THE HISTORIOGRAPHICAL INSTITUTE THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO

#121 121. RYO-SHUN'S GRANTS TO THE SHIBUYA, 1386-1391 (Iriki-in docs.; also KK, III, SK, XXII.) THOUGH brief, these documents are illuminative of the institutional life of the age. They were issued, one (D) by the sho-gun's executive officer Morimasa, and all the others by Ryo-Shun in his capacity as the sho-gun's deputy in Kyu-shu. All the orders invested the recipients with landed interests: some (A, B, and probably H) related to older grants; of the new grants, some (C, D, and H) were for secure possession, and others (E, F, and G) were given in trust, adzuke oku, pending the sho-gun's orders, which would establish permanent holding. Again, some shiki were separated from others of the same domain, and some were split, as grants, as was commonly done in this and earlier periods; it was largely owing to this custom that the sho as an institution had seen a gradual disintegration of its constituent elements. There are, among others, two other points of importance about the grants. One is that Ryo- Shun regarded Izhu-in's domain as reverting to the sho-gun, since the former, his direct vassal as he had been, was now opposing the latter's deputy and aiding his own kinsman Shimadzu; Ryo- Shun was justified in regarding this domain as left(ato) and vacated(kessho) and disposing of it as grants to others. The fact of repudiating the tie of homage spontaneously disseised the deserter of his holdings under his recent lord. The second point to be noted is that Iriki-in Shigeyori's title to the kuni-government's and the ryo-ke's revenues from his domain in Satsuma-which, I believe, means Iriki in-was secured to him by Ryo-Shun (H). It may be recalled that Iriki in had formerly owed dues both to the Konoe domanial lord(ryo-ke) and to the government of the kuni(koku-ga). The noble lord having lost hold of the great Shimadzu sho,¹ of which Iriki in formed a yose-gori, and the civil kuni govern- ment having for some time been non-existent, Shigeyori must from the first have appropriated the taxes otherwise due to them; what the sho-gun's deputy now did was officially to grant to him what he had in reality been enjoying. What is of special interest is that, as the lord of Iriki-in had long been the ji-to of this district, he now gained, with the added grant of the ryo-ke and koku-ga taxes, the virtually full control, in law as well as in fact, of the in; and the in became a fief held by him, owing the knight's service to the sho-gun, and subinfeudated among the lord's kinsmen and vassals. The importance of this transformation cannot be too strongly emphasized. The next step in the evolution would be to bring this process in line with the feudal organization of the whole of Satsuma. That would result when Iriki-in, as the feudal lord of the in, should, as he was soon compelled to do, become a vassal of the shu-go of the kuni of which it formed a part, and take his place in a complete feudal hierarchy, with the sho-gun as the suzerain, Shimadzu as his direct vassal, Iriki-in and his peers as rear-vassals, and their own men and the latter's followers forming the last descending stages of vassalage. Lastly, the attention of the student is called to the title of the recipient of the documents B and C: Satsuma no kami, that is, the civil governor of the kuni. This person probably was, as the compiler of the Sappan kyu-ki thought, Togo Shigenobu, Buddhist name Ju-Butsu (cf. No. 125) . Whoever he was, that does not affect the interest which attaches to the fact of the governorship of Satsuma being held by a Shibuya: Evidence is wanting that any lord of the family had been in- vested with the title. It may well be surmised that it was rather assumed with a tacit consent of the tan-dai than granted formally by the imperial government; such assumptions were not uncom- mon in later ages.² Indeed, the title kami of a kuni, as distinguished from its shu-go, had become a mere honor, seldom accompanied by any real office or income. It is of some interest to infer that a Shinuya lord felt a measure of gratification in bearing the title relative to the kuni in which he disputed the powers of its shu-go. [IMAGE]　　[JP-#184]

#121-A A "[RYO-SHUN] executes [the sho-gun's command] that your original holdings (hon chi-gyo) in Hii go, Chikuzen kuni, shall [continue] as heretofore. Stated thus. "Shi-toku 3 y. 1 m. 6 d. [5 February 1386]. Shami, (Ryo-Shun's monogram) "To men of the Shibuya family."

