Letter of excuse - Geyujo

In historical documents, it is simply written as Kaiyu. During the Nara and Heian periods, when a new official was replaced, the new official gave the certificate to his predecessor to show that the handover of duties had been completed. The case of kokushi (provincial governors) was particularly famous, and within 120 days, the new kokushi was given the Kaiyujo to the predecessor, who then submitted it to the Daijokan (Grand Council of State) for approval, completing the handover. A predecessor kokushi without a Kaiyujo was strictly prohibited from returning to the capital, and could not be appointed again until the procedure was completed. For this reason, when a dispute arose between the new official and his predecessor, a "Fuyo Kaiyujo" was prepared between the two parties, stating that the handover was not yet complete. Under this system, some kokushi would remain in the provinces after the end of their term without receiving a Kaiyujo, causing trouble for the peasants, so in 842 (Jowa 9), kokushi without a Kaiyujo were temporarily allowed to enter the capital, but six years later, it was again prohibited. In addition, in 1025 (Manju 2), there was a case of a kokushi (provincial governor) giving a blank letter of dismissal to his predecessor before taking up his post, but the details are unknown.

[Shigehiro Kawashima]

"Sekkan Politics by Takeshi Abe (Kyoikusha History Paperbacks)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

史料上では単に解由とも記される。奈良・平安時代に官吏が交替する際、新任者が前任者に交付する事務引き継ぎの終わったことを示す証明書。とくに国司(こくし)の場合が有名で、120日以内に解由状が新任国司から前任者に渡され、これが太政官(だいじょうかん)に上申されて承認を受けることで交替が完了した。解由状のない前任国司は帰京を厳禁され、手続が完了しないと次に任用されないことになっていた。そのため新任者と前任者との間で争いが起きたときは両者の間で引き継ぎ未終了の旨を記した「不与(ふよ)解由状」が作成された。この制度では、国司のなかに、解由状を得られぬまま任期終了後も地方にとどまり百姓に乱妨(らんぼう)を働く者がいたので、842年（承和9）に、解由状のない国司の入京がいったん許されたが、6年後ふたたび禁じられた。なお、1025年（万寿2）には、着任する以前に、前任者に「白紙の解由」状を渡した国司の例があるが、詳しい事情は不明である。

［川島茂裕］

『阿部猛著『摂関政治』（教育社歴史新書）』

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