Tsuikahô 122-129 : Matters magistrate of the precinct in Kamakura shall know about

Translated by Kaitlin Forgash, Chris Bovberg, and Dan Sherer.

Sumo wrestlers in a match depicted on a mural at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan.

In Kamakura the various magistrates should know these matters: Item: Regarding thieves Item: Regarding travelers Item: Regarding abductions of women off the streets ¹ Item: Regarding evil bands ² Item: Regarding the commoners’ trade in the streets and intersections ³ Item: Regarding making the alleys narrow [with new construction] Item: Regarding blind lute-playing monks ⁴ and also amateur wrestlers on the streets ⁵ Item: Regarding coerced sales ⁶ The magistrates should know the above mentioned passages and strictly guard their various precincts. There should be absolutely no negligence. So ordered by command of the Shogun. En’ō 2 (1240), second month, second day Former Governor of Musashi (Hōjō Yasutoki) ⁷

Original Text 原文　

鎌倉中保々奉行可存知条々

一　盗人事

一　旅人事

一　辻捕事

一　悪党事

一　下々辻々売買事

一　成小路狭事

一　辻々盲法師并辻相樸事

一　押買事

　右条々、存知此旨、可令警固奉行保々也、更不可有緩怠之状、依仰下知如件、

　　　延応二年二月二日

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　前武蔵守（北条泰時）

Kundoku 訓読 鎌倉中保々奉行存知ぞんちすべき條々 一　盗人の事 一　旅人の事 一　辻捕つじとりの事 一　悪党の事 一　下々しもじも辻々つじつじ賣買の事 一　小路こうじを狹めせばめ成す事 一　辻々盲法師めくらほうし並びに辻相樸つじずもうの事 一　押買おしかいの事 右の條々、此の旨を存知し、奉行の保々を警固せしむべき也。更に緩怠有るべからず之状、仰せに依り下知件の如し。 　　延応二年二月二日前武蔵守（北条泰時）

Modern 現代語

鎌倉中諸保の奉行人が知るべきこと

一　泥棒の事

一　旅行者の事

一　女性の誘拐の事

一　悪者の集団の事

一　庶民が道の交差点で売買する事

一　道を狭くする事

一　琵琶法師と交差点での相樸の事

一　無理やりで低い値段で物を買う事。

右のことについて、、奉行人が知るべく、それぞれの保を警戒するように。決して怠けてはならない。将軍のお言葉により命令するところ以上である。

延応二年　(1240)二月二日

前の武蔵守（北条泰時）

1. 辻捕（つじとり）tsuji dori means to capture women off of the streets and make them your wife, and so forth. Nihon kokugo daijiten. ↩

1. Literally “evil bands,” the term can be used for individuals or groups. The defining characteristic was opposition to authority, be that provincial governors, estate proprietors, or the Kamakura bakufu. See Morten Oxenbell, "Images of Akutō." Monumenta Nipponica 60.2 (2005), pp. 235-62 and Lorraine F. Harrington, "Social Control and the Significance of Akuto," in Mass, ed., Court and Bakufu in Japan. ↩

1. Intersections served as plazas for entertainment, commerce, social gathering, etc. ↩

1. 盲法師（めくらほうし）mekura hōshi are blind, often itinerant, lute-playing monks. Nihon kokugo daijiten. They are famous for performing the Heike monogatari (Tale of the Heike). ↩

1. 辻相樸（つじずもう) tsuji zumō was sumo wrestling performed by amateurs on an ad-hoc basis in town centers and plazas. Nihon kokugo daijiten. ↩

1. 押買（おしかい）oshikai, meaning using force or threat of force towards a merchant in order to obtain a reduced price on goods. ↩

1. 1183-1242. Eldest son of Hōjō Yoshitoki, he succeeded his father as the third regent of the Kamakura bakufu (r.1224-1242). ↩