The State, Society, and People as Seen Through Ancient Legal Historical Sources

2023/02/03

My research on ancient Japan focuses on the Ritsuryo system and the Ritsuryo state. Under this system, administrative divisions were implemented across a wide area of the Japanese archipelago, an era that can be said to have formed the framework for later Japan. During this period, large-scale capitals such as Heijo-kyo and Heian-kyo were successively constructed. My initial research theme was to analyze how these successive major projects were carried out, focusing on a comparison with the Chinese Ritsuryo, and to examine the state's ruling structure.

In the course of this research, I became intrigued by the existence of local powerful families who invested their private wealth to participate in state projects like capital construction and received court ranks as a reward. A court rank is the status of a *kanjin* (an official, in modern terms). *Kanjin* were indispensable for the administration of the state, but it seems that simply holding a rank or having a status associated with government offices, even without being appointed to a regular post, was important. It has become clear that there was a greater demand for this from many people than previously thought. It also appears that the state, in response to their needs, granted them status and sought to use this for its own control. I foresee that through this relationship between the people and the state, the culture based on the Ritsuryo system spread to a wide base of society.

Thus, more recently, while also conducting regional history research, I have been studying the process of the establishment and development of the Ritsuryo system, including in the provinces.

Described this way, my research might seem a bit formal or rigid. In particular, my research uses legal systems as its primary historical sources. However, no matter the source, it is still the result of human activity. Even from legal historical sources that may seem dry, by multidimensionally extracting information while considering the historical context and the content of other sources, various relationships between the state, society, and its people—such as the resilient ways of life of people in the past—can emerge.

At the Major in Japanese History, Faculty of Letters, Keio University, diverse research is being conducted on periods from ancient to modern times, covering areas such as religious history, economic history, and legal history, while also incorporating international perspectives like relations with foreign countries and institutional comparisons. In this environment, I continue to engage in a multifaceted dialogue with historical sources.

*Affiliations, job titles, etc., are as of the time of the interview.