REKIHAKU

No.154 A Witness to History

Shosoin Archives -- Ten thousands of ancient documents

In Shosoin in Nara, along with many "treasures" centered on the belongings of Emperor Shomu, old documents of the 8th century have been inherited. These documents are called the "Shosoin archives". Shosoin archives are an enormous amount of old documents amounting to ten thousands. These documents are currently organized as 667 scrolls and 5 books for reposition. It is miraculous that this huge amount of paper documents has survived 1300 years until today, which is unequaled anywhere in the world.

Photo 1: Four-Part Vinaya, Scroll 43 (Original, museum collection) One of the Buddhist sutras copied on May 1, Tenpyo 12 (740) for the request of Empress Komyo	Photo 2: Application for leave by Shiraginoiimaro (Original, museum collection) Application for 4-day leave in Tenpyohoji 2 (758) by Shiraginoiimaro who was a worker at Shakyojo
Photo 3: Loan application by Ooyakenoobitowarawa(Replica, museum collection) Application in Hoki 5 (774) by Ooyakenoobitowarawa, who was a Shakyojo worker, for mortgaging his house and land for one kanmonThe text in red says that the money was lent according to the application, and the principal and interest were repaid on April 12.	Photo 4: Family register of Shimousano-kuni Katsushika-gun Oshimago (Replica, museum collection) Family register of Shimousano-kuni Katsushika-gun Oshimago in Yoro 5 (721) It is concluded from a comparison study that Oshimago is Today’s Katsushika Ward to Edogawa Ward, Tokyo. "Shimousano-kuni seal" is shown.

The Shosoin archives were inherited as a group of old documents, mainly account books and office documents made and used in Shakyojo set up under Zotodaijishi in the 8th century. Shakyojo was set up as a national institution for copying sutras as the ideological basis of making the country safe, and played an active role in copying an enormous amount of sutras between the first half and the end of the 8th century. Accordingly, a large number of account books and office documents were produced in Shakyojo. These documents are generically called the "Shakyojo documents". Therefore, the Shakyojo documents are important documents not only for understanding the background of sutra copying but also the reality of Shakyojo and the circumstances of the Shakyojo workers engaged in copying sutras. However, it is thought that the Shakyojo documents became unnecessary as the activities in Shakyojo died down, and gradually forgotten after being reposited in the corner of a warehouse of Zotodaijishi. The rediscovery of those documents had to wait until Hoida Tadatomo, who was a historical researcher of the late Tokugawa period, "investigated and arranged" the documents. For the formation, inheritance, and structure of the Shosoin archives, Chapter 2 'Shosoin Documents' of Part 1 in "Study of Japanese Ancient Documents" (Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 2001) written by Kazuki Sugimoto is an important research paper.

Photo 5: Keicho of Yamashirono-kuni Otagi-gun Izumonoshimonosato (Replica, museum collection) Keicho in Jinki 3 (726) describing physical features such as the positions of moles, etc. in addition to the relationship with the householder, age, and sex "Yamashirono-kuni seal" is shown.

Photo 6: Shozeicho of Surugano-kuni in Tenpyo 10 (Replica, museum collection) Financial report of Surugano-kuni in Tenpyo 10 (738) "Surugano-kuni seal" is shown.

The Shosoin archives passed on to us today with this background have the primarily a feature of Shakyojo documents.However, the Shosoin archives have another feature as administrative documents of the nation under the Ritsuryo system. As the characteristic of the government of the nation under the Ritsuryo system is often called "document administration," the operation of bureaucracy, administrative orders, and communication between each government office were performed through the exchange of documents. This system has something in common with that of today's governments. Thus, an enormous amount of official documents were sent to the central government from the provinces: family registers made every 6 years as a basic account book for the Handen Shuju system and the requisition of soldiers, Keicho made annually as a book for taxation such as Cho and Yo, and Shozeicho which is an annual financial report of each province. These documents are indispensable especially for studying the family system, village system, popular government system, or national finance, which are important research themes of ancient Japanese history. These significant administrative documents are kept in the Shosoin archives.

Photo 7: Family register of Minono-kuni Kamo-gun Hanyuri in Taiho 2 (Replica, museum collection) The family register of Minono-kuni in Taiho 2 (702) is one of the oldest family registers in existence. It has been concluded by a comparison study that Hanyuri is Today's Tomika-cho, Kamo-gun, Gifu Prefecture.

