The era of the Middle Ages (feudalism) is more than a thousand-year period in the history of society, state and law.

In the Middle Ages, many new states emerged, including Japan. Time between the 3rd and 7th centuries. n. e. can be considered as one of the most important milestones in world history, as the beginning of the Middle Ages.

The formation of the early feudal state in Japan should be attributed to the second half of the 4th century. At this time, changes occurred in the relations between the heads of the tribal union - the kings of Yamato (on the island of Honshu) and the leaders of other tribal groups, who became representatives of the central government. Changes also occurred in the peasant community, which became tax-paying: peasants were obliged to pay rent in grain and handicraft products, they bore labor duties, participating in construction, irrigation and other work.

Feudal state of the period of developed feudalism (XII - XVII centuries). As a result of the internecine struggle for power, the group led by the Minamoto clan, which in 1192 was proclaimed the ruler of the state (shogun), won. A new government apparatus is created: the bakufu. Emperors were considered only as bearers of the supreme priestly functions. The central apparatus of the shogun, the bakufu, consisted of the main administrative chamber, which was mainly in charge of legislation; the main military chamber, which was in charge of the military class, and the main judicial chamber. By the 13th century. in Japan, fief relations finally took shape: large feudal lords became lords; small ones - vassals obliged to perform military service. These two groups of the feudal class constituted the privileged class. The majority of the population were peasants,

The most important source of early medieval law is the code "Taiho Yero Re" - the main source characterizing the law of Japan in the 8th - 10th centuries. This Code of Laws summarized and systematized legislative acts on socio-economic and political reforms aimed at eliminating primitive communal separatism and creating a centralized state, consolidating the privileged position of the new aristocracy; The code basically determined the socio-political system and way of life of the Japanese for a period of more than 500 years. This legal monument includes practically several different kinds of codes: civil, family, land

In the feudal law of Japan, elements of the search process were already established in early sources. In Japan, there were several administrative and judicial authorities. The county government was considered the lowest authority; the next authority is the provincial government; Next came the Ministry of Justice, and, finally, the Highest Authority - the State Council, the Emperor.

Medieval Japanese law retained its originality, associated with the national character of the Japanese.

OH. Saidov, Professor of Comparative and International Law

Shogunate - a specific form of government

The name of the country comes from the word Nippon - literally "the country from where the sun appears." Japan is one of the great powers of Asia; it is inhabited by hardworking, talented people who have a centuries-old, distinctive culture.

The island position of the country, the absence of foreign rule, and careful attitude to the monuments of the past made it possible to preserve many legal monuments of antiquity, based on which it is possible to recreate the development of state and legal history.

People's behavior was largely determined by religion. Faith helped people survive great earthquakes and destructive typhoons. Ancient religion of the Japanese - Shintoism - the beliefs of local, native tribes; later enters the country Buddhism. The coexistence of two religions had a positive meaning, representing spiritual pluralism. In matters of faith, the Japanese are pragmatists. The customs and canons of Shinto were observed during joyful events in life: birth, wedding, harvest, promotion, cleansing of sins by washing in the river, etc. People turned to Buddhism during sad events: during natural disasters, illness, death, funerals. All Souls' Day was celebrated with songs and dances. Buddhism, as we know, denies the reality of the existing world and asserts the truth of the other world, the world of “eternal bliss.” He recognizes the equality of all before the Buddha, which attracted the masses of the disadvantaged and oppressed to him.

The geographical position of Japan - its island position, mountainous terrain, and primitive tools did not allow the creation of large latifundia, since irrigated rice cultivation required intensive peasant labor on a small plot of land.

China had a significant influence on the formation of Japanese medieval statehood. The first Japanese rulers recognized the suzerainty of the Chinese emperors. As a sign of dependence, the Japanese sent gifts to the Bogdykhans and paid tribute. From the Chinese, the Japanese adopted the deification of the supreme ruler. Just as in Ancient China, even a high dignitary, under penalty of death, had to crawl in and out of the ruler’s residence so as to be facing him at all times.

Back in the 3rd century. The process of decomposition of the primitive system and the transition to an estate society began. Within the clans, property and social inequality developed, a clan aristocracy stood out, and various forms of exploitation by the privileged clan elite of their relatives and foreigners captured during wars took shape. This contributed to the strengthening of the socio-economic and political positions of the tribal nobility. At the same time, serfdom did not legally exist, and in the previous period slavery did not become an independent way of life.

