著者

高橋 秀樹

出版者

公益財団法人 史学会

雑誌

史学雑誌 (ISSN:00182478)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.100, no.9, pp.1568-1588,1669-, 1991

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In differentiating the character of the term ie 家 (family; household) found in early medieval Japanese documents with the same term found in earlier records, two points should be taken into account: ie as a social entity and ie as inherited property. In the research done to date on the subject, the origin of the medieval ie has thought to have been related to such factors as the establishment of a family occupation, a permanent family plot of land, or the family name. In the present article the author approaches its, origins through an investigation of its successors. chakushi 嫡子, from the standpoint of when these inheritors first came into existence and what exactly it was that they inherited. The medieval chakushi institution, which was far different in social significance from the rules outlined in Japan's ancient ritsuryo legal codes, first came into existence among the bureaucratic classes during the 11th and early 12th centuries and was then adopted by the aristocracy in the mid-12th century. Among the aristocrats, chakushi inherited the political power, influence and privilege of their ancestors to a much greater extent that their fellow siblings. The fact that they were entitled almost exclusively to the ownership of family records, important related documents, and paraphrenalia symbolizing the family organization is proof enough that they were truly the inheritors of the ie structure. The chakushi system was adopted by locally-based land proprietors during the early 12th century and it is thought to have been brought about by the establishment of shiki 職 rights and their inheritability. The social position of these local proprietors was usually based on their shiki rights, indicating the passage of this rights from generation to generation was none other the process of ie inheritance. Furthermore, since this indivisible set of shiki rights, privileges and duties sufficiently constituted family wealth, the concept of ie among these local families took on the character of an economic enterprise that needed to be managed. The establishment of an inheritable ie and the chakushi institution for passing it on came into existence amongst such political and social changes as the ritualization of political affairs, the farming out of administrative duties, and the rigid systemization of shiki rights. Since these changes came in response to the needs of the state, the aristocracy and powerful religious institutions, the author is led to the conclusion that the medieval (inheritable) ie and the chakushi system of inheritance both were established as means for satisfying these needs in the best way possible.