Letter - Notice

A style of ancient document. It is exchanged between institutions that are not in a direct hierarchical relationship. The Yoro Official Code lists two uses for it: (1) when an individual official of the rank of chief scrivener or higher submits it to various offices, and (2) when it is used between temple offices such as the Sogo and Sango and various offices. However, in the document system of the Ritsuryo system, the Cho was a side stream. However, during the period when the Ritsuryo system was disintegrating, non-ritsuryo government offices such as the Kurodo-dokoro and Kebiishi-no-cho, as well as the household offices of aristocrats, actively issued "Kurodo-sho Cho" and "Kacho," and the position of the Cho as a document format increased. For this reason, even in the Middle Ages, there were many examples of the use of cho, ranging from records office cho, miscellaneous lawsuit decision office cho, to local manor administration cho. This can be said to be because cho was suited to the medieval society where bureaucratic hierarchical relationships were unclear.

[Michihisa Hotate]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

古文書の一様式。直接の上下関係にない機関と機関の間で取り交わされる。養老公式令(ようろうくしきりょう)は、〔1〕主典(さかん)以上の官人個々が諸司に差し出す場合、〔2〕僧綱(そうごう)・三綱(さんごう)などの寺院機関と諸司の間で用いる場合、の二つを用法としてあげているが、律令制の文書システムにおいては、牒は傍流の存在であった。しかし、律令制解体期において、蔵人所(くろうどどころ)や検非違使庁(けびいしのちょう)などの令外官司(りょうげのかんし)や貴族の家政機関が活発に「蔵人所牒」「家牒」などを発給し、文書様式としての牒の位置は増大した。このため、中世に入っても牒の利用例は多く、記録所牒、雑訴決断所(ざっそけつだんしょ)牒から、在地の荘園政所(しょうえんまんどころ)の牒まで、さまざまな例が残されている。これは、牒が、官僚制的上下関係の不明瞭(めいりょう)な中世社会に適合的であったためといえよう。

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