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 exegetical 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] The Ryō 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in effect until the early 10th century,[1] after which it became an obsolete dead letter law code, but not formally repealed and hence valid at least "in paper" until the Meiji Restoration.[2][11] During the feudal age in Japan, various ministerial offices were awarded to as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.
↑ "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
↑ Piggott, Joan R. (1987), "Chapter II: Politics in the Age of Shōmu", Tōdaiji and the Nara imperium(snippet), Stanford University, pp.65–66
(Book review) Ooms, Herman (2013). "Translating the Corpus of Ancient Japanese Law". Monumenta Nipponica. 68 (1): 69–77. doi:10.1353/mni.2013.0021. S2CID159501283.
Additional reading
Crump, J. I. (1952). "Borrowed T'ang TItles and Offices in the Yoro Code". Occasional Papers of the Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan. 2: 35–58.
Inoue, Mitsusada (1977). "The Ritsuryo System in Japan". Acta Asiatica. 31: 83–112.
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.
The Nara period of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō. Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kanmu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō, in 784, before moving to Heian-kyō, modern Kyoto, a decade later in 794.
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Fudoki (風土記) are ancient reports on provincial culture, geography, and oral tradition presented to the reigning monarchs of Japan, also known as local gazetteers. They contain agricultural, geographical, and historical records as well as mythology and folklore. Fudoki manuscripts also document local myths, rituals, and poems that are not mentioned in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki chronicles, which are the most important literature of the ancient national mythology and history. In the course of national unification, the imperial court enacted a series of criminal and administrative codes called ritsuryō and surveyed the provinces established by such codes to exert greater control over them.
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This is the glossary of Japanese history including the major terms, titles and events the casual reader might find useful in understanding articles on the subject.
Ritsuryō, is the historical legal system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism in Feudal Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryō is called "Ritsuryō-sei" (律令制). Kyaku (格) are amendments of Ritsuryō, Shiki (式) are enactments.
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The Asuka Kiyomihara Code refers to a collection of governing rules compiled and promulgated in 689, one of the first, if not the first collection of Ritsuryō laws in classical Japan. This also marks the initial appearance of the central administrative body called the Daijō-kan composed of the three ministers—the Daijō-daijin (Chancellor), the Sadaijin and the Udaijin.
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The Ministry of Popular Affairs may refer to:
one of the Eight Ministries of the Japanese imperial court, established by the Taihō Code of the early 8th century, and continued under the Ritsuryō legal system.
A short-lived ministry during the Meiji period.
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