Dansen - Tansen

A type of tax temporarily levied by the Imperial Court or the Shogunate in the Middle Ages. It was so named because the amount was calculated in zeni (mon) per dan (tier) of rice field area. When levied in rice, it was called danmai (tiered rice). To cover the costs of national events such as the enthronement, Daijoe (the ceremony to celebrate the birth of a new emperor), construction of the Imperial Palace, the Shogun's visit to Kyoto, and the reconstruction of Ise Shrine, specific provinces were designated and taxed on manors, myo, and other territorial units within those provinces, and the Shugo (military governor) demanded payment based on the number of public fields recorded in the Otabumi (large fields document) for each province. During the Muromachi period, Shugo danzen, which were levied independently by the Shugo, appeared and became a permanent fixture. Shugo sometimes granted the right to collect dansen to their vassals as chigyo, and manor lords sometimes collected dansen in addition to their annual taxes. Sengoku daimyo who inherited the rights of shugo monopolized the right to collect dansen and began to impose it uniformly on their chigyo territories, and dansen became an important source of revenue on a par with munebetsusen.

[Murata Shuzo]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中世、朝廷や幕府が臨時に賦課した税の一種。田の面積一段別に銭(ぜに)何文宛(あて)と算定したのでこの名がある。米で徴収した場合が段米(たんまい)である。即位、大嘗会(だいじょうえ)、内裏(だいり)造営、将軍上洛(じょうらく)、伊勢(いせ)神宮造替(ぞうたい)などの国家的な行事の費用にあてるため、特定の国を定めて、その国内の荘園(しょうえん)や名(みょう)などの所領単位に課し、守護が国ごとの大田文(おおたぶみ)に記載された公田(こうでん)の田数によって催促した。室町時代には、守護が独自に課す守護段銭が現れ、恒常化するようになった。守護が段銭の徴収権を知行(ちぎょう)として被官に給与したり、荘園領主が年貢と重複して段銭を徴収することもあった。守護権を継承した戦国大名は、段銭の徴収権を独占し、知行地に一律に課すようになり、段銭は棟別(むねべつ)銭と並ぶ重要な財源となった。

［村田修三］

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