Chigyokoku - Chigyokoku

A system in which administrative and governing power was given to nobles (kugyo) and shrines and temples other than the kokushi (provincial governors) within provinces under the Ritsuryo system, and they were allowed to obtain revenue from the provinces. It is also called sata koku (provided provinces) or kyukoku (provided provinces), and the nobles who were given this power were called chigyo shu (feudal lords) or kokushi (provincial governors).

As the kokushi system, which was the Ritsuryo system's local administrative system, gradually collapsed and the position of kokushu became a vested interest, while the salary system for nobles and other bureaucratic aristocrats became meaningless, from around the mid-11th century it gradually became customary to appoint the children of nobles as kami (provincial governors) in various provinces and allow these nobles to hold real power in administration and governance (called rimu, chigyo, sata, etc.) and thus earn profits. This was not a superficial system like the annual salary system or the inkyubunkoku system, which were also used to supplement the salaries and stipends of the imperial family and aristocrats, but it developed rapidly during the Insei period, spreading from regents and chancellors to courtiers of the fourth or fifth rank, and some even held two or three provinces at a time, like regents. At the height of the Taira clan's power, it is said that more than 30 provinces were under the Taira clan's domain, but further provinces were given to shrines and temples as construction fees, and provinces became the Shogun's domain; records show that in 1215 (Kenpo 3), more than 34 of the 66 provinces in Japan were under the Shogun's domain.

When a fief was awarded a fief, the lord would usually recommend a child or relative to be the provincial governor if he was an ordinary noble, while in the case of a regent or former regent, he would often appoint a close aide. The position of the fief was the same as that of a general governor, or provincial governor, as Fujiwara Tadazane, the regent of Owari Province (Aichi Prefecture), quipped, "I am both the regent and the grand minister of state and the governor" (Denryaku). Most of the fiefs were sent out to perform official duties, such as sending off memos and official documents, while taking a share of any other income as a profit. In addition, there were many cases where the Inmiya Bunkoku (provinces designated as Inbun or Kogobun as provinces that paid taxes to the retired emperor, empresses, or the like), which also rapidly increased after the Insei period, were used as chigyō-koku (provinces of fiefs); in such cases, it is thought that the fief holders presented taxes to the bunkoku-shu from their official property.

Naturally, the feudal lord would only perform his official duties during the term of his provincial governorship, but like general governors, it became common for his appointment to be extended or reappointed through means such as the Jogo system. Furthermore, from the mid-Kamakura period onwards, there were many cases in which a particular province was passed down hereditarily to a single family or temple, such as Tosa (Kochi Prefecture) by the Ichijo family, Kozuke (Gunma Prefecture) by the Nakanoin family, Iyo (Ehime Prefecture) by the Saionji family, or Suo (Yamaguchi Prefecture) by the Todaiji temple. Furthermore, as the chigyo provinces and the Imperial domains of the Imperial Court combined to cover almost the entire country, the two became homogenous and followed the path of becoming private fiefs and manors, continuing until the end of the Muromachi period.

[Yoshihiko Hashimoto]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

律令(りつりょう)制の国のうち、国司以外の公卿(くぎょう)や社寺などに行政・支配の実権を与え、その国の収益を得させる制度。沙汰(さた)国、給国(きゅうこく)などともいい、これを与えられた公卿らを知行(ちぎょう)主とか国主という。

　律令制の地方行政制度である国司制度がしだいに崩れ、国守の地位が利権化する一方、公卿以下官僚貴族の俸禄(ほうろく)制度が無実化するに伴い、11世紀中ごろから、公卿の子弟を諸国の守(かみ)に任命し、その公卿に行政・支配の実権（吏務(りむ)とか知行、沙汰などという）をとらせて収益を得させることが、しだいに慣例となった。これは同じく皇親・貴族の給与や俸禄を補うための年給(ねんきゅう)制や院宮分国(いんきゅうぶんこく)制のように表向きの制度ではなかったが、院政時代に入って急速に発展し、上は摂政(せっしょう)・関白(かんぱく)から、下は四、五位の廷臣にまで普及し、摂関のように一時に2、3か国を知行する者も現れ、平家全盛期には30余か国が平家一門の知行国となったといわれたが、さらに造営料として社寺に与えられたものや、将軍家知行国もおこり、1215年（建保3）には、全国66か国中、34か国以上が知行国であったことを示す記録もある。

　知行国を与えられた知行主は、一般公卿の場合はその子弟・近親を国守に推挙し、摂関あるいは前摂関などの場合はその近臣を申任する例が多い。知行主の立場は、尾張(おわり)国（愛知県）を知行した関白藤原忠実(ただざね)が「関白、太政(だいじょう)大臣にして受領(ずりょう)を兼ぬ」（『殿暦(でんりゃく)』）と自嘲(じちょう)したように、一般受領すなわち国守と同じで、多くは目代(もくだい)を派遣して吏務をとり、封物、納官物などを進済する一方、それ以外の収益を得分(とくぶん)とした。なお、同じく院政時代以降急増した院宮分国（上皇、女院(にょいん)や皇后宮などに料物を納める国として、院分とか皇后宮分と指定されたもの）が知行国にあてられた例も少なくないが、その場合は、知行主は納官物などのうちから分国主に料物を進納したと考えられる。

　知行主が吏務をとるのは、当然その国守の任期の間であるが、これも一般受領と同じく、成功(じょうごう)などの手段によって延任、重任(ちょうにん)するのが普通となり、さらに鎌倉中期以降は、一条(いちじょう)家の土佐(とさ)（高知県）、中院(なかのいん)家の上野(こうずけ)（群馬県）、西園寺(さいおんじ)家の伊予(いよ)（愛媛県）、あるいは東大寺の周防(すおう)（山口県）などのように、一家一寺で特定の国を世襲的に相伝知行する例が多くなり、また知行国と院宮分国をあわせてほとんど全国を覆い尽くす状況のなかで、両者は同質化し、私領化と荘園(しょうえん)化の道をたどりつつ、室町時代末に及んだ。

［橋本義彦］

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