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#121-B B "[Ryo-Shun] executes [the sho-gun's command that you shall hold] the ji-to shiki of Hii go, Chikuzen kuni, in pursuance of your original holding (hon chi-gyo). [The sho-gun's] command is hereby transmitted that, according to pecedents, you shall hold(chi-gyo) [the same] together with the younger members(sho-shi). Stated thus. "Shi-toku 3 y. 4 m. 3 d. [2 May 1386]. Shami, (Ryo-Shun's monogram). "Shibuya Satsuma no kami³ dono."

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#121-C C "You shall hold as reward for service(on-sho) one-third of the domain left(ato) by Izhu-in nyu-do. Stated thus. "Shi-toku 3 y. 5 m. 13 d. [10 June 1386]. Shami, (Ryo-Shun's monogram). "Shibuya Satsuma no kami³ dono."

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#121-D D "Since the domain left (ato) by Shimadzu Izhu-in Osumi nyu-do, of Satsuma kuni, one-third of the actual holding, is a vacated place(kessho), you shall hold it without interference. The order [of the sho-gun] is conveyed thus. "Shi-toku 3 y. 5 m. 22 d. [19 June 1386]. Ku-nai tai-fu Morimasa,⁵ monogram. "Shibuya Sa-ma no suke⁴ dono."

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#121-E E "The ji-to shiki of Miyasato go, Satsuma kuni, is given to you in trust, by reason of your great loyal [service]. You shall hold(chi-gyo it on receiving [the sho-gun's] order, [which has been petitioned for]. Stated thus. "Shi-toku 3 y. 10 m. 29 d. [21 November 1386]. Shami, (Ryo-Shun's monogram). "Shibuya Sa-ma no suke⁴ dono."

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#121-F F "You shall hold(chi-gyo), in accordance with the previous grant in trust, the ji-to shiki left by Izhu-in nyu-do. Stated thus. "Mei-toku 1 y. 11 m. 14 d. [20 December 1390]. Shami, (Ryo-Shun's monogram). "Shibuya Kiyoshiki⁶ dono."

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#121-G G "The ji-to and ryo-ke, each one half, of the domain left by Shimadzu Izhu-in nyu-do, are given to you in trust. You shall hold(chi-gyo) them in pursuance of precedents. Stated thus. "Mei-toku 2 y. 4 m. 13 d. [17 May 1391]. shami,(Ryo-Shun's monogram). "Shibuya Kiyoshiki⁶ dono."

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#121-H H "You shall hold, as support for war expenditures,⁷ the kuni government's and the ryo-ke's rice, of your holdings (chi-gyo) in Satsuma kuni. Ordered thus. "Mei-toku 2 y. 10 m. 28 d. [24 November 1391]. Shami, (Ryo-Shun's monogram). Shibuya Kiyoshiki⁶ dono." P281 ¹Since 1352; see Introduction, p.10. ²In 1565, Otomo Yoshiaki, of Bungo, wrote his vassal Tokumaru: "I recognize [with approval] that you desire [the title] Kawachi no-kami." His successor addressed an identical letter, in 1574, to Tokumaru's heir: the title was held by heredity. Seki-den so-shi, III. ³Concerning this person, see the remarks prefixed to these documents. To him Ryo-Shun wrote A personal letter under the same date, reporting the favorable progress of the campaign which he was conducting Higo, congratulating Shibuya on the present grant, and avowing the writer's dependence upon the loyalty of the Shibuya family. (Iriki-in docs.; also KK,III,and SK, XXII.) ⁴Another unidentifiable Shibuya：Shimadzu koku-shi (vii, 13) thinks this was one Shigemitsu. ⁵Imagawa Morimasa, Ryo-Shun's relative and executive agent of the sho-gun. ⁶Iriki-in Shigeyori. ⁷Hyo-ryo ryo-sho, place to supply military provisions, i.e., fief. For ryo-sho, see No.113, n. 2