Taika Reform

Asian History Japan

THE TAIKA REFORMS

After the death of Prince Shotoku in 622, Japanese politics was dominated by the Soga clan. It was u period of inertia. The traditional uji system and its attendant hereditary privileges were no longer suitable to the requirements of the new era. 1n 645, a palace coup was successfully executed by Prince Naka-no-oe (who later reigned as Emperor Tenchi, 661-671 J and Nakatomi-no Kamatari. The two then jointly embarked on the Taika reforms.

The basic aims of the reforms were to bring about greater centralization and to enhance the power of the imperial court. To do so, the Japanese government was to be reorganized on the model of T’ang, and the system of land tenure and laxation (in Japanese so, yo, cho) then in force in China was to be adopted.

It was a gigantic step forward in an attempt to nationalize land and to create a network of institutions subordinate to the central government. However, in practice, the provisions of the edict remained pious wishes, for the government lacked power to enforce them Even if the edict had been implemented, it would not have meant demise of the strong clans. While their lands were nationalized, they were assigned official positions and given stipends which continued to sustain them economically. And based on this economic power, they would in later years once again erode the power of the central government.

The Reform Edict of Taika, 646 A.D.

As soon as the new year's ceremonies were over, the Emperor promulgated the following edict of reforms:

I. Let the following be abolished: the titles held by imperial princes to serfs granted by imperial decrees (koshiro); the titles to lands held directly by the imperial court (miyake); and private titles to lands and workers held by ministers and functionaries (omi, muraji and tomo no miyatsuko) of the court, by local nobles (kuni no miyatsuko), and by village chiefs (mura no obito). In lieu thereof, sustenance households" shall be granted to those of the rank of Daibu (Chief of a bureau or of a ward) and upwards on a scale corresponding to their positions. Cloth and silk stuffs shall be given to the lower officials and people, varying in value. It is said that the duty of the Daibu is to govern the people. If they discharge their task diligently, the people will have trust in them. Therefore it is for the benefit of the people that the revenue of the Daibu shall be increased.

II. For the first time, the capital shall be placed under an administrative system. In the metropolitan (or capital) region, governors (kuni no tsukasa) and prefects (kori no tsukasa) shall be appointed. Barriers and outposts shall be erected, and guards and post horses for transportation and communication purposes shall be provided. Furthermore bell-tokens shall be made and mountains and rivers shall be regulated.One alderman (osa) shall be appointed for each ward (ho or machi) in the capital, and one chief alderman (unakashi) for four wards. The latter shall be responsible for maintaining the household registers and investigating criminal matters. The chief alderman shall be chosen from those men belonging to the wards, of unblemished character, strong and upright, who can discharge the duties of the time effectively. In principle, aldermen of rural villages (ri) or of city wards, shall be selected from ordinary subjects belonging to the villages or city wards, who are sincere, incorrupt and of strong disposition. If a right man cannot be found in a village or ward in question, a man from the adjoining village or ward may be appointed.

The metropolitan region shall include the area from the Yokogawa (river) in Nahari on the east, from (mount) Senoyama in Kii on the south, from Kushibuchi in Akashi on the west, and from (mount) Afusakayama in Sasanami in Omi on the north.

Districts are classified as greater, middle and lesser districts, with districts of forty villages constituting greater districts; of from four to thirty villages constituting middle districts; and of tlvee or fewer villages constituting lesser districts. The prefects for these districts shall be chosen from local nobles (kuni no miyatsuko), of unblemished character, strong and upright, who can discharge the duties of the time effectively. They shall be appointed as prefects (tairei) and vice prefects (shorei). Men of ability and intelligence, who are skilled in writing and arithmetic shall be appointed to assist them in the tasks of governance and book-keeping....

III. It is hereby decreed that household registers, tax registers, and rules for allocation and redistribution of the land shall be established.' Each fifty households shall be constituted into a village (ri), and in each village there shall be appointed an alderman. He shall be responsible for the maintenance of the household registers, the assigning of the sowing of crops and thecultivation of mulberry trees, the prevention of offenses, and the requisitioning of taxes and forced labor.... All rice-fields shall be measured by a unit called a tan which is thirty paces in length by twelve paces in breadth.' ' Ten tan make one cho. For each tan, the tax(so or denso) shall be two sheaves and two bundles of rice; for each cho, the taxshall be twenty-two sheaves of rice.

