The Laws of the Muromachi Bakufu: Kemmu Shikimoku (1336) and Muromachi Bakufu TsuikahōEdited by Kenneth A. Grossberg
Translated by Kenneth A. Grossberg and Nobuhisa Kanamoto
Monographs (1981) pp. 1–171
When the eminent historian Sir George Sansom referred to Japan’s Muromachi period, 1336-1573, as an age of ‘much law and little justice,’ he was voicing the opinion of many scholars, both Japanese and foreign.
Yet a reassessment of this view is overdue, and in his Introduction to the present work Kenneth Grossberg argues that th period was in fact characterized ‘by as little law as necessary and as much justice that could be expected in the chaotic circumstances prevailing in late medieval Japan.’ To substantiate this claim, the Kemmu Formulary (1336) and 542 supplementary laws (tsuikahō) are presented her in English translation, thus allowing readers to form their own conclusions about this issue.
In addition, the extensive notes to the translation provide considerable information not only about the laws but also the government, administration, and customs of a period which so far has received little attention from Western historians.
1981. 171 pages.
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