Letter of opinion - Ikenjo

Japanese: 意見状 - いけんじょう

In the late Muromachi period, this was a petition submitted to the Shogun, offering opinions on how pending cases should be tried. The Hikitsuke system, which had been the core of the samurai litigation system since the Kamakura period, gradually became a mere formality in the late Nanboku-cho period, and was almost completely abolished during the reigns of Shoguns Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and Yoshimochi. It was replaced by the so-called Gozen-satai, which was based on the Shogun's personal judgment, but conversely, it was the Magistrates, who were extremely low-ranking in the Shogunate's official system, who actually had control over the entire trial process, from the acceptance of the lawsuit to the preparation of the draft judgment.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

室町時代後期，懸案の事項について，いかに裁判すべきかという意見を将軍に具申した上申文書。鎌倉時代以来武家訴訟制度の中核であった引付制度は，南北朝後期からしだいに形骸化し，将軍足利義満･義持の執政期にはほとんど廃絶した。これに代わったのが，将軍親裁をたてまえとするいわゆる御前沙汰であるが，逆に訴訟の受理から判決案の作成に至る裁判の全過程を，実質的に把握していたのは，幕府官制上はきわめて低身分の奉行人層であった。

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

<<: Iatrogenic disease

>>: Twelve points of opinion