IV. Old taxes and forced labor shall be replaced by a system of commuted taxesbased on [the size of] rice fields (dencho). These taxes shall consist of fine silk, coarse silk, raw silk, and floss silk, which are to be collected in accordance wth what is produced in the locality. For each cho of rice field, the rate shall be one rod (i.e., 10 feet) of fine silk. For four cho of rice field, the rate shall be one piece of fine silk which is forty feet in length by two and a half feet in width. If coarsesilkis substituted, the rate shall be two rods per cho, and one piece of the length and width as the fine silk for every two cho....

A separate household tax (kocho) shall also be levied, under which each household shall pay one rod and two feet of cloth, and a surtax consisting of salt and offerings. The latter may vary in accordance with what is produced in the locality. With regard to horses for public service, one horse of medium quality shall be contributed by every one hundred households, or one horse of superior quality by every two hundred households. If the horses have to be purchased, each household shall contribute one rod and two feet of cloth toward the purchase price. With regard to weapons, each person shall contribute a sword, armor, bow and arrows, a flag, and a drum.

Under the old system, one servant was supplied by every thirty households. This system shall be altered to allow every fifty households to furnish one servant to work for various officials. These fifty households shall be responsible for providing rations for one servant, by each household contributing two rods and two feet of cloth and five masu of rice in lieu of service (yo or chikara shiro).

Waiting women in the palace shall be selected from among goodlooking sisters or daughters of officials of the rank of vice prefect or above. Every one hundred households shall be responsible for providing rations for one waiting woman. The cloth and rice supplied in lieu of service (yo) shall, in every respect, follow the same rule as for servants.

orders regarding Imperial food-produce; delicacies from all quarters [i.e., tribute other than the prescribed taxes, and gifts of special foods from different localities].

3b The Law of Households (koryo) [Under the Yoro code, the whole

country was divided into privinces (kuni). Each of these provinces was placed

under the jurisdiction of a provincial governor (Kami). In theory, he represented

the throne, and combined all religious, civil, military, and judicial functions. The

governor in turn was to be assisted by district officials. However, in practice, the

provincial and district governments were regarded mainly as tax collecting

agencies.

One of the means of collecting taxes was to maintain registers of people.

The following excerpts are from the Law of Households which shows how

these registers were kept. In reading the following passages, note the incidence

of absconding by "free" people and measures adopted to prevent it, as well as

frequent references to the family system.]

l. A village (ri) is composed of fifty households, and over each village

shall be placed a headman (richo or mura no osa). In mountainous, remote

and sparsely populated regions the number may be fixed according to con-

venience.

5. The head of a household (ko) shall be the person who is head of the

family. Households shall be divided into (1) taxable households and

(2) exempt households, according as they comprise taxable or exempt

members. The exempt categories, as stated in the Ryo no gige, are:

1) members of the Imperial Family; 2) persons of the 8th rank and upwards;

3) males of 16 years and under; 4) certain persons "covered" by their relation-

ship; 5) old people; 6) deformed and crippled people; 7) diseased people; 8) all

female members of a household; and 9) servants and slaves.

6. The following classification of members of a household must be

used:

Males and females up to the age of 3 infants

Males and females from 3 to 16 children

Males and females from 16 to 20 youth and girls

Males of 21 and upwards able-bodied

Males of 61 and upwards elders

Males of 66 and upwards aged men

9. Households shall be formed into groups of five families, under the headship of one person who is responsible for the good conduct of the group. Members of the group must keep one another informed of the arrival and departure of guests from distant places and of their own journeys.?

10. When a household absconds, the group shall be responsible for its pursuit. If it cannot be brought back, it must be retained on the register for three years, during which period the group and the relatives of the absconders in the village are to be responsible for the cultivation of its allotment and for the payment of its tax [in kind and in labor]. After three years its allotment returns to the State. When a member of a household absconds, the household is responsible for his tax for six years, after which he may be removed from the register and his allotment reverts to the State.

