The was one iteration of several codes or governing rules compiled in early

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

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 , also known as , Brown, Delmer M. (1979). ''Gukanshō,'' p. 274 was a Japanese aristocrat (''kuge''), courtier, and statesman. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Fujiwara no Nakamaro"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 207. He was chancellor ('' Daij ...

under Empress Kōken. 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.

Overview

The Yōrō Code was a revision of the

Taihō Code The was an administrative reorganisation enacted in 703 in Japan, at the end of the Asuka period. It was historically one of the . It was compiled at the direction of Prince Osakabe, Fujiwara no Fuhito and Awata no Mahito. Nussbaum, Louis- ...

of 701, and differences may have been limited. 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."

State of preservation

While the precursor code (Taihō Code) does not survive, a substantial amount of Yōrō Code is preserved in the exegetical piece, (833), especially the civil codes. In English-language scholarly literature, some commentators merely state that the code is preserved in a fragmentary state, but other academics do note preservation is nearly complete for the civil code portion. 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,out of 30 chapters, 10 fascicules the missing portions being the and the , and even this lacuna can be partly be filled from a collections of fragments of the codes. The ''ritsu'' or the penal code portion was largely lost, but a compilation of fragments from various codes, entitled the , in 8 volumes, was compiled by 1760–1821. The resulting text, including the fragments, are printed in the volume on

Ritsuryō is the historical Japanese legal system, legal system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Legalism (Chinese philosophy), Chinese Legalism in Feudal Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryō is called "Ritsuryō-sei" (). ''Kya ...

texts in the historical text series. Other sources agree, adding that for the civil code, almost all of the text that runs to Article 955 has been restored. Relying on the Tang dynasty penal code that survives, a complete reconstruction of the Yōrō penal code has also been undertaken., crediting Niida Noboru and Shiga Shūzō for the reconstruction from the T'ang.

Tang dynasty model

The codes were modeled after the civil and penal codes of the Tang dynasty, in particular, the code of the era passed in 651 which was then current is named by scholars as the basis of the two codes.

Period in force

The Code remained in effect until the early 10th century, 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 The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

. During the feudal age in Japan, various ministerial offices were awarded to as formality to

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

(e.g.,

Ishida Mitsunari was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the Azuchi–Momoyama period of the 16th century. He ...

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.

Explanatory notes

Citations

External links

* (.Lzh compressed file) by and , available at th

page, admin , Meiji University Research Institute for Japanese Ancient Studies site. {{DEFAULTSORT:Yoro Code Legal history of Japan 718 757 8th century in Japan Legal codes 8th century in law 710s in Japan 750s in Japan