THE HISTORIOGRAPHICAL INSTITUTE THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO

#12 12. PETITION AND ORDERS RELATIVE TO YAMADA MURA, 1217-1218 (Nagatoshi docs.; also KK, XI, and SK, II.) REFER to Nos.2, 4, and 5. As formerly Okura Tane-akira had married the eldest daughter of Tomo Nobu-akira and so inherited the latter's ji-to shiki of Yamada mura, likewise had Minamoto Mune- hisa lately married Okura's granddaughter, who received the same shiki from the hands of her father. (Cf. n.1 to No.5.) In the meantime, the shiki had come to be called, not ji-to, but myo-to, the same as myo-shu, head of myo; for the ji-to was now Shimadzu Tadahisa. (See No.9.) Let it be clearly understood that Yamada mura, as a yose-gori of Shimadzu sho, was half public and half private, and yielded taxes both to the kuni and to the sho. Presumably it was the duty of the myo-holder to deliver the taxes to representatives of both. The agent of the sho who resided in the yose-gori and received from the myo-to that part of the taxes which was due to the sho, was called the ben-zai shi. The latter then sent the dues he received to the ji-to, Shimadzu Tadahisa, or his deputy. Tadahisa, in his turn, after deducting his share in the revenue, forwarded to the noble domanial lord at Kyoto the incomes from this and all other yose-gori and from the sho proper. At least, we suppose that such was the normal procedure at the time of these documents. [IMAGE]　　[JP-#128]

#12-A A. Munehisa's petition, 1217. "MINAMOTO NO MUNEHISA'S petition, * * *¹ Begging that, specially by gracious sanction, both by reason of the documents rela- tive to hereditary succession, and in accordance with the fact of possession for generation after generation, permission be granted; being a statement of grievance regarding the myo-to shiki of Yamada mura in Satsuma kori, the domain in Sat- sume[kuni] of Shimadzu sho. "Presented herewith: the successive documents. "Upon respectfully examining the records, [it is found that] the said mura is a domain of Munehisa's wife inherited successively from her ancestors. It was, during the in- cumbency of her great-great-grandfather, Nobufusa, seized for a time by Tadakage, the ju-nin of Satsuma, when he attempted an uprising and possessed himself of the whole kuni. Following this evil example, Kanemune, alleging [that he held the] ben- zai shi shiki for the sho, seized the said place. Thereupon, during the administration of the sho by the former governor of Yetchu, as her great-grandfather Nobu-akira reported the aforementioned circumstances, sanction was granted him, by reason of the documents, to [hold the shiki] as before; and he openly held it. Likewise, the late Tanenobu, father of Munehisa's wife, held it in succession. After Tanenobu's death, she possessed it without obstruction, but since the dues and services for the sho and the kuni were unbearably onerous, her agent Sanekiyo absconded. Then Tomohisa,² as ben-zai shi, seized [the myo-to shiki] under false pretenses, and [her possession of it] has thus been interrupted for five or six years. In order that by gracious sanction, by reason of the letters of devise of the successive generations, Tomohisa's wilful seizure be stopped, and permission be granted [to Munehisa] to hold [the shiki] as before, so that the obligations toward the sho and the kuni might be rendered, the cir- cumstances are hereby detailed and the petition presented. "Ken-po 5y. 8m. -d.⁵ [September 1217]. Minamoto no Munehisa, petitioner."

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#12-B B. Marginal order by the domanial lord's office. "THE matter of the said mura, according to the petition, is reasonable [on the part of the petitioner]. It has been commanded that Munehisa should, in accordance with the principle of heredity, at once possess [the shiki] without molestation. "Saemon no zho, Fujiwara no Ason, (monogram)."

