Tsuikahô 245-249 : Matters the precinct magistrates shall know

Translated by Christ Bovberg and Kaitlyn Forgash.

Matters the precinct magistrates shall know Item: Regarding failure to maintain roads Item: Regarding houses’ eaves protruding into roads ¹ Item: Regarding building townspeople’s houses and bit by bit narrowing the roads ² Item: Regarding building small houses on top of drainage ditches ³ Item: Regarding failure to perform night watches ⁴ It shall be commanded to the magistrates of the various precincts that the above five matters are prohibited. For those {houses} still standing seven days after this is announced, magistrates shall lead their subordinates and destroy them. By this command, the directive is thus. Kangen 3rd year {1245}, 4th month, 22nd day Governor of Musashi [Hōjō Tsunetoki] ⁵ Lord Former Governor of Sado [Gotō Mototsuna] ⁶

A diagram showing how eave and pillar construction could interfere with city streets.

Original Text 原文

　保司奉行人可存知条々

一　不作道事

一　差出宅檐於路事

一　作町屋漸々狭路事

一　造懸小家於溝上事

一　不夜行事

　右以前五箇条、仰保々奉行人、可被禁制也、且相触之後七ヶ日於立之者、相具保奉

　行人者使者、可被破却之状、依仰執達如件、

　　　寛元三年四月廿二日　　　　　　　　　　　　　武蔵守（北条経時）

　　　　佐渡前司殿（後藤基綱）

Kundoku 訓読 　保司奉行人存知すべき條々 一　道を作らざる事 一　宅の檐のきを路に差出さしだす事 一　町屋を作り漸々ぜんぜん路を狭める事 一　小家を溝みぞの上に造り懸ける事 一　夜行やぎょうせざる事 右、以前五箇條、保々奉行人に仰せ、禁制せらるべき也。且つ相触あいふれる之後七ヶ日之を立つに於いては、保奉行人は使者を相具し、破却はきゃくせらるべき之状、仰せに依り執達しゅうたつ件の如し。 　　寛元三年四月廿二日                                                武蔵守（北条経時ほうじょうつねとき）    　佐渡さど前司殿（後藤基綱ごとうもとつな）



Modern 現代語訳

　保奉行人が知るべきこと

一つ　道を整備しないことについて

一つ　家の檐を道に差し出すことについて

一つ　町屋を作り、道をだんだんに狭くすることについて

一つ　小さい家を溝の上に懸け造ることについて

一つ　夜の警備しないことについて

　上の五つを諸保の奉行人に禁止されるように。また伝えた後七日間違背されている家が立てたら、保奉行人は使節を備え、その家が破壊せらるようにということである。よって、伝えることは、以上のようである。

　　寛元三年四月廿二日        武蔵守　（北条経時）

   　佐渡　前司殿　（後藤基綱）

1. Eaves (noki) would extend over the street, and render an area below them (potentially with the help of a supporting pillar or veranda) as virtually unusable for transportation. ↩

1. Townspeople’s houses (machiya) draws a distinction between the residences of commoners and warriors. At issue here was the encroachment of commoner houses into the street and increasing congestion. ↩

1. As above, this regulation sought to ban the encroachment of private residences into the streets of the city, in this case, the drainage ditches that ran on either side of a road. ↩

1. Night watches were organized by precinct magistrates, though they did not necessarily lead or even participate in them. They were composed of volunteer townspeople. ↩

1. 1224-1246. Grandson of Yasutoki, Tsunetoki succeeded as the fourth regent of the Kamakura bakufu in 1242, but ruled only briefly. He fell ill shortly after this supplementary law was promulgated, and died the following year. ↩

1. 1181-1256. An important houseman (gokenin) of the Kamakura bakufu, he served as Governor of Sado, as royal police (kebiishi), and went on to serve on the Board of Co-Adjudicators (hikitsuke). Nihon kokugo daijiten. ↩