the center of the administration in Japan, and it seems that Dazaifu was on high alert in consideration of the danger of rebels coming to Japan.

Anyway, An Lushan Rebellion As the borders become smaller and the power relations with neighboring countries change, is it okay for Japan to loosen its strict caution? You can see that it has become a state.

Still, if you can afford it, isn't it not necessary to disarmament until the Tohoku control is over? In the end, it was necessary to disarmament because the imperial court was running out of room.

As he wrote in the land policy shift, deterioration of tone and quality , Tax delinquency , Further deterioration of soldier quality Is becoming more prominent around the end of the 8th century. It's just the right time.

In addition, soldiers are exempt from swearing and miscellaneous tax in the taxes borne by the general public It was done. It seems that the tax exemption of a large number of citizens was a heavy burden in terms of national finance, even though the delinquency and the quality of the adjustments and diao were declining. These changes in domestic and international situations are Emperor Kanmu It can be said that it led to the abolition of the army corps.