The formation of the state in the form of the early feudal monarchy was the result of major reforms called "Tayka Manifesto" 646 Almost all public lands became state property, and everyone living on this land became subjects of the emperor, his vassals. The state, as the owner of the land, provided for triple obligations of the peasants: rent, payment for handicraft products, and labor service. Workshops and guilds developed in cities. And just like, for example, in Germany, they regulated not only production, but also the private life of their members.

The process of state formation was greatly influenced by the long struggle of individual clans for supremacy. The power of the Japanese rulers was unstable due to this struggle. Only in the middle of the 7th century. the situation has stabilized. Japan stopped recognizing its dependence on China and pursued a strict centralized policy. A state council was created, which included heads of clans as subjects.

The country was divided into provinces, counties and villages. The population was subject to taxes and military service. Buddhism became the state religion. A special department dealt with issues of Buddhism (Buddhism was borrowed from China).

The class began to play an active political role samurai(warriors by birth). Over time, this began to be called the warriors-combatants in service

The first samurai were recruited by feudal lords from the more or less wealthy part of the rural population. Another source of replenishment of the squads were mid- and low-ranking representatives of aristocratic families who were not engaged in agriculture, hunters, and fishermen.

The warriors gradually turned into armed servants who received from their master maintenance, housing and food, and sometimes plots of land with assigned peasant households. Such samurai turned into feudal lords.

Soon the samurai squads grew to impressive sizes; they began to represent real private armies. Their military skills were honed in constant battles with various enemies. The influence of samurai on the political life of the country was significant; the position and sometimes the life of the rulers depended on its support. Samurai lived according to the code of Bushido (“the way of the warrior”), believed in the insignificance of earthly life, were not afraid of death and were ready to sacrifice their lives for their master. During the Middle Ages, the samurai sword instilled in the Japanese a kind of ethics, accustomed them to order and culture. The samurai ritual of suicide became a symbol of the attitude towards earthly life of the Japanese - hara-kiri. In life, samurai sought earthly goods: land, family well-being, promotion.

In the 8th century, Japan turned into an early feudal, relatively centralized state. The head of state bore the title of emperor (literally - “Son of Heaven” - Tenno).

Since the 9th century, a system began to develop in Japan lords - inviolable possession, exempt from taxes. It turns into a large fief with a sovereign judicial power. The development of the seigneury system led to the emergence of a new feudal regime. The emperor was deprived of real power; it passed into the hands of the military castes.

In 1185, the Minamoto clan, with the help of samurai, carried out a military coup. The head of the clan was proclaimed shogun(great commander) and became the real head of state, controlled the emperor himself. The emperor's destiny was to study history, write poetry, and perform ancient rituals. The residence of the shoguns (Edo) became the de facto capital of the state. From here, police inspectors were sent throughout the country to suppress the slightest dissatisfaction with the military dictatorship.

Various administrative chambers and boards operated under the leadership of the shogun. Direct communication between the shogun and the emperor was carried out by an authorized shogun - tinday (Fig. 6.2).

Rice. 6.2.

All officials were divided into nine classes. The transition from class to class to the first, highest, was carried out through certification. The official was tested for honesty and knowledge of the laws. Anyone who answered the questions “without hesitation or delay” was considered professionally qualified. Anyone who did not pass the certification was not only demoted in class, but could also be deprived of his salary, part of his property could be confiscated, and he could be physically punished.

The shogunate was a unique form of military-feudal dictatorship, carried out in the interests of suppressing peasant resistance and limiting feudal separatism.

The weakening of imperial power is associated with many processes, including the growing independence of feudal owners, the reduction of state lands in favor of private feudal land ownership. In the second half of the 16th century. Japan was on the verge of political collapse. The country was rocked by anti-feudal uprisings. The struggle of feudal cliques flared up, and one by one the shoguns were overthrown. The clan won Tokugawa(1603-1867). He managed to maintain political unity and establish control of the central government over the provinces, cities, and estates.

