Study for functions and actual conditions of "law-suits" in the cities of early modern times.

2004 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 15530003
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Fundamental law
• Research Institution: Chiba University
• Principal Investigator: SAKAMOTO Tadahisa Chiba University, the department of Legal-Economic, Professor, 法経学部, 教授 (60241931)
• Project Period (FY): 2003 – 2004
• Keywords: early modern times / lawsuit / administration / Edo / city

Research Abstract

In conclusion, several features of the Tokugawa lawsuits of cities, for example, Edo, Oosaka, Kyoto and so on, to be emphasized. Dispute-settlement powers were decentralized in the family, village, and city or so. Such decentralization meant that the first hearing before some officials or lord in charge of territory was usually the last hearing. So it is necessarily a very important proceeding in law-courts.
Since only diversity suits were brought to the law courts and since family or several city groups must certify even suits involving only individual interests to the law courts for hearing, and particularly city suits had the character of a group suit. Even among big city suits certified by proper officials, only pubulic significance were accepted by several courts.
As indicated above the most distinctive feature of Tokugawa handling of suits was the use of conciliation techniques, which tended to individualize justice and to emphasize broad considerations of equity. And so, I think lawsuits in cities are similar to the adminstrations in cities particularly in eariy modern times of Japan.