Family precepts - Kakun

Parents leave instructions to their descendants in the hope of the survival and prosperity of their family. The oldest book of instruction in Japan is the "Shikyo Ruiju" written by Kibi no Makibi in the Nara period, modelled on the "Yanshi Kakun" from the Southern Qi period in China. Famous examples from the Heian period include the "Kanpyo Goyukai" given by Emperor Uda to the young Emperor Daigo, and the "Kujodono Goyukai" written by Fujiwara Morosuke, a court noble's family precept, for his descendants, about the etiquette and rules for court ceremonies that he had learned from his father, Tadahira. However, family precepts were most popular in the Middle Ages and early modern times. During this period, samurai families became the leading class in society, and in these families, clan members and vassals were united around the head of the family, and they hoped for the prosperity of the clan by maintaining and expanding the family's land and assets. Therefore, the family precepts that served as lessons for the family were diverse in both content and form. The earliest samurai family precepts, "Rokuhara-dono Gofu-Kousei/Gokuraku-ji-dono Go-Shoshi" (Hojo Shigetoki Family Precepts), show the author Hojo Shigetoki's awareness of his position as a leader in the Kamakura Shogunate, and the "Imagawa-jo" by Imagawa Sadayo (Ryoshun), a warlord during the Northern and Southern Courts period, shows the rules of conduct for samurai who became feudal lords. During the Sengoku period, when the strong preyed on the weak, many family precepts were written to preach the establishment of new human ethics, family unity, and rules for enriching the country and strengthening the military in order to survive the fierce competition. Some of the family precepts, such as "Mōri Motonari's Last Words," "Tago Tatsutaka's Family Precepts," and "Sounjidono Nijūichikajō," considered to be provincial laws, contain strong family precept elements. In the Edo period, with the stabilization of the feudal domain system, most feudal lords created family precepts that taught loyalty to the shogunate, discipline within the household, and lessons for the domain's administration. As a result, some samurai families who were senior vassals of the domain also established family precepts. In addition, as the family fortunes of powerful merchants grew, they established family precepts that emphasized thrift, respected credit, and showed specific guidelines for controlling family business and household affairs. The Mitsui family's "Souchiku's Last Words" is a typical example. Family precepts continued to exist in modern times, but their significance generally decreased as the family changed.

[Masuo Murai]

"Research on Medieval Samurai Family Precepts" by Yasuhiko Kakei (1967, Kazama Shobo)" ▽ "Kyoto Prefecture, 'Long-established Stores and Family Precepts'" (1970, Yamakawa Publishing)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

家の存続と繁栄を願って親が子孫に残した訓誡(くんかい)。奈良時代に、吉備真備(きびのまきび)が中国南斉の『顔氏家訓』に倣って書いた『私教類聚(るいじゅう)』が、わが国最古の教訓書とされる。平安時代では、宇多(うだ)天皇が幼少の醍醐(だいご)天皇に与えられた「寛平御遺誡(かんぴょうごゆいかい)」、公家(くげ)の家訓では、藤原師輔(もろすけ)が父忠平(ただひら)から教えられた宮廷行事の作法・心得などを子孫のために記した「九条殿御遺誡」などが有名である。しかし家訓がもっとも盛行したのは中世・近世においてであった。この時代には武家が社会の指導層となり、その武家は、家の惣領(そうりょう)・家長を中心に一族や主従が団結し、家領・家産の維持拡大による一門の繁栄を願った。したがって、家の教訓としての家訓にも内容・形式ともに多様なものが現れた。もっとも早い武家家訓とされる「六波羅(ろくはら)殿御家訓・極楽寺(ごくらくじ)殿御消息」（北条重時家訓）には、筆者北条重時の鎌倉幕府重職という為政者的立場の自覚があり、南北朝期の武将今川貞世(さだよ)（了俊(りょうしゅん)）の「今川状」には、大名領主化する武士の領主としての心得などが示されている。弱肉強食の戦国時代には、苛烈(かれつ)な競争を勝ち抜くため、新しい人倫の確立、一門の団結、富国強兵の心得などを説く多くの家訓がみられる。「毛利元就(もうりもとなり)遺誡」「多胡辰敬(たごたつたか)家訓」などのほか「早雲寺殿廿一箇条」など分国法とされるものにも家訓的要素の強いものがある。江戸時代になると、幕藩体制の安定に伴い、幕府への忠誠、家中の統制、藩政への教訓などを説く大名の家訓がほとんどの大名家でつくられた。これに伴って藩の重臣級の武家でも家訓を定めるものがあった。また有力な豪商の家でも家産の蓄積が大きくなるにしたがい、勤倹を旨とし、信用を尊び、家業や家事取締りの具体的心得を示した家訓が定められた。三井(みつい)家における「宗竺(そうちく)遺書」などはその代表例である。近代以後においても家訓は存続したが、一般的には家の変質に伴いその意義は減少した。

［村井益男］

『筧泰彦著『中世武家家訓の研究』（1967・風間書房）』▽『京都府編『老舗と家訓』（1970・山川出版社）』

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