Study of local officials and the Traffic between Town and Country in Ancient Japan

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K00980
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 03020:Japanese history-related
• Research Institution: Tohoku Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: NAGATA Hideaki 東北学院大学, 文学部, 教授 (20292188)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 都鄙間交通 / 駅路 / 郡家 / 城柵 / 三関

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, I investigated the function of local government office such as "Gu-ke", "Koku-fu", "Jo-saku" and so on, focusing on the political transportation between capital and rural areas in acient Japan. In particular, I analysed official reports of local finance called "shozei-cho", and documents issued when dispatching official travelers listed in the textbook of official documents such as "Choya-Gunsai". In addition, I investigated abaut the excavated historical materials such as wooden tablets, earthenware with letters. Based on these results, I clarified the system for providing convenience to official travelers, and the role of local government office as a hub for transportation and logistics.

Free Research Field

日本古代史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

日本古代における地方官衙のあり方を、地域支配との関わりという視点だけでなく、地域を越えた国家支配との関わりという視点から捉え直すことで、都鄙間交通にかかる拠点・施設をこのような地方官衙の機能や変遷をも視野に入れて総体的に把握し直した。木簡などの出土文字資料を活用した研究成果を踏まえることで、従来より指摘されながら十分に深められていない地方官衙の「交通機能」の理解を深めた。そのことを通じて、古代国家・社会を支える都鄙間交通と地方官衙の関係を把握し、都鄙間関係の政治的特質を明らかにした。