18. The tax registers (keicho) must be compiled annually. Before the 30th day of the 6th month each year the metropolitan and provincial officers must demand returns from the head of each household, giving the year, the name of the household and a list of its members. The registers must be transmitted under joint seal to the Chancellor’s Office (daijokan) by the 30th of the 8th month.

19. The registers of population (koseki) must be compiled every six years, starting from the beginriing of the 11th month and following the prescribed forms. There shall be one volume (i.e., a separate roll) for each village, and three copies of each volume, all marked with the name of the province, district, village, and the year. The work shall be completed by the last day of the 5th month. Two copies shall be sent to the Chancellor’s Office and one copy retained in the province.

20. The registers of population and tax registers must contain particulars of the age and capacity of the members of a household, viz. whether able-bodied, old, infirm, whether liable or exempt in respect of labor tax, whether entitled to servants, etc., and the provincial authorities must satisfy themselves by personal inspection that these particulars are correctly stated.

22. The registers of population must be kept for five periods (of six years).

23. In the sharing of inheritance (upon the decease of the head of a house) all property must be added together, namely servants, slaves, land, houses and other property, and shared out as follows:

The mother (wife of the householder

2 shares

The stepmother

2 shares

Children of the wife

2 shares

Children of the concubines

1 share

A wife's property brought with her from her own family is not subject to sharing. If the brothers of the heir are dead, their shares go to their sons ?i.e.,the sons of a child by the wife receive 2 shares, the sons of a child by a concubine 1 share, divided up equally.?

24. Males may marry at the age of fifteen, females at the age of thirteen.

25. A woman before marriage must obtain the consent of her family,viz.paternal grandfather and grandmother, father and mother, uncles anda unts, cousins, etc.

26. When a marriage contract has been made it may be annulled if without proper reason the marriage does not take place within three months, or if one of the parties is detained in a foreign country and does not return for one year, or if one of the parties is convicted of a crime.

Even after a marriage has been completed, the wife may be permitted to marry again if the husband is detained abroad for five years when there is issue of the marriage or for three years when there is no issue, or if the husband has absconded and does not return for three years when there is issue or for two years when there is no issue.

28. The seven grounds for divorce of a wife by her husband are: 1) if she is childless (e.g., without a male child); 2) if she commits adultery; 3) if she disobeys her parents-in-law; 4) if she talks too much; 5) if she steals; 6) if she is jealous; and 7) if she has a bad disease. In all cases the husband must write a notice of divorce which must be signed jointly by the parents and near relatives. Those who cannot write must make their mark.

Even when there are grounds for divorce a wife will not be sent away in any one of the following three cases: 1) if she has maintained (the household) during the period of mourning for her parents-in-law during which time the husband could not work; or 2) if since marriage the household has risen in status; or 3) if there is nobody to receive her (i.e., if there is no member of her family or other sponsor of the marriage to whom she can return). But these exceptions shall not apply if she has been guilty of a grave offense against piety or of adultery or has a bad disease.

33. The governor of a province shall once a year make a tour of his territory, when he shall take note of local customs; enquire after the health of persons of 100 years of age; examine the cases of persons detained in prison, and put right any injustices; carefully inspect the work of administration and law, deal with the complaints of the people; warmly encourage the five teachings and promote agriculture.?

If he learns of the existence in a district of persons of great learning or of especially good character (e.g., models of filial piety, loyalty, integrity, generosity, etc.) he shall recommend them for reward. If there are persons of evil or disorderly conduct he shall examine and correct them.

The governor must carefully examine the conditions in each district, and judge the merit of the district officials by the state of the fields, the number of criminal cases, etc. He must report on their suitability to the Central Government, but in cases of urgency, he should dismiss an offending district officer forthwith.

45. When owing to flood, drought or pests there threatens to be a failure of the harvest, the provincial or district authorities shall, if there is a shortage of supplies and relief is to be given, upon examination of the facts, act upon their own discretion and report to the Council of State.