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The Taihō Code or Code of Taihō (大宝律令 Taihō-ritsuryō?) was an administrative reorganization enacted in 701 in Japan, at the end of the Asuka period. Events By Place Europe For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. The, was a period in the History of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 (or 592-645 although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. [1] It was historically one of the Ritsuryō-sei (律令制 ritsuryō-sei?). is the historical Law system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism in Japan. It was compiled at the direction of Prince Osakabe, Fujiwara no Fuhito and Awata no Mahito at the request of Emperor Mommu and, like many other developments in the country at the time, it was largely an adaptation of the governmental system of China's Tang Dynasty. Prince Osakabe (刑部(忍壁親王 Osakabe Shinnō)(d 705 was a Japanese imperial prince who helped write the Taihō Code, alongside Fujiwara no Fuhito Fujiwara no Fuhito (藤原不比等 659&ndash720 was a powerful member of the imperial court of Japan during the Asuka and Nara periods Second son Emperor Mommu (文武天皇 Monmu-tennō) (683-707 was the 42nd imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National The Tang Dynasty ( Middle Chinese: dhɑng (June 18 618&ndashJune 4 907 was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by

The establishment of the Taihō Code was one of the first events to include Confucianism as a significant element in the Japanese code of ethics and government. Confucianism ( is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the fifth century B The Code was revised during the Nara Period to accommodate certain Japanese traditions and practical necessities of administration. The of the History of Japan covers the years from AD 710 to 794. The revised edition was named the Yōrō Code (養老律令 Yōrō-ritsuryō?)[2]. The was one iteration of several codes or governing rules compiled in early Nara period in Classical Japan. Major work on the Yōrō Code was completed in 718. However, for some elements of the Code, Chinese logic and morals were taken to extremes.

The Taihō Code contained only two major departures from the Tang model. First, government positions and class status were based on birth, as had always been the Japanese tradition, not talent, as was the Chinese way. Second, the Japanese rejected the Chinese concept of the "Mandate of Heaven," asserting that the Emperor's power comes from his imperial descent, not from his righteousness or fairness as a ruler. The Mandate of Heaven (天命 Pīnyīn: Tiānmìng is a traditional Chinese philosophical concept concerning the legitimacy of rulers The of Japan is the country's Monarch. He is the head of the Japanese Imperial Family.

This code is said to be inspired on the Code of Yonghui (永徽律令 Yonghui-ritusuryō?), enacted in 651 the Chinese (Emperor Yonghui). Background and life as Prince of Jin Li Zhi was born in 628 He was the ninth son of his father Emperor Taizong, and the third son of his mother Emperor Taizong's wife

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Governmental organization

The Taihō Code established two branches of government: the Department of Worship (神祇官 Jingi-kan?) and the Department of State (太政官 Daijō-kan?). The Jingi-kan (神祇官 was the Department of Worship, one of the two main governing departments instigated by the Ritsuryo legal system in 8th century Japan The was the Department of State in Nara and Heian period Japan and briefly under the Meiji Constitution. The Jingi-kan was the higher branch, taking precedence over the Daijō-kan and handled all spiritual, religious, or ritualistic matters. The Daijō-kan handled all secular and administrative matters.

The Jingi-kan, or Department of Worship, was responsible for annual festivals and official court ceremonies such as coronations, as well as the upkeep of shrines, the discipline of shrine wardens, and the recording and observation of oracles and divinations. A coronation is a ceremony marking the investiture of a Monarch with regal power specifically involving the placement of a crown upon his or her head and the A Shinto shrine is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine" a Shinto Kami, and is usually characterized by the presence of a (also called It is important to note that the department, though it governed all the Shinto shrines in the country, had no connection with Buddhism. is the native religion of Japan and was once its State religion. The history of Buddhism in Japan can be roughly divided into three periods namely the Nara period (up to 784 the Heian period (794–1185 and the post-Heian period

The Daijō-kan, or Department of State, handled all secular matters and was headed by the Great Council of State, which was presided over by the Daijō Daijin (太政大臣, Chancellor). The or Chancellor of the Realm was the head of the Daijō-kan, or Department of State in Heian Japan and briefly under the The Ministers of the Left and Right (Sadaijin 左大臣 and Udaijin 右大臣 respectively), Controllers of the Left and Right (Sadaiben 左大弁 and Udaiben 右大弁), four Great Councillors (Dainagon 大納言) and three Minor Councillors (Shōnagon 少納言) made up the Council, and were responsible to the Daijō-daijin. Sadaijin (左大臣 most commonly translated as "Minister of the Left" was a government position in Japan in the late Nara and Heian Udaijin (右大臣 most commonly translated as the "Minister of the Right" was a government position in Japan in the late Nara and The eight government Ministries were, in turn, responsible to the Controllers and Ministers of the Left and Right.