New classes were established. Instead of two (warriors and people) there were four: warriors, peasants, artisans, merchants. The recognition of the last two classes was a step forward, symbolizing the emergence of bourgeois relations. The bulk of the ruling class was made up of the serving nobility - samurai, who were part of the shogun's army and military detachments daimyo.

Peasants, the main producers of goods, were in difficult conditions. There was the most severe guardianship over them, which served system so-called five-yard Administrative units - five courtyards, twenty-five courtyards, one hundred and twenty-five courtyards. The lowest level was subordinate to the highest. Each unit was headed by a sergeant major. He distributed plots, collected taxes, and monitored the behavior of his subordinates.

Feudal relations that prevailed in Japan for many centuries were similar to European ones, which, in the fair opinion of Z.M. Chernilovsky, is convincing evidence of the correctness of the Marxist historical concept of the origin and essence of feudal relations in general. If it is possible for such different peoples, moreover, separated by vast spaces, to develop and have such similar social relations, it means that there is a certain pattern in history and it must be sought not in climate, not in religion, not in skin color, but in something that can be common to everyone - in the development of productive forces.

• Chernilovsky Z.M. Decree. Op. P. 234.

In the VI-VII centuries. in Japan, the clan community gives way to a rural community, where periodic redistributions of land take place, on the basis of which each family is assigned a certain plot of land for temporary use. At the same time, the best lands are appropriated by the tribal aristocracy.

The struggle of individual clans for supremacy in the tribal union, the desire of the peasants to improve their situation created the conditions for the seizure of power by one of the influential clans, the period of whose reign, which began in 645, was called Thai. During this period, the process of creating a centralized Japanese state began. The process of feudalization of Japanese society contributed to the collapse of the allotment system. The new manorial system swept away all obstacles to the further consolidation of large feudal estates, and, consequently, the political fragmentation of countries.

The emergence of the early feudal state in Japan was preceded by a long struggle between tribal groups, which led to the hegemony of a tribal group led by the strongest clan Yamato. Relying on the Buddhist church, they appropriated to themselves the title of “sons of heaven” - emperors and turned their supreme power into hereditary power. The Supreme State Council occupied an important place in the state (Dazekan) headed by the first minister, to whom eight departments were subordinate. The emperor's power was not unlimited. He shared it with the heads of large feudal houses. Since 645, Japan introduced territorial division countries into provinces (kuni) and counties (chun), headed by governors and district chiefs, respectively. At the same time, a system was introduced in Japan "five-yard"- associations of five neighboring peasant households, bound by a mutual guarantee in fulfilling all the duties of the peasants to the state and the community. In the early period, military affairs were not separated from agricultural labor. This separation occurred during the period of feudal fragmentation, which contributed to the concentration of military power and the formation of a special military-feudal class samurai– professional warriors, vassals of large feudal lords. The beginning of the second period of development of the feudal state in Japan coincides with the emergence in the 12th century. a unique political form of the Japanese feudal state - the shogunate, in which all political power is concentrated in the hands of one of the largest feudal houses.

37. SEGUNATE (XII–XIX centuries)

The beginning of the second period of development of the feudal state in Japan coincides with the emergence in the 12th century. a unique political form of the Japanese feudal state - the shogunate, in which all political power is concentrated in the hands of one of the largest feudal houses. Shogunate- a military-feudal dictatorship of the strongest feudal family in economic, military and political terms, based on the samurai - the military-service nobility. Since the formation of the first shogunate, the imperial court became the center of feudal opposition. Formally, the power of the emperor was preserved - he was given all the honors due to his rank, but he did not play any significant role in the political life of the country. In the 13th century. The shogun arrogated to himself the right to approve the emperor, determine the order of succession to the throne, and appoint regents and other senior court advisers. Central state apparatus (bakufu) consisted of the main administrative chamber, which was in charge of legislation, the main military chamber and the main judicial chamber. Military governors or protectors (shugo) were appointed to all provinces. The weakening of the central government was greatly facilitated by the fact that at the beginning of the 14th century. The shoguns recognized their vassal dependence on the most powerful state in Asia at that time - China, to which the right to approve the Japanese emperors was transferred. The power of the bakufu was also weakened by its increased importance in the 15th–16th centuries. the Buddhist Church, which began to claim independence in the state.

