Okushima-so

Japanese: 奥島荘 - おくしまのしょう

…
[Peasant uprisings and horse-hire]
Since the mid-Kamakura period, villages were formed in rural areas as autonomous associations of farmers. The Omi region was particularly advanced, with the oldest surviving village code (village law) having been enacted in 1262 (Kōchō 2) in Oshima Manor, Gamō County. The village code was the rules for the village, and also stipulated sanctions for violators, demonstrating the development of self-government in the villages.

From Okushima

…The name of a place in Gamo District, Omi Province (present-day Omihachiman City, Shiga Prefecture). Before the Sengoku period, it was an independent island floating on Lake Biwa, forming Okushima Manor. The Edo period geography book Omi no Kuni Yochi Shiryaku states that it is located to the northwest of Kita no Sho, is not connected to the mainland, and is separated by a reed marsh.

From [So]

...A general term for autonomous organizations in the Middle Ages. In particular, the so as the governing body of a village community is a typical example. The character so is a kokuji meaning "all" or "whole," but in the Middle Ages it was often used to name autonomous groups or regions. For example, there were words such as sokoku (country), sogo (town), sosho (mansion), soson (village), sohyakusho (peasant), and sodera (mountain), and each unit held a meeting and made decisions by consensus of the members of that meeting. Then, in the late Middle Ages, the group or executive body itself came to be called so. The so-koku (social association) of rural peasants was first formed around the manor as a unit in response to feudal lord rule. ...

*Some of the terminology that refers to "Okushimaso" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…
［土一揆と馬借］
　鎌倉中期以来，農村では農民の自治的結合としての惣(村)が形成された。近江の農村はとくに先進的であり，すでに1262年(弘長2)現存最古の村掟(村法)が蒲生郡奥島荘で制定されている。村掟は惣村の規約であり，違反者に対する制裁をも規定しており，惣村自治の発達を示すものである。…

【奥島】より

…近江国蒲生郡(現，滋賀県近江八幡市)の地名。戦国時代以前は琵琶湖に浮かぶ独立した島で，奥島荘を形成。江戸時代の地誌《近江国輿地志略》には〈北庄の西北にあり，地続きあらず，葭沼（よしぬま）ありて間隔たる〉とある。…

【惣】より

…中世の自治的な組織の総称。特に村落共同体の運営機関としての惣が代表的である。惣の字は〈すべて〉〈全体〉の意味の国字であるが，中世には自治的な団体や地域に冠して用いることが多い。例えば惣国，惣郷，惣荘，惣村，惣百姓，惣寺(山)などの語があり，それぞれの単位で寄合を持ち，その寄合の構成員の総意によって事を決した。そして中世後期には，その団体や執行機関自体を惣と呼ぶようになった。　農村の百姓による惣結合は，領主支配に対応して，まず荘園を単位として形成された。…

※「奥島荘」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について | 情報

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