Photo 8: Account book for 1,000 copies of the Lotus Sutra (Replica, museum collection) The account book in Tenpyo 20 (748) records the quantity of paper, writing brushes, sumi ink, etc. supplied to each Shakyojo worker for copying 1,000 copies of the Lotus Sutra, using the reverse side of the family register of Minono-kuni (See Photo 7).

Let's take a family register as an example for the specific. The ancient local government system consisted of kuni (provinces), gun (districts), and ri (hamlets). Family registers were made in units of ri and called the "family register of Minono-kuni Kamo-gun Hanyuri in Taiho 2" for example. Family registers describe names, ages, etc. of respective family members starting from a householder to family members and slaves. Three copies of a family register were made in kuni, one of which was kept in kuni and two of which were sent to the central government (Nakatsukasa-sho and Minbu-sho).It is estimated that several thousand family registers were gathered by the central government. Additionally, the above-mentioned Keicho and Shozeicho, and various other administrative documents were sent every year, which resulted in an accumulation of a great amount of documents by the central government. However, these documents were not stored permanently. They were disposed of after having been stored for a certain period. In the case of family registers, 30-year storage was stipulated by law. After the storage period had ended, these documents were subjected to disposal. However, not all of them were thrown away. The reverse sides of these administrative documents were blank sheets, so they were reused to make other documents after being cut to an appropriate size or patched together. Shakyojo collected some old administrative documents and used their blank reverses to make a large amount of account books and office documents for sutra copying. Shakyojo documents were created in this way. For example, the "family register of Minono-kuni Kamo-gun Hanyuri in Taiho 2" mentioned above is a family register made in Taiho 2, of which the reverse shows the "account book for 1,000 copies of the Lotus Sutra" in Tenpyo 20 (748) and other documents. The "account book for 1,000 copies of the Lotus Sutra" is an account book that records the quantity of paper, writing brushes, sumi ink, etc. supplied to each Shakyojo worker for copying 1,000 copies of the Lotus Sutra. Shakyojo received old family resisters and cut them to an appropriate size to make these account books. Therefore, the family registers lost their original forms at that point and fell into pieces by being used not only for the "account book for 1,000 copies of the Lotus Sutra" but also for making other account books and documents. The Shosoin archives have been inherited under this condition.

As mentioned above, Hoida Tadatomo, who was a historical researcher of the late Tokugawa period, focused attention on these Shosoin archives, especially the administrative documents. He “arranged” these administrative documents according to Kanshi prescribed in Yoro Code.He organized the administrative documents to a certain degree. However, because of this arrangement, original forms of account books and other Shakyojo documents were lost. For studying Shosoin archives today, especially for clarifying the real Shakyojo operations, it is necessary to restore first the Shakyojo documents lost by the "arrangement" of Hoida Tadatomo to their original forms.

Photo 9: Letter of Hoida Tadatomo (Original, museum collection)
The letter of Hoida Tadatomo, who pioneered the study of Shosoin archives, addressed to his fellow researcher Ban Nobutomo provides information about the Shosoin archives.

From its establishment in 1981, the National Museum of Japanese History has planned and implemented the making of color replicas of all scrolls of Shosoin archives to be used for studies and exhibitions. The basic policy of this project is to reproduce them as faithfully to their originals as possible in every way, and replicas of about 300 scrolls have so far been made. However, there remains almost the same amount of work to be performed, and this project will continuously be promoted.

The Shosoin archives are basic historical materials for studying ancient Japanese history along with Ritsuryo and Rikkokushi, however, they are secretly sealed by the Emperors under strict control of the Office of the Shosoin Treasure House of the Imperial Household Agency. Originals are not exhibited except some of them in the event of the "Annual Exhibition of Shosoin Treasures" held annually in autumn in the Nara National Museum. Therefore, their replicas made by the National Museum of Japanese History have great significance for the study of the Shosoin archives because their value is equivalent to the originals, and many historical data can be extracted from them. This replica making project is often evaluated as "a national project" by researchers because of not only the scale of the project but also the significance of the replica making.

Masayuki Yoshioka (Ancient Japanese history, Research Department)