From the end of the 16th century. the process has begun in Japan centralization of the country. XVI century was a time of continuous anti-feudal uprisings, an extreme aggravation of social contradictions, which prompted the most far-sighted representatives of the ruling class to create a strong central government aimed at strengthening the feudal order. In the 16th century The first Europeans penetrated into Japan; the threat of losing the country's political independence also dictated the need to unify the country.

The central government until the middle of the 19th century. did not dare to encroach on the very principle of the existence of feudal principalities. The head of state was shogun general. An extensive bureaucratic police apparatus was created under the bakufu. In the country there was a special layer of samurai-hatomoto, from whom the accounting, tax and administrative apparatus of the shogun, which was under his direct subordination, was staffed. The senior government officials - roju, who made up the shogun's government, were in charge of the imperial court, state finances and other state bodies. Japan, during the reign of the Tokugawa shogun dynasty, was a police state in which any manifestations of anti-government sentiment were brutally persecuted. Significant changes have also occurred in the principle of army formation. By decree of 1891, peasants were prohibited from becoming warriors, and samurai were prohibited from becoming peasants and townspeople.

In the 3rd century. In Japan, the process of decomposition of the primitive communal system began. Within clans, a clan aristocracy stands out, property and social inequality develop, and various forms of exploitation by the privileged clan elite of their relatives and foreigners captured during wars develop. Slave forms of exploitation, which contributed to the strengthening of the socio-economic and political positions of the clan nobility, did not, however, become widespread. The geographical conditions of Japan, its island position, and mountainous terrain constrained their development. Here it was impossible to create large latifundia with primitive tools (since irrigated rice cultivation required intensive peasant labor on a small plot of land), and also to obtain a sufficient number of slaves through military campaigns.
Not the least role was played by the special influence of the highly developed Chinese civilization, with its traditional socio-economic structure and state system, as well as religions: Buddhism and Confucianism, which was especially strong in the early stages of the development of Japanese society and the state. Speaking about the strong religious influence of China, it should be noted that of the two Chinese religions (Confucianism and Buddhism), the influence of Confucianism was superficial. It did not take deep roots in Japan in comparison with the easily digestible Buddhism, since at the time of its penetration there had not formed a sufficiently educated layer of religious ideologists capable of introducing its philosophical dogmas to the masses.
From the 4th century Tribal unions were formed in Japan, and in the 5th century. the leader of the Yamato tribal union unites most of the country's territory under his supremacy.
To intensify the processes of social stratification in the 6th century. and the formation of the state apparatus in Japan was greatly influenced by the long struggle of individual clans for supremacy in the tribal union and the victory of one of them, led by Shotoku-taishi, during whose reign the first legislative document appeared, the first declaration of the kings of Yamato - the Shotoku Constitution, or the Law of 17 articles (604), which determined the principles of public administration.
Being not so much political and legal provisions as the religious and ethical basis of such provisions, the Law of 17 articles advocates agreement, harmony, service to the common, not the personal, of all Japanese. At the same time, their inequality is directly consolidated, the ruler is especially singled out, then the nobles and the common people. The ruler is considered as a single sovereign, the nobles are his officials, and the people are the mass of people subordinate to them (Article 15).
The basis of order is proclaimed to be “universal law” (Articles 4, 5), and the sovereign is its spokesman, who as such has the right to demand unquestioning obedience from his officials. “If the superiors command,” says Article 3, “then the inferiors must obey.” The Law condemns planned civil strife, private ownership of land, and proclaims state ownership of land and state taxes for farmers.
The internecine struggle prevented the creation of an effectively functioning central government at this time, which was established only after another clan victory - the Taika coup (645).
The socio-economic innovations of this time were reflected in a series of reforms enshrined in the Taika Manifesto, supplemented by a special code "Taiho ryo" *. The reforms were designed to reorganize the management system and agrarian relations along the Chinese model. Based on the subsequent introduction of the allotment system, land, along with dependent people, was confiscated from private individuals and transferred to state ownership.
