Tsuikahô 304: Regarding the money confiscated from selling and buying people

Translated by Sachiko Kawai, Matthew Keller, and Lisa Kochinski.

Item: Regarding money {confiscated} from selling and buying people. ¹ {The money from selling and buying people}has been donated to the Great Buddha, but the lesser itinerant monks ² said that they were having difficulty in collecting [the money sent] from various provinces. Thus, it is ordered that {military governors} have land stewards take responsibility for sending and submitting {the money}. Accordingly, the directive is thus. Kenchō seventh year (1255), eighth month, ninth day. Sanetsuna (Cipher) Kanjin (Cipher) Jakua (Cipher) Fifth-ranked formerly of the Ministry of Popular Affairs Lord Ōta [Yasutsura] Some Background: In 1231 (Kangi 3), at the height of the great Kangi-era famine (1229–1232), the sale of human beings was legalized. The rationale for allowing people to sell their relatives was to spread starving people to areas where there was food, and thus ensure their survival. However, the splitting up of family members contributed to a drop in the birth rate which exacerbated recovery from the famine. Buying and selling people was prohibited in 1239, but the practice had become widespread and it continued despite numerous attempts to stamp it out. See William Wayne Farris, Japan’s Medieval Population: Famine, Fertility, and Warfare in a Transformative Age (Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2006), 33–51.

Original Text 原文

一　人倫売買銭事、被寄進大仏畢、而自国々運上之事、有其煩之由、小聖申

　之、然者為地頭之沙汰、可送進之由、可令下知給之旨候也、仍執達如件、

　　　建長七年八月九日　　　　　　　　　　　　実綱　判

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　勧甚　判

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　寂阿　判

　　　　太田民部大夫殿（太田康連）

Kundoku 訓読

一　人倫売買じんりんばいばいの銭せんの事。大仏に寄進きしんせられ畢をはんぬ。而しかるに国々より運上うんじょう之事、其の煩わずらい有る之由、小聖こひじりこれを申す。然者しからば地頭じとうの沙汰として、送進そうしんすべきの由、下知げちせしめ給うべき之旨候う也。仍よって執達しったつり件の如し。 建長七年八月九日　　　　　　　　　　　　実綱さねつな　判 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　勧甚かんじん　判 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　寂阿じゃくあ　判 太田民部大夫殿おおた みんぶ たいふ どの（太田康連おおたやすつら ）

Modern 現代語

一　人身売買の銭について。[人身売買銭は、]大仏（の建設・修理）に使うように既に寄付されている。しかし、小聖（勧進聖の部下達）が国々から[人身売買銭が]なかなか送られてこないと申してきた。そうであるので、地頭の役目として、送り届けるように。[守護に]命ずるべきである。よって、通達することは、以上のようである。

建長七年（１２５５）八月九日　　　　　　実綱　判

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　勧甚　判

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　寂阿　判

太田民部大夫殿（太田康連 ）

1. The selling and buying of humans was legalized during the Kangi famine in 1231 (Kangi 3), but by the time of this document, 1255, trade in humans was prohibited. The money mentioned in this document is money confiscated from illegal sales of humans. For more on slavery during the Kangi-era famine, see William Wayne Farris, Japan’s Medieval Population: Famine, Fertility, and Warfare in a Transformative Age (Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2006), 33–51. ↩
1. Lesser itinerant monks (kohijiri 子聖) were the followers of the head fundraisers for the Great Buddha project in Kamakura. ↩