Mr. Choja - Uji no Choja

The leader or head of a clan. Before the Nara period, they were called Uji no Kami or Uji no So. From the Heian period onwards, they became the clan head. They were seen in the O clan, Genji clan, Fujiwara clan, Tachibana clan, Tomo clan, Takashina clan, Wake clan, Sugawara clan, Nakatomi clan, Imbe clan, Ochi clan, etc., and were the highest ranking official within the clan, and were responsible for the rituals of the clan god, management of the clan shrine, management of the clan university's besso, and the recommendation of clan ranks. The Genji clan is said to have originated from the Saga Genji clan, and the Fujiwara clan from Kamatari, Fuhito, or Mototsune. In the late Heian period, the head of the Fujiwara clan, regent, and chancellor were often the same person, and examples from the Heian period include Tadahira and Tadamichi. They were officially recognized by the head's decree, and received a vermilion tableware plate, a head's seal, and a tribute to his Imperial Highness. This became less common during the Muromachi period, and the Fujiwara clan's regent and the Koga family of the Murakami Genji clan held the position, but then under Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, it became a dual role for the shogun, and continued through the Tokugawa clan until the end of the Edo period.

[Yutaka Yamanaka]

"Ritsuryo System and Aristocratic Government, Part II" by Rizo Takeuchi (1958, Ochanomizu Shobo)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

氏族の統率者、首長。奈良時代以前に氏上(うじのかみ)、氏宗(うじのそう)とよばれたもの。これが、平安時代以降、氏長者となった。王氏、源氏、藤原氏、橘(たちばな)氏をはじめ、伴(とも)、高階(たかしな)、和気(わけ)、菅原(すがわら)、中臣(なかとみ)、忌部(いんべ)、越智(おち)氏などにもみられ、氏のなかの官位の第一の者がなり、氏神の祭祀(さいし)、氏社の管理、氏の大学の別曹の管理、氏爵(うじのしゃく)の推挙などを行った。源氏は嵯峨(さが)源氏に、藤原氏は鎌足(かまたり)、不比等(ふひと)、あるいは基経(もとつね)に始まるといわれている。平安後期には、藤原氏の長者と摂政(せっしょう)、関白(かんぱく)が同一人になる場合も多く、平安時代の実例としては忠平(ただひら)より忠通(ただみち)までみられる。長者の宣旨(せんじ)によって公認され、朱器台盤(しゅきだいばん)、長者印、殿下渡領(でんかのわたりりょう)を受け伝えた。室町時代にはあまりみられなくなり、藤原氏の摂関と村上源氏の久我(こが)家がその職を受けていたが、さらに足利義満(あしかがよしみつ)のとき将軍の兼職となり徳川氏へと続き幕末に至った。

［山中　裕］

『竹内理三著『律令制と貴族政権　第Ⅱ部』（1958・御茶の水書房）』

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