*The “Taika Law Code” (Taiho Ryo Code), which summarized all the legislative acts of this period from 646 to 700, was published in 702. The Yoro era that followed the “Taika era”, 717-723. (in Japan, unlike China, the change of dynasties is not recognized; it is believed that one dynasty established back in the 6th century rules), was marked by new legislation, which was included in the general code of laws "Taiho Yoro Ryo", the most important source of information about early stages of Japanese society and state.
Land plots, allotments subject to redistribution every six years, were distributed among full-fledged peasants (remins) according to the number of eaters. Slaves also received an allotment equal to a third of the free allotment. The state, as the owner of the land, provided for triple duties for the peasants: rent (to give) in grain, tax on handicraft products and labor duty, lasting up to one hundred or more days a year.
The introduction of the allotment system in Japan did not mean, however, an equal redistribution of land. A significant part of the land passed into the hands of officials (replenished by the same nobility) as official official allotments, the size of which depended on position and rank. The nobility received some lands for lifelong use, sometimes with the right to inherit the land in a straight line, from one to three generations.
The allotment system proved to be economically ineffective and short-lived in Japan. From the very beginning, the scope of its application was limited to the regions adjacent to the capital; the terms of land redistribution were violated, which were accompanied by abuses of officials, etc. Its foundations were increasingly undermined by the growth of private land ownership by the feudalizing clan nobility, which the weak central government could not resist.
Further feudalization of Japanese society led to the collapse of the allotment system. Periodic redistribution of land actually ceased in the 10th century, when the allotment system was replaced by the average private estate (shoen), created through the expropriation of communal lands, the development of virgin lands, which was only possible for the rich community elite, and numerous imperial land grants for merits and service. etc. The formation of privately owned estates was accompanied by the gradual transformation of allotment peasants into feudal-dependent ones.
The new local system swept away all obstacles to the creation of large feudal land ownership, and, consequently, the political fragmentation of the country with inevitable internecine wars, stimulating the development of relations of patronage, domination and subordination, and vassal-fief ties. The ranks of the emerging feudal class began to be replenished by the warriors of the rulers and large feudal lords, who received land plots as fiefs as remuneration for military service.
This layer of professional warriors, replenished by small landowners who sought protection from powerful landowners, turned over time into a closed class of samurai (bushi), with its own code of honor based on the strict requirement of loyalty to the master, up to the unconditional readiness to give his life for him.
From the 10th century In Japan, therefore, a feudal organization of land ownership, so unusual for the East, begins to take hold, together with the widespread development of small-peasant farming, which determines the similarity of the Japanese and Western Middle Ages.
A number of factors contributed to this. First of all, the creation of feudal forms of property in Japan, unlike China, was not prevented by an omnipotent state with its control and regulatory functions, since neither an influential Confucian elite nor a strong numerous corps of official administrators, together with an effectively reproducing bureaucracy, competitive examination system.
The traditional dominance of large clan groups, which weakened the center and did not let go of the reins of power, also had an effect. The power of clan feudal houses, relying on their own military strength of loyal samurai, became the main reason for the long-term fragmentation of the country, the ineffectiveness of the attempts of the first two shoguns ("great commanders") in the 12th and 14th centuries. combine it. The strengthening of central power, relying on military force, occurred only during the period of the third Tokugawa shogunate (beginning of the 17th - first half of the 19th century).
Long-term fragmentation, in turn, hampered the socio-economic development of Japan. The almost undivided dominance of feudal relations existed in this country until the middle of the 19th century, until the revolutionary, bourgeois in nature changes in the era called the “Meiji restoration”*.
* Meiji is the official name for the reign of Emperor Mutsuhito (1868-1912).

Story ritsuryo, those. The centralized medieval state of Japan begins with a palace coup in 645, as a result of which power passed from the influential Cora family to the houses of Sumeragi and Fujiwara. This time began to be called Thai(“Great Reform”), which became the motto of the reign of the new dynasty. The throne was taken by a representative of the Sumeragi family - Karu, who began to rule under the name Kotoku. "Taika Coup" (645) is a milestone that separates the period in the political and legal history of Japan Antiquities from Middle Ages: The era of the reign of the kings of the Yamato clan ends and a new era begins Nippon– Japan – The Land of the Rising Sun.