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#12-C C. Executive order of the office of the sho, 1217. "THE office³ of the sho Executes [the domanial lord's order] in regard to the myo-to shiki of Yamada mura in Satsuma kori, the domain in Satsuma [kuni]. "The petition presented to the Capital⁴ last eighth month and day⁵ by Minamoto no Munehisa, which has been sent down here, says:- . . . [here follows a quotation from the petition, from "The said mura is a domain" to "Tanehisa, as ben-zai shi, seized [the myo-to shiki] under false pretenses."] The marginal order says:- "The matter of the said mura, according to the petition, is reasonable [on the part of the petitioner]. It has been commanded that Munehisa should, in accordance with the principle of heredity, at once possess [the shiki] without molestation.' Accordingly, [the order] is hereby executed. "Ken-po 5y. 9m. 26d. [27 October 1217] Betto, Tomo no Ason. Betto, Fujiwara no Ason, (monogram). Betto, Tomo no Ason. Shami,⁶ (monogram). Betto, Fujiwara no Ason, (monogram). Betto, Fujiwara no Ason. Betto, Tomo no Ason, (monogram). Betto, Fujiwara no Ason, (monogram). Shikko, Tomo no Ason, (monogram). Betto, Awashima no Sukune, (monogram). Betto, Fujiwara no Ason. Betto, Tomo no Ason. Shikko in charge, Gyo-bu no zho, Fujiwara no Ason, (monogram)."

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#12-D D. Order by the sho-gun's office to Tadahisa, 1218. "THE petition⁷ of Okura uji,⁸ the original possessor (hon ryo-shu)⁹ of Yamada mura in Satsuma kori, is herewith forwarded. According to the document, Ukon no sho-gen Tomohisa's outrage seems undeniable. Proceeding at once to inquire into th circum- stances, [you] should, if the alleged act is true, forward him¹⁰ to the Kwan-to.¹¹ The order is hereby conveyed. "10m. 27d. [16 November 1218]. Ukyo no gon no daibu,¹² (monogram). "Shimadzu Saemon no zho¹³ dono."¹⁴

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#12-E E. Tadahisa's order, 1218. "(Tadahisa's monogram.) "IN regard to the myo-to shiki of Yamada mura in Satsuma kori, since the lady of the Okura uji, in possession of the documents, has appealed for its restoration,¹⁵ a mar- ginal order has been granted that she should, by reason of the documents, possess [the shiki]. It is hereby ordered that Okura uji should immediately, without molestation, be installed in the said mura. "Ken-po 6y. 11m. 26d. [15 December 1218]. Nakatsukasa no zho * * *¹⁶ "The deputy ji-to dono, for Satsuma."

¹ The remainder of the line is incomplete and unintelligible, but will not be missed, the meaning of the petition being sufficiently clear without this line. ² Tomohisa, an ukon no sho-gen, according to the next year's document, may have been a suc- cessor to Taira Tadanaga, Tadanao, and Tadatomo, gun-zhi of Satsuma kori. Cf. Nos.8 and 9. ³ Man-dokoro; see No.1, n.2. ⁴ Kyoto, where the domainal lord, Konoe Motomichi, resided. ⁵ See No.5, n.4. ⁶ Sha-mi or nyu-do was one who took the Buddhist tonsure but did not join a monastery or church and still lived in the family. See No.13, n.38. ⁷ The text of this petition does not exist. It probably followed the last one, as Tomohisa's usurpa- tion continued. ⁸ Uji is families acknowledging a common ancestry. When a person is referred to in this period, however, as so-and-so uji, it usually means a female member of that race. Sometimes me, woman, is added to uji (as uji-me). but not as a rule. Here "Okura uji" refers to Munehisa's wife. ⁹ The word "original"(hon) refers to the original, as distinguished from a derived, title, and does not imply either a title acquired for the first time or a title originally held but now lost. ¹⁰ This shows that Tomohisa was a go ke-nin. ¹¹ The Kwan-to was the general region directly east(to) of the Ashigara pass(kwan,seki) in the Hakone mountain range, in which region Kamakura was situated. Here it specifically refers to the central feudal government at Kamakura. ¹² The sho-gun's commissioner. If the u(right) in ukyo may be assumed to be an error of sa(left), then the commissioner was Hojo Tokimasa, the regent of the sho-gun. ¹³ Shimadzu Tadahisa. ¹⁴ Dono was the common honorific for gentlemen. ¹⁵ A free translation of the word an-do, which means, literally, to give peaceful enjoyment of land. When an-do is given for the first time or to an heir at succession, it amounts to investiture or confirmation, and the word may be so translated. See the preface to No.21. ¹⁶ Three characters indistinct. This is Tadahisa's subordinate signing the order in his master's behalf.