History of Asia

When and for what purpose was the Goseibai Shikimoku made? ??

During the Heian period, aristocrats hired samurai and followed them, but at the end of the period, samurai who began to have powers like Taira no Kiyomori were born and came to take control of the central government.

The power struggle became active among the samurai, and in 1180, the Genpei VS Taira clan [ Genpei War ] Occurs, Minamoto no Yoritomo wins [ Kamakura Shogunate ] Was born.

Being the first samurai government in Japan, various standards were needed to unite the samurai (gokenins). Therefore, the authority that played a central role in the shogunate ・ Mr. Hojo Is the law for samurai (gokenins) [ Goseibai Shikimoku 】is created.

Therefore, this time, the law that influenced the later Muromachi Shogunate and the Edo Shogunate [ Goseibai Shikimoku ] I would like to write about.

Goseibai Shikimoku and the background of its establishment

The Goseibai Shikimoku is a text of the precedents since Minamoto no Yoritomo and the customs and actual conditions of the samurai society. 1232 It is the first samurai law in Japan made in Japan.

This Goseibai Shikimoku is the third generation of authority, Hojo Yasutoki It is a law for gokenins enacted mainly by the government, and it has been notified to all the priests through the protection of all parts of the country.

When the Kamakura Shogunate was first established, the Kamakura Shogunate dominated eastern Japan, the imperial court ruled western Japan, and Japan was divided and governed in the east and west for about 30 years.

This situation will change completely [ Jokyu War 】was.

Emperor Go-Toba on the imperial court raises troops against the Kamakura Shogunate, but is defeated by the Shogunate army led by Yoshitoki Hojo, the second-generation authority, and Emperor Go-Toba is washed away to the island of Oki.

The Kamakura Shogunate, which won the Jōkyu War, expanded its control over the whole country and restricted the control of the imperial court.

The Kamakura Shogunate has expanded its control nationwide, but since the establishment of the Shogunate in the samurai society, [ law ] There was no such thing.

Since the Jokyu War, legal conflicts have begun to occur between the gokenins and the inhabitants who have been assigned to rural areas under national rule.

Even now, there are differences in lifestyles depending on the region. Moreover, since it was in the Kamakura period, it is no wonder that the customs, dialects, and ethics differ from region to region, and that there is a dispute.

It seems that the same crime was not guilty in some areas.

If this happens, injustice will emerge in the governing area, leading to a rebellion of the inhabitants.

[ Goseibai Shikimoku was created to solve these governance problems. 】was.

Contents of Goseibai Shikimoku

At the beginning of the enactment, the Goseibai Shikimoku consisted of 31 articles, but it was added with the times and became a samurai law consisting of 51 articles.

The decree was mainly applied to gokenins within the control of the shogunate.

  • Purpose of establishment … Shows the criteria for fair judgment of conflicts between gokenins and lords of the manor
  • Scope of law ... The Goseibai Shikimoku is a law for samurai, and Yasutoki Hojo himself says that it does not deny the Kuge Law.

As the shogunate's rule increased, its scope of application expanded.

The most notable point in the Goseibai Shikimoku is ...

  1. The authority of protection is stipulated in the ban reminder (ordering the escort of the imperial court to the gokenin), the crackdown on crimes such as rebels and murderers, and the authority of the priest is stipulated in the collection of annual tribute
  2. It was decided to dismiss the position and punish it when the guardian and Jito cheated.
  3. The shogunate stipulates that the Shogunate will not intervene in trials within the territory of the Gokenin
  4. The land given by Minamoto no Yoritomo and Hojo Masako will not be confiscated under any complaints
  5. If you have effective control for more than 20 years, you are not obliged to return it even if the written owner is different

To explain in order ...

  1. The one that defines the authority of protection is called [Daibon Sankajo], and other acts of over-righting are prohibited.
  2. It is written that if the guardian confiscates the territory of a person without permission or does not pay the annual tribute collected by the Jito, he will dispose of it.
  3. The Goseibai Shikimoku is set by the Shogunate for the Gokenin, and it is stipulated that the Shogunate is not involved in private cases that occur within the territory of the Gokenin.
  4. 4 and 5 are set as the main premise of the trial, and the law is adjusted to the actual condition of land ownership.

It was a big deal to allow the statute of limitations for land conflicts.

Even if it is an ancestral land, it can be regained when the child becomes unfaithful [ right to regret ] Was admitted because it was unique to the samurai.

Also, as I wrote in the article about Shugo Jito, it also defines the contents of the work of Shugo and Jito.

There is one guardian in each country, but the only job is to urge the Kyoto guards (Kyoto ban'yaku), who are said to have three major criminals, and to arrest rebels and murderers. Jito is placed in each mansion or territory, and it is written that the work is to collect annual tribute and to do police work.

After that, the addition of shikimoku, which is an additional method, was issued and added to the text.

The Goseibai Shikimoku influenced the subsequent samurai government

The Goseibai Shikimoku had a great influence on Japanese law.

The law was limited to samurai, but the scope of application will be expanded as the Kamakura Shogunate becomes stronger.

The fairness has been passed down through the ages, and even after the Kamakura Shogunate was destroyed, Takauji Ashikaga, the founder of the Muromachi Shogunate, inherited the Goseibai Shikimoku. After that, the Muromachi Shogunate added the ones from the Muromachi period to the Goseibai Shikimoku as "additions since Kenbu".

It is a Goseibai Shikimoku that seems to have been made in a hurry due to necessity, but if you look closely at the text, it seems that there are also texts that are still valid today.

In the latter half of the Muromachi period, the law established by the Sengoku daimyo in their own territory as a branching law was born. This is also a law strongly influenced by Goseibai Shikimoku.

In the Edo period, Buke Shohatto Is enacted.

The Buke Shohatto has a strong meaning that the Edo Shogunate controls the daimyo, so I feel that it is a little different from the law of the entire samurai.

From these things, it can be said that the basic idea of ​​the samurai itself is a law that is almost completed by the Goseibai Shikimoku and its additional methods.