Specifics of politogenesis. Since ancient times, the islands of the Japanese archipelago have been inhabited by tribes kumaso And Ebisu. Then, over the course of several centuries BC, people moved to the Japanese Islands tribes Manchu-Tungusic, Malay and Paleo-Asian origin from the northeast, Indonesia, Korea, Indochina and the Pacific Islands. They mixed with indigenous people. The tribes that inhabited the Japanese islands lived in tribal communities and professed Shintoism- a religion based on veneration cult of ancestors and forces of nature, although each clan had its own deity. According to legend, in the 7th century. BC. leader Ivaro, head of a tribal union teson And Izumo on o. Kyushu, landed on the west coast of the island. Honshu. These tribes settled on the plain lands and formed a tribal union Yamato, which gave its name to the state and became the center of formation of the Japanese people.

The prehistory of feudal statehood in Japan begins with first public education – Yamato, which Not constituted states in the strict sense. It was union of tribes, consisting of tribal communities living at the stage military democracy. The head of the tribal union was ruler the main Yamato clan, which was controlled elders other large genera. All major decisions were made at clan meeting.

In the III–IV centuries. the process begins decomposition primitive communal relations and formation early class society. The Yamato state was not united and centralized. It was an early class state with the dominance of the strongest clan, which was based not on territorial, but on consanguinity and clan ties. Chapter Yamato received the strongest family tenno title"ruler pleasing to Heaven" or "Heavenly King". He concentrated enormous power in his hands, being at the same time chief, supreme military leader, chief judge And priest tribal religious cult. The kings of Yamato united most of the country's territory, conquered the Kumaso and Ebisu tribes during many years of war and treachery, but were unable to create a centralized state. The internecine war of clans and tribes undermined the power of the Yamato clan and led to its decline.

Against the background of the decline in the importance of the power of the kings of Yamato in the 6th century. rise up Mononobe's home And Soga. In the decisive battle, the 16-year-old prince Shotoku-taishi from the Soga clan defeated Moriya, the leader of the Mononobe clan. The political hegemony of the Soga clan is established, ruling for 100 years (536–645). Objectively, the tribal aristocracy was interested in the formation of centralized state power, which saw in the state a force capable of suppressing the discontent of the exploited population. In turn, the Soga clan came to power on the wave support the poorest sections of the community, who hoped to improve their legal and financial situation. Prince Shotoku-taishi (572–621) tried to implement reforms, aimed at transition from the organization of society to consanguineous connections to political-territorial organization of society.

Firstly, the former religion of the Japanese - Shintoism, which contributed to the preservation of the tribal system and tribal disunity, is replaced Buddhism and Confucianism, which are borrowed from China and Korea. They become state religion. Secondly, principles of government, borrowed from Buddhism (supreme sovereignty of the ruler, equality of subjects in the face of a single monarch, non-resistance to evil, renunciation of the fight against violence) and Confucianism (the principle of harmony and agreement between rulers and subjects, subordination of the younger to the elder), were the basis Shotoku Constitution 604 (Law of 17 articles). Third, were determined legal principles formation of the state apparatus based on the hierarchical principle in the “Table of 12 Ranks”.

The implementation of reforms was hampered by internecine struggles, they Not were completed, which prevented Shotoku-taishi from creating a strong centralized state. " Taika Coup"(645) opened a new stage in the political and legal history of Japan - history begins with it feudal state And rights Japan.

Specifics of periodization political and legal history of Japan is related to the fact that it was founded Not on the dynastic principle, and on change of clans, clans in power. The arrival of a new clan or clan is associated with the proclamation of a certain political course, heralding the offensive new era, the essence of which is formulated in a motto or slogan. Due to the clan structure of the ruling class, which determines political fragmentation and fierce struggle for dominance of various clans and houses, the desire of the most powerful clans to create a centralized state is relevant.

In the history of the organization of power and management of medieval Japan, periods of existence of a centralized state are replaced by political fragmentation, which allows us to highlight the following stages And forms political and legal development.

First period– Taika reign – “Great Reform” (645–1192) – folding stage early feudal centralized state in Japan. This is the period of political dominance of the houses Sumeragi(645–697) and Fujiwara(697–1192), who exercised a decisive influence on the imperial house and occupied the most important government posts. They spent reforms, started under Shotoku-taishi, borrowed from China.

