Legion - Gundan

A military system under the Ritsuryo system in ancient Japan. It was modeled after the Fubin system of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, and is thought to have been established around the time of the reign of Empress Jitō at the end of the 7th century, and was further developed with the establishment of the Taiho Code in 701 (Taiho 1). The Taiho and Yoro military defense codes stipulated that one cho for every three seitei (males aged 21 to 60) from each household be made into a soldier and assigned to a nearby corps. It is thought that corps were roughly evenly distributed throughout the country. A corps usually consisted of 1,000 soldiers, led by a Gunki (Gunki or Shōki), under whom were the Koi, Ryosō, and Taisei, who commanded 200, 100, and 50 soldiers, respectively. Soldiers were divided into infantry and cavalry, and in addition to serving in military corps on a rotating basis and undergoing martial arts training, they were also required to serve one year in Kyoto as eji (guards) and three years in the defense of Kyushu as sakimori (defence officers), and were also used to repair weapons, forts and embankments, and to escort foreign envoys, prisoners and weapons. For military affairs, expeditionary forces were formed and marched out under the command of a shogun who received orders from the emperor.

In the Tang Dynasty's Fubing system, which served as a model for the corps system, local negotiating offices (sesshofu) were under the control of the central Weifu, but Japan's corps had no direct subordinate relationship to the Weifu and were under the control of kokushi (provincial governors) as local administrative officials. From the latter half of the 8th century onwards, soldiers weakened as the stratification of farmers progressed, and in connection with the easing of political tensions in East Asia as the Tang dynasty declined, in 792 (Enryaku 11), corps and soldiers were abolished except in the provinces under the jurisdiction of Mutsu, Dewa, Sado, and Dazai, and instead, kondei were established as kokuga (provincial government) defense soldiers.

[Haruo Sasayama]

"Ancient States and Military Forces" by Haruo Sasayama (Chuko Shinsho)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

日本古代、律令制(りつりょうせい)下の兵制。中国唐代の府兵制に倣ったもので、7世紀末の持統(じとう)朝ごろ成立、701年（大宝1）の大宝(たいほう)令の制定により整備されたと考えられる。大宝・養老(ようろう)の軍防(ぐんぼう)令の規定では、1戸のうちから正丁(せいてい)（21歳以上60歳以下の男子）3丁ごとに1丁をとって兵士とし、付近の軍団に配属する。軍団は全国にほぼ平均に置かれたと考えられる。軍団は通常、兵士1000人をもって構成され、軍毅(ぐんき)（大毅・少毅）がこれを統率し、その下に校尉(こうい)、旅帥(りょそつ)、隊正(たいせい)があって、それぞれ兵士200人、100人、50人を指揮した。兵士には歩兵・騎兵の別があり、交替で軍団に勤務して武術の教練を行うほか、衛士(えじ)として京に1年、防人(さきもり)として九州の防衛に3年の勤務が規定され、また兵器・城塞(じょうさい)・堤防の修理や、外国使臣・囚徒・兵器の護送などにも使役された。兵事にあたっては征討軍が編成され、天皇の命を受けた将軍の指揮下に出征した。

　軍団制の模範となった唐の府兵制では、地方の折衝府(せっしょうふ)は中央の衛府の統轄下にあったが、日本の軍団は衛府とは直接の統属関係がなく、地方行政官としての国司の管理下にあった。8世紀後半以降、農民の階層分化の進行に伴って兵士は弱体化し、唐の衰退に伴う東アジアの政治的緊張の緩和とも関連して、792年（延暦11）、陸奥(むつ)、出羽(でわ)、佐渡(さど)、大宰(だざい)管内諸国を除いて軍団・兵士は廃止、かわりに国衙(こくが)守備兵としての健児(こんでい)が設置された。

［笹山晴生］

『笹山晴生著『古代国家と軍隊』（中公新書）』

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