Temple and shrine land

Japanese: 寺社領 - じしゃりょう

From ancient times to the early modern period, land was established as an economic base for temples and shrines. Its origins date back to the pre-Taika era Kanbe (Kanda) and Terada (teraden), and after the Taika Reforms, under the Ritsuryo system, in addition to Kanda and Terada, which were not tax-exempt, fuko (shrine and temple fiefs) given by the state played a central role. From the mid-8th century, temples reclaimed land and developed manors, but these early reclaimed land manors lost substance in the 9th and 10th centuries, and instead, donated manors with territorial properties developed and donated by local influential people came to dominate the core of temple and shrine land. Accordingly, temple fiefs and shrine fiefs also became manors. Temple and shrine land manors had the privilege of not being taxed or entered, and were managed independently of the provincial government, with temple monks sent to the local area as custodians and local influential people appointed as manor officials. From the 13th century, following the example of the imperial family and the nobility, temples and shrines were also given the authority to govern a province for a certain period of time (chigyokoku), and the funds were mainly used for construction costs on a national scale, such as when Suo Province was made a chigyokoku when Todaiji Temple in Nara was rebuilt. As the samurai continued to invade manors from the 13th century onwards, temple and shrine lands were forced to decrease substantially due to the division of land. Instead, in response to the spread of the monetary economy, checkpoints were set up at key points on rivers and ports to collect tolls in various places, and this gradually became a permanent practice and became the de facto land of temples and shrines. After the Muromachi period, the land of temples and shrines decreased with the decline of the manors and public land system, and under the Oda and Toyotomi governments, all temple and shrine lands were seized through land surveys. From then on, throughout the Edo period, temple and shrine lands were provided as red seal land and black seal land, and were placed under the control of the Edo Shogunate and various feudal domains.

Source : Heibonsha Encyclopedia About MyPedia Information

Japanese:

古代から近世に至る，寺院・神社の経済的基盤として設置された所領。初源は大化(たいか)以前の神戸(かんべ)（神田）・寺田にさかのぼり，大化改新以後律令制下では不輸租とされた神田・寺田に加え，国家から与えられる封戸(ふこ)（神封・寺封）が中心を占めた。８世紀半ばからは各寺は墾田を行い荘園を開発したが，これらの墾田地系の初期荘園は９〜10世紀に実体が失われ，替わって地方の有力者らによって開発され寄進された，領域性を持つ寄進地系荘園が寺社領の中枢を占めるようになる。これに伴い寺封・神封なども荘園化した。寺社領荘園は不輸不入(ふゆふにゅう)の特権を持ち，現地に寺僧らを預所(あずかりどころ)として派遣，また現地の有力者を荘官に任命して，国衙からは独立した体制により経営された。13世紀からは皇室・公家にならい，寺院・神社にも一定期間一国の国務権限を与える分国（知行国）の制度が適用され，奈良東大寺の再建に際し周防国が分国とされたように，主として国家的な規模の造営費用に充てられた。13世紀以降武士による荘園の侵略が進むなかで，下地中分(したじちゅうぶん)などにより寺社領は実質的な減少を余儀なくされた。かわりに貨幣経済の浸透に適応して，河川や港津の要衝に関所を設けて通行料を徴収することが各地で行われ，次第に恒常化して実質的な寺社領となった。室町時代以降荘園・公領制の衰退とともに減少，織田・豊臣政権下では検地によって寺社領すべてが掌握された。以後江戸時代を通じ寺社領は朱印地・黒印地などとして給付され，江戸幕府・諸藩の統制下に置かれた。

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