Firstly, reform was carried out government apparatus to centralize its activities. “Great changes” affected the organization of power and management. The head of state was now hereditary Monarch, emperor who bore the title tenno –"son of heaven" He was the supreme owner of the land and taxes collected in the country. When Tenno was created Supreme State Council, headed by the chancellor. The country was governed by government apparatus, consisting of central and local authorities. The country was divided into governed by governors provinces, consisting of counties.

Secondly, was introduced allotment system and the agrarian system was reformed according to the Chinese model. The land was declared state property and distributed to allotments peasants and others. One time in six years the land was subject to redistribution. Peasants (Ryomin –"good people") received allotments from the state and were attached to the land, although formally they were considered free. For the use of land, they were obliged to pay the state a land tax in kind and handicrafts, as well as to bear labor and military obligations. Part of the land was distributed to privileged plots(from 0.7 to 300 hectares): officials, ranks, awarded for merit. Their recipients were representatives of noble houses or officials, who, in addition, enjoyed “feed awards” - a certain number of peasant households obliged to give them quitrents and serve labor duties. One of the means of increasing land holdings was the acquisition of slaves, on whom a third of the usual allotment relied. Feudal lords and village rich people expanded their possessions through the development of wastelands and virgin lands; these lands subsequently became their private property. Large land holdings, along with the peasants attached to them, were transferred to the imperial house Buddhist monasteries and Shinto shrines. These possessions were not subject to taxes in favor of the treasury. The subsequent development of feudal relations led to decomposition state ownership of land and the collapse of the allotment system. Periodic redistributions were stopped, and the land gradually became the property of the nobility and temples, who sought to increase their holdings at the expense of wastelands and imperial grants. This led to the decline of the family's influence Fujiwara by the 11th century and the intensification of the struggle for power of powerful clans Taira and Minamoto. In 1159, a 40-year period of struggle began between the Minamoto and Taira clans, called Gempei. The new ruler of the country in 1192 was Yoritomo Minamoto.

Second period– military-feudal state (shogunate) – era developed feudalism, seeking to achieve the military-political unification of the country. In 1192, Yoritomo established the title of Sei-i-tai Shogun ("Great Leader Who Subdues Savages") and founded the shogun dynasty. The basis of the state was military owners. The support of the nobility was military service samurai class. There are three shogunates in the medieval political and legal history of Japan.

First Shogunate – Minamoto(1192–1333). Yoritomo Minamoto carried out an administrative reform in 1192, creating a new military-bureaucratic system of government. She assumed dual power: religious and representative functions were retained emperor, and military, administrative and judicial functions were concentrated in the hands of shogun. The imperial title was formally retained. Under the child emperors, according to tradition, there were regents from the Fujiwara house, but they, too, were deprived of any real power. Practically all power was in the hands shogun. The relationship between the shogun and the feudal nobility was built on the basis vassalage.

Japan had two capitals - Kyoto and Kamakura. Kyoto continued to be the residence of the emperor as the religious head of state and the place of all-Japanese religious ceremonies. The capital of the shogunate was the city of Kamakura. Here were government shogun - bakufu, samurai affairs department, supreme legislative body And Supreme Court. The shogun's vassals were sent to the provinces (shugo), concentrating in their hands all the military and civil power. Special financial officials were sent to the estates of large feudal lords, whose duties included monitoring and control over the landowners, their households and the collection of taxes.

After the death of Yoritomo Minamoto in 1199, his young son Sanemoto became shogun, and Yoritomo's father-in-law became regent. Hojo, who then took the title of ruler ( shikkena). This title and post were retained by his descendants until 1333. Consequently, siccanate represented a special type of shogunate associated with the establishment of a Buddhist regency under a young shogun. From the 13th century until the first third of the 14th century. established in Japan triarchy: tenno(emperor), shogun And sesse(regent with the title shikken). In 1333, the struggle between the heads of noble families and the house of Hojo, who was the regent of the head of state and then usurped power, intensified. One of Hojo’s military leaders went over to the side of the exiled ruler Godaigo - Ashikaga Takauji, defeated Hojo's troops and proclaimed himself shogun in 1338. The power of the royal house was restored.