Provincial organization and administration

Map of provinces in 701–702
Map of provinces in 701–702

The country was divided into provinces called kuni (国), and the central government appointed administrative governors, kokushi (国司), divided into four levels (the Shitokan), kami, suke, jo and sakan to each province. Events By Place Europe Events By Place Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Emperor Justinian II Rhinotmetus, regains his throne Before the modern prefecture system was established the land of Japan was divided into tens of kuni (国 countries) usually known in The provinces were further divided into districts called gun (郡) or kōri, which were administered by locally appointed officials called gunji (郡司). The was most recently used as an administrative unit in Japan between 1878 and 1921 and is roughly equivalent to the County of the United States, ranking at the level below These local officials were primarily responsible for keeping the peace, collecting taxes, recruiting labor for the corvée, and for keeping registers of population and land allotment. Corvée is labour often but not always unpaid that persons in power have authority to compel their subjects to perform unless commuted in some way such as by a cash payment sometimes this was Within the districts' further subdivisions, local organization varied greatly, but often resembled the arrangement of a township of fifty or so homes led by a headman.

The number of provinces was not fixed, however. As new land was developed, new provinces came into being. At the time of the Code's enactment, there were sixty-six provinces comprising 592 districts.

Korean influence

The Chinese system known as ritsuryō in Japan was adopted by both the kingdoms of the Korean peninsula and Japan at the same time. is the historical Law system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism in Japan.

According to Shoku Nihongi, The participation member of Taiho Code was the 18 Japanese aristocrats and one Chinese scholar (薩弘恪 Satsu Koukaku) [3]Chinese scholar Satsu played an important role. The is an imperially commissioned history of Japan written in the early Heian period He participated in the edit of Nihonshoki, and often received the reward from the Japanese emperor. The, sometimes translated as The Chronicles of Japan, is the second oldest book of classical Japanese history. The of Japan is the country's Monarch. He is the head of the Japanese Imperial Family. [4]

However, According to William Ferris, eight of the nineteen members of the committee drafting the Taihō Code were from Korean immigrant families residing in Japan. When excluding the high aristocrats, who probably did little of the actual writing, about half of the authors of Japan's most comprehensive set of Chinese laws came from Korea. He is believed the Korean connection may have given the Japanese law codes their distinctive character. Furthermore, the idea of local administrative districts (hyō, kohori) and the tribute tax were based on Korean models. Even the system by which farmers divided arable land into uniform parcels (jōri sei) used the Korean foot (koma jaku) as its basic unit of measurement. [5]　

Chronology

Current understanding of the conditions which preceded the Taihō reforms remains replete with unanswerable questions, but there is much which can be inferred -- for example:

"The Reform of 645 was much more abrupt and radical than the similar change of 1868. In the former, the nation at large was morely [sic] passive, for a few statesmen accomplished the sweeping transformation. In 1868, although the Imperial throne was the inspiration of the movement, the actual work was participated [sic] by a considerable section of the nation. Moreover, the Japanese of the nineteenth century were more prepared, politically, socially, and intellectually, for their new life, than were those of the seventh for theirs. To say nothing of the training of the feudal regime which the former had received, they had been incomparably better trained mentally than their forefathers of 645, for there had been among them an intellectual revival, and some of them had sharpened their appetite for knowledge by studying Dutch books. [6]

Any examinations of the earliest known texts become exercises in historiography -- for example:

"Something must be said respecting the form in which the [Taihō] Code has come down to us. It exists only in the edition of 833, which contains, besides the text of 701, the official commentaries compiled in 718 and 833. The dates are not noted, and hence it will be an important question how much was the original law of 701. The work is written in three different types which interlace one another in each article, the first being the largest, the second smaller, and the third in the form of double-lined gloss. Of these, the first forms the main text, while the other two are comments on it. Of these, the first forms the main text, while the other two are comments on it. Of the latter, again, the second type occupies a far smaller portion of the commentary than the third. We establish that the third type was written after and the other two before 809, for an edict of that year cites passages from the latter two, but does not refer to the corresponding portion of the former which, if it had then existed, could not from its nature have escaped reference. This evidence would seem tantamount to saying that the third type represents the commentary of 833, for no other comment was made between 809 and 833 which has been accepted in the work of the latter year. "[7]

Although essential as a starting point, any list of serial events will reveal only part of the unfolding story - for example:

Notes

  1. ^ In the name "Taihō Code," the noun "Taihō" refers to the nengō (Japanese era name) after "Shuchō" and before "Keiun. The Japanese era calendar scheme is a common Calendar scheme used in Japan, which identifies a year by the combination of the and the year number within the era The Japanese era calendar scheme is a common Calendar scheme used in Japan, which identifies a year by the combination of the and the year number within the era alternatively read as Suchō or Akamitori, was a after a gap following Hakuchi (650-654 and before another gap lasting until ''Taihō'' (701-704 also known as Kyōun, is a Japanese era name following Taihō and preceding Wadō. " In other words, the Taihō Code was promulgated during Taihō, which was a time period spanning the years from 701 through 704. Events By Place Europe Events By Place Byzantine Empire Justinian II re-takes the throne of the Byzantine Empire.
  2. ^ In the name "Yōrō Code," the noun "Yōrō" refers to the nengō (Japanese era name) after "Reiki" and before "Jinki. was a after Reiki and before Jinki. This period spanned the years from 717 through 724. The Japanese era calendar scheme is a common Calendar scheme used in Japan, which identifies a year by the combination of the and the year number within the era The Japanese era calendar scheme is a common Calendar scheme used in Japan, which identifies a year by the combination of the and the year number within the era is a Spiritual practice developed in 1922 by Mikao Usui. After three weeks of Fasting and Meditating on Mount Kurama, in Japan " In other words, the Yōrō Code was promulgated during Yōrō, which was a time period spanning the years from 717 through 724. Events By Place Europe March 21 — The Battle of Vincy is fought between Charles Martel and Ragenfrid. For the area code see Area code 724 Events By Place Asia Emperor Shōmu succeeds Empress Genshō
  3. ^ 続日本紀 巻第一 文武天皇四年 "甲午。勅淨大參刑部親王。直廣壹藤原朝臣不比等。直大貳粟田朝臣眞人。直廣參下毛野朝臣古麻呂。直廣肆伊岐連博得。直廣肆伊余部連馬養。勤大壹薩弘恪。勤廣參土部宿祢甥。勤大肆坂合部宿祢唐。務大壹白猪史骨。 追大壹黄文連備。田邊史百枝。道君首名。狹井宿祢尺麻呂。追大壹鍜造大角。進大壹額田部連林。進大貳田邊史首名。山口伊美伎大麻呂。直廣肆調伊美伎老人等。撰定律令。賜祿各有差。"
  4. ^ 続日本紀 持統六年 "十二月辛酉朔甲戌。賜音博士續守言。薩弘恪水田人四町"
  5. ^ Ferris, William. (1998). Sacred Texts and Buried Treasures: Issues in the Historical Archaeology of Ancient Japan, p. 105. 　　... link to digitized page, plausible source for as-yet unverified claims in this paragraph
  6. ^ Asakawa, Kan'ichi. (1903). The Early Institutional Life of Japan: A Study in the Reform of 645, p. 324 n. 3.
  7. ^ Asakawa, p. 13.
  8. ^ Asakawa, pp. 267-268.

References

See also

is the historical Law system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism in Japan. The was one iteration of several codes or governing rules compiled in early Nara period in Classical Japan. The Ōmi code (近江令 refers to a collection of governing rules compiled in 668 hence being the first collection of Ritsuryo laws in Classical Japan. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code (飛鳥浄御原令 Asuka Kiyomihara-ryō) refers to a collection of governing rules compiled and promulgated in 689 one of the first if not The is a Research institution affiliated with the University of Tokyo that is devoted to the analysis compilation and publication of historical source materials concerning Japan is the section of the Japanese Imperial Palace called the "Dairi" (内裏 where Imperial Family and court ladies lived
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