Kenji - Kondei

A type of soldier that appeared from the mid-Nara period onwards. Those who were able to provide for their own horses and were skilled in horse archery were selected, and grooms to look after them were provided by the state. They were the prototype of later samurai. In the Tang Dynasty, as the Fuhei system was undergoing transformation, "kenji" appeared as a form of recruiting soldiers to serve in military bases. The term was likely an imitation of this. Examples of the word's use in Japan already appear in the Nihon Shoki, where it is pronounced "chikarahito," but it had not yet been incorporated into the official military system. The kenji system itself is a military system from the 8th century. It was implemented nationwide as a military system of the Ritsuryo state in June 792 (Enryaku 11), but several instances of movement regarding kenji had been noted prior to that. The first appearance of the term was in Otomo no Kibimaro of Shiga County, Omi Province (Shiga Prefecture), who was a kenji from 725 (Jinki 2) to 734 (Tenpyo 6). During this period, there are records that 300 soldiers were designated kenji in 735, and the following year, kenji, choshi, and senshi were exempted from half of the land tax and miscellaneous taxes, so it seems that national policies regarding kenji were put in place during this period. This was followed by the suspension of kenji in the Tokai, Tozan, San'in, San'yo, and Saikai regions in May 738, and the term had existed for about 10 years. Perhaps it was the product of a new national policy following the accession of Emperor Shomu (724), or previously unseen terms may have appeared during this period, and kenji may have been one of them. Fujiwara no Nakamaro (Emi no Oshikatsu) came up with the idea of ​​the Kenji system as a military force to protect his power towards the end of his government leading up to the Oshikatsu Rebellion (764), which marked the end of the Shomu era. This system was a continuation of the Tenpyo 6th year (734) system, in which the Kenji were conscripted from the Kan and Omi provinces, including the children of county governors aged 20 to 40, and peasants skilled in archery and horse riding. The Enryaku 11th year (792) system was established to deal with the weakening of the Ritsuryo army corps, and after abolishing soldiers in each province except for key areas, to guard the military stores, bell storehouses, and provincial offices of each province. The number of soldiers varied from province to province, ranging from 20 to 200, and Kenjishos were established in the provincial government offices to which they were attached. The Kenjishos continued to exist until the end of the Heian period. The adoption of the term "kenji" is thought to have expressed the idea of ​​denying the compulsory system of peasant soldiers and recruiting only from among the children of gunji.

[Noda Reishi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

奈良時代中期以降現れた兵士の一種。騎馬を自弁し、弓馬の術に長じた者が選抜され、騎馬の世話をする馬丁が国から支給された。後世の武士の原型をなすものである。唐では府兵制の変質過程で募兵の一形式として軍鎮(ぐんちん)勤務のものとして「健児」が現れる。用語としてはこれを模倣したものであろう。わが国での用字例はすでに『日本書紀』にみえ、「チカラヒト」と訓じているが、まだ正規の軍制には組み込まれていない。健児制度そのものは8世紀の軍制である。律令(りつりょう)国家の軍制として全国規模で施行されたのは792年（延暦11）6月だが、それ以前に数回、健児に関する動きが指摘されている。初見は、近江(おうみ)国（滋賀県）志賀郡の大友吉備麻呂(きびまろ)で、725年（神亀2）から734年（天平6）まで健児であった。この間、735年には兵士300人を健児としたことや、翌年、健児、儲士(ちょし)、選士に対して田租(でんそ)、雑徭(ぞうよう)のなかばが免除となったという記事が残っており、この時期に、健児について国策が打ち出されていたのであろう。これはその後738年5月には東海、東山、山陰、山陽、西海諸道の健児を停止したとあり、約10年間の存在であった。聖武(しょうむ)天皇即位（724）に伴う新しい国家方針の産物であったのか、これまでにみられない用語がこの間に現れたもので、健児もその一つであったのかもしれない。藤原仲麻呂(なかまろ)（恵美押勝(えみのおしかつ)）は、いわば聖武時代の終焉(しゅうえん)ともなった押勝(おしかつ)の乱（764）に至る政権末期過程に、権力を守衛する武力として健児制を考えたが、それは天平(てんぴょう)6年（734）制を継承したものであり、健児も関国と近江国から20～40歳の郡司子弟および百姓の弓馬に巧みな者たちが徴集された。延暦(えんりゃく)11年（792）制は、律令軍団兵士の弱体化に対処して、辺要地を除いて諸国兵士を廃止したあと、諸国の兵庫、鈴蔵、国府を守衛させるために設定したものであるが、その定数は国ごとに異なり、20人から200人程度で、国衙(こくが)に健児所を置いて所属させた。健児所は平安末まで存続した。健児という用語の採用は、農民兵士の義務制を否定し、郡司子弟からのみ募兵するという理念を表現するものであったと考えられる。

［野田嶺志］

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