Yōrō Code

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Pre-modern Japan
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Part of a series on the politics and
government of Japan during the
Nara and Heian periods
Chancellor / Chief Minister
 Daijō-daijin
Minister of the Left Sadaijin
Minister of the Right Udaijin
Minister of the Center Naidaijin
Major Counselor Dainagon
Middle Counselor Chūnagon
Minor Counselor Shōnagon
Eight Ministries
Center Nakatsukasa-shō  
Ceremonial Shikibu-shō
Civil Administration Jibu-shō
Popular Affairs Minbu-shō
Military Hyōbu-shō
Justice Gyōbu-shō
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Imperial Household Kunai-shō

The Yōrō Code (養老律令 Yōrō-ritsuryō?) was one iteration of several codes or governing rules compiled in early Nara period in Classical Japan. It was compiled in 718, the second year of the Yōrō regnal era by Fujiwara no Fuhito et al., but not promulgated until 757 under the regime of Fujiwara no Nakamaro under Empress Kōken.[1][2]

The penal code portions (ritsu) were largely lost, although they have been reconstructed. The content of the civil code portions (ryō) are preserved nearly fully, copied out in later texts.[1][2]

Overview

The Yōrō Code was a revision of the Taihō Code of 701,[3] and differences may have been limited.[4] Still, when Nakamaro put the laws into effect in 757, it was unpopular among the nobility as it "slowed down the promotion schedule for officials."[5]

State of preservation

While the precursor code (Taihō Code) does not survive, a substantial amount of Yōrō Code is preserved in the exegitical piece, Ryō no gige (『令義解』?) (833), especially the civil codes. In English-language scholarly literature, some commentators merely state that the code is preserved in a fragmentary state,[6] but other academics do note preservation is nearly complete for the civil code portion.[7] TheRyō no gige contains the full text of the ryō (or civil/administrative code part) except for two chapters according to a Kadokawa publishing house history dictionary,[lower-alpha 1] the missing portions being the warehouse statute (倉庫令 sōko-ryō?) and the medical service statute (医疾令 ishitsu-ryō?), and even this lacuna can be partly be filled from a collections of fragments of the codes.[2]

The ritsu or the penal code portion was largely lost, but a compilation of fragments from various codes, entitled the Ritsuitsu (『律逸』?), in 8 volumes, was compiled by Ishihara Masaaki (石原正明?) 1760-1821. The resulting text, including the fragments, are printed in the volume on Ritsuryō texts in the Kokushi taikei (『国史大系』?) historical text series.[2][8] Other sources agree, adding that for the civil code, almost all of the text that runs to Article 955 has been restored.[9][10]

Relying on the Tang dynasty penal code that survives, a complete reconstruction of the Yōrō penal code has also been undertaken.[11]

Tang dynasty model

The ritsuryō codes were modeled after the civil and penal codes of the Tang dynasty, in particular, the code of the Chinese: Yonghui era passed in 651 which was then current is named by scholars as the basis of the two ritsuryō codes.[1][12]

Period in force

The Code remained in effect until the early 10th century,[1] after which it became an obsolete dead letter law code, but not formally repealed and hence valid at least "in paper" until the Meiji Restoration.[2][11] During the feudal age in Japan, various ministerial offices were awarded to as formality to samurai (e.g., Ishida Mitsunari as jibu-no-shō; Furuta Oribe, Ii kamon-no-kami, Sakai uta-no-kami etc.) without any responsibilities or authorities vested in the office under the code.

See also

Footnotes

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Explanatory notes

  1. ↑ out of 30 chapters, 10 fascicules

Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Sansom 1932, p. 69
  4. ↑ "The major difference between the Taihō and Yōrō administrative codes seems to be limited to an introduction in the latter of a more precise terminology for about two hundred terms." (online summary) to Ooms 2013
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Ooms 2013
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Vol. 22 of the new expanded edition of Kokushi taikei (Kuroita 1966)
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found., crediting Niida Noboru and Shiga Shūzō for the reconstruction from the T'ang.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

References

texts and translations
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    • =Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
    • (2010) Volume 2, Der Yōrō-Kodex,.. Bücher 2-10
    • (2012) Volume 3, Der Yōrō-Kodex, die Verbote. Übersetzung des Yōrō-ritsu.
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (Excerpted translation, summaries, notes)
studies
  • (Book Review) Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
additional reading
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External links

  • Yoro Civil Code (養老令?) (.Lzh compressed file) by Yoshiki Koizuka (恋塚嘉?) and Katsuya Miyoshi (三好克也?), available at the Open Database page, admin Takehiko Yoshimura (吉村武彦?), Meiji University Research Institute for Japanese Ancient Studies site.
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