Tatsukichi Minobe - Tatsukichi Minobe

Constitutional and administrative law scholar. A representative of constitutionalist interpretation of the Meiji Constitution. Born on May 7, 1873 in Takasago-cho, Kako-gun, Hyogo Prefecture (now Takasago City). After graduating from the Faculty of Law of Tokyo Imperial University in 1897 (Meiji 30), he aspired to study constitutional law, but worked for the Ministry of Home Affairs for a time because he was critical of the theories of Professor Hozumi Yatsuka. From 1899, he studied in Germany, France, and the UK. In 1900 (Meiji 33), he became an assistant professor of comparative legal history at Tokyo Imperial University. In 1902, he became a professor, and in 1908, he also taught administrative law. In 1911, he handed over the comparative legal history course to Nakada Kaoru and became a full-time professor of administrative law. In 1920 (Taisho 9), he also taught the second constitutional law course.

Influenced by the German public law scholar Jelinek and a historical perspective that interprets democratization as an inevitable historical trend, he established a constitutional theory that was the polar opposite of Hozumi Yatsuka. His theory holds that (1) law is a manifestation of social psychology, and where social psychology changes, the content of the constitution changes even if the provisions do not change (constitutional evolution theory), (2) the state is a legal entity with sovereignty, and the monarch is its highest organ (national legal entity theory, emperor organ theory), (3) the spirit of the constitution is that the emperor does not interfere in politics, leaving national affairs to the parliament and the cabinet (emperor above politics theory), and (4) it is in line with the spirit of constitutionalism for the emperor to appoint the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives as prime minister (British constitutionalism).

In 1912, Uesugi Shinkichi, successor to Hozumi Yatsuka, criticized this theory (especially the Emperor Organ Theory (2)) as a "different theory against the national polity" that claimed that the Emperor was not the sovereign of Japan, which led to a controversy, but Minobe's theory became the dominant theory during the Taisho period. He was involved in legislation in many councils, and was also active in the field of political debate, criticizing the Peace Preservation Law and supporting the London Convention. In 1931 (Showa 6), he was appointed by imperial appointee in the House of Peers. In 1934, he retired from the University of Tokyo at the mandatory retirement age. In 1935, his Emperor Organ Theory was attacked in parliament, he was charged with lèse majesté, some of his books were banned, he was forced to resign from his position in the House of Peers, and the following year in 1936, he was attacked by a thug and injured.

After the Second World War, he was involved in constitutional issues as an adviser to the Cabinet's Constitutional Problems Research Committee and as a Privy Councilor, but he was critical of the changes to the "national polity" made by the Constitution of Japan, and was said to have been "the limits of old liberalism." He wrote a huge number of books, including "The Japanese Constitution" (1921), "Constitutional Summary" (1923), "Administrative Law Summary" (1924), "Article-by-Article Constitutional Essay" (1927), and "The Japanese Constitution Principles" (1948), as well as a wide range of topics including legal philosophy, various laws, and political commentary. He passed away on May 23, 1948. Many public law scholars came from his school, including Miyazawa Toshiyoshi, Kiyomiya Shiro, and Tanaka Jiro.

[Ryuichi Nagao]

"A Study of the Intellectual History of Minobe Tatsukichi" by Saburo Ienaga (1964, Iwanami Shoten)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

憲法学者、行政法学者。明治憲法の立憲主義的解釈の代表者。明治6年5月7日、兵庫県加古郡高砂(たかさご)町（現高砂市）に生まれる。1897年（明治30）東京帝国大学法科大学卒業後、憲法学を志すが、穂積八束(ほづみやつか)教授の学説に批判的であったため、一時内務省に勤務。1899年よりドイツ、フランス、イギリスに留学。1900年（明治33）東京帝国大学比較法制史の助教授となる。1902年教授、1908年より行政法講座を兼担、1911年より中田薫(なかだかおる)に比較法制史の講座を譲って、行政法の専任となる。1920年（大正9）に憲法第二講座を兼担する。

　ドイツの公法学者イェリネックの影響と、民主化を不可避の歴史の動向と解する歴史観から、穂積八束とは対極的な憲法理論を樹立した。それによると、(1)法は社会心理の表れで、社会心理の変化するところ条文が変わらなくても憲法の内容は変化する（憲法変遷論）、(2)国家は主権をもった法人格であり、君主はその最高機関である（国家法人説、天皇機関説）、(3)天皇は政治に口を出さず、議会や内閣に国政をゆだねるのが憲法の精神である（天皇超政論）、(4)天皇が衆議院の多数党の党首を総理大臣に任命することが立憲制の精神にかなっている（イギリス立憲主義）などをその内容としている。

　1912年、穂積八束の後継者上杉慎吉(うえすぎしんきち)が、この説（とくに(2)の天皇機関説）を、天皇は日本の主権者でないと主張する「国体に対する異説」であると批判し、論争となったが、大正期には美濃部の学説が支配的な学説となった。多くの審議会で立法に関与し、また治安維持法批判、ロンドン条約支持など、政治論の分野でも活躍した。1931年（昭和6）貴族院勅選議員。1934年東大を定年で退官。1935年に議会で天皇機関説が攻撃され不敬罪で告訴されて、著書の一部が発禁処分を受け、貴族院議員の辞任に追い込まれたばかりか、翌1936年には暴漢に襲われて負傷した。

　第二次世界大戦後は内閣の憲法問題調査会顧問、枢密顧問官として憲法問題に関与していたが、日本国憲法による「国体」の変更に批判的態度をとり、「オールド・リベラリストの限界」といわれた。著書は膨大で、『日本憲法』（1921）、『憲法撮要』（1923）、『行政法撮要』（1924）、『逐条憲法精義』（1927）、『日本国憲法原論』（1948）などのほか、法哲学、諸法、政治評論など広範な領域にわたる。昭和23年5月23日死去。その門下から宮沢俊義(みやざわとしよし)、清宮四郎(きよみやしろう)、田中二郎など多くの公法学者が輩出した。

［長尾龍一］

『家永三郎著『美濃部達吉の思想史的研究』（1964・岩波書店）』

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