Second shogunate - Ashikaga(1338–1568), which was also called the shogunate after the name of the area where his headquarters was located Muromatti. The proclamation of Ashikaga Takauji as shogun caused an internecine war that lasted 56 years and was called the Chrysanthemum War, or the War of Northern and Southern branches. The fight was between Godaigo, who was supported by the nobleman Nitta Yoshisada, who belonged to the Southern Branch Party, and king of Komyo, behind which stood Ashikaga Takauji ("Northern Branch"). The civil strife ended with an agreement, on the basis of which the throne would be occupied alternately by representatives of both dynasties - Godaigo and Komyo. The shoguns had real power Ashikaga. They lived in luxury, and there was an endless struggle for power between them. Of the 14 shoguns of this family, two were killed by their own servants, five died in exile, and one committed suicide.

During the era of the Ashikaga shogunate, the first Europeans appeared in Japan - Portuguese and Spanish missionaries who actively and unsuccessfully (especially in the southwest of the country) preached Christianity, and merchants who brought the first firearms to Japan. By the beginning of the 16th century. the emperor and shogun lost all real power over the country. Feudal fragmentation intensified. Individual large feudal lords extended their rule over entire provinces. Created autonomous principalities, not subject to either the emperor or the shogun.

Third shogunate – Tokugawa(1603–1867), marking a new period in the political history of Japan - the period political unification of the country, completed in 1615. In the 16th century. The preconditions have matured for eliminating the fragmentation of the country. The struggle for the unification of Japan began. One of the most powerful feudal lords - Oda Nobunaga, having entered into an alliance with the feudal lords at home Tokugawa And Takeda, by 1582 he had subjugated 30 of the country's 66 provinces. At the same time, he carried out a number of reforms, many of which were aimed at developing cities and trade, and creating a pan-Japanese market. The construction of roads between provinces began, the liquidation of local outposts, etc. After his death in 1582, the work of unifying Japan was continued by one of his closest associates - Toyota Hideyoshi(1582–1598), nicknamed because of his ugly appearance Monkey. As a result of Hideyoshi’s successful military campaigns, by the end of the 16th century. subjugated almost all of Japan and concentrated military and administrative power in his hands. To calm the nobility, he created a collegial representative body of the largest feudal houses. In 1587 Hideyoshi published Prohibition Law the spread of Christianity, according to which Jesuit priests, under threat of the death penalty, must leave Japan within 20 days. Hideyoshi believed that Christians were leading the Japanese away from their national gods. From 1614 to 1638, 1 million Christians were repressed.

After the death of Hideyoshi, a dispute began between the members of the regency council when the heir was three years old. civil strife. Four clans of influential princes fought against Ieyasu Tokugawa - Hideyoshi's closest associate. In 1600, Ieyasu Tokugawa defeated his opponents, and in 1603 he received the title of “Sei-i-tai Shogun” from Emperor Goyozei. In 1615, Ieyasu's son - Hidetada Tokugawa completed Union countries: feudal principalities lost political autonomy and became judicial-administrative districts.

Political system military-feudal oligarchies, established by Tokugawa, lasted 252 years. All power was in the hands shogun. On behalf of tenno(emperor) laws were issued, ranks and honorary titles were awarded. The Tenno were revered as god's representatives on earth and lived in seclusion in their palaces in the sacred city of Kyoto. Tenno and court officials subsisted on funds provided by the shoguns. The Tokugawa were more generous than the Ashikaga, so the emperors did not live in poverty, as in the 15th century. However, even in Kyoto the tenno was not the master. With him was a representative of the shogun - the all-powerful Shosidai. He was governor city ​​and surrounding provinces, was in charge of the finances of the tenno and acted as intermediary between the tenno and the shogun, whose headquarters were located in Edo. In 1633, the decree of Shogun Iemitsu proclaimed isolation policy Japan: "From now on, no one, as long as the Sun shines on the world, is allowed to sail to Japan, even as ambassadors, and this prohibition must never be lifted on pain of death." In 1867, the 15th Tokugawa shogun - Hitobashi was forced to renounce power and hand it over Emperor Mutsuhito as a result of the bourgeois revolution - the Meiji Revolution. She opens Meiji Ishin era -“the era of great reforms”, marking the beginning of a new period of history - the era of modern times. The Meiji Revolution opens the era of the enlightened reign of the new Emperor Mutsuhito (1868–1912) - the era of the development of capitalism.