In thc m edieval time, v illag e’s regulations \vcre not system atized as thosc in the 17* C entury to 19lh C entury but basic regulations vvcrc form cd such as regulations to classiíy u
Trang 1VNU Journal of Science, S o d a l Sciences a n d H um anities 25, No.5E (2009) 37-45
Japanese village in documents o f Shõens and comparative approach with Vietnamese village
Phan Hai Linh*
Cơllege o f Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU
336 Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan, Hanoi, Vietnam
R e c e iv e d 12 M a y 2 0 0 9
A b s t r a c t S in c e 1 9 9 0 s, J a p a n e s e S tu d ie s in V ie tn a m h a ve o b ta in e d m a n y s a lie n t a c h ie v e m e n ts ,
e s p e c ia lly in th e s tu d ie s o f e c o n o m ic s , p o litic s , c u ltu re , h is to ry a n d th e r e la tio n s h ip b e tw e e n Ja p a n
a n d V ie tn a m e tc In a d d itio n , a c o m p a ra tiv e a p p ro a c h to th e s tu d ie s o f J a p a n a n d V ie tn a m is a
h ig h ly p o te n tia l d ừ e c tio n
T h is p a p e r is đ iv id e d in to tw o p a rts T h e fírst p a rt íb c u s e s o n a n a ly z in g d o c u m e n ts o f the
v illag es in tw o M e d ie v a l J a p a n e s e s h õ e n s n a m e ly O y a m a a n d H in e , w h ic h w e h a v e s tu d ie d q u ite
c a re fu lly T h e o th e r p a r t p r o v id e s s o m e in itia l c o m p a ra tiv e re m a rk s o n J a p a n e s e v illa g e s a n d
V ie tn a m e s e o n e s u n d e r th e d y n a s tie s o f L y - T r a n - L e O n th e b a s is o f in itia l a n a ly s is , w e h av e
fo u n d th a t d o c u m e n ta ry c o m p a r is o n (in c lu d in g h is to ric a l, a rc h e o lo g ic a l, g e o lo g ic a l m a te ria ls , e tc )
o n the h is to ry o f th e tw o c o u n tr ie s ’ v illa g e s is a p o te n tia l s tu d y d ừ e c tio n , p a r tic u la r ly th e is s u e s o n
v illa g e ’s re g u la tio n s , o rg a n iz a tio n s a n d th e ro le o f m a n a g e m e n t a p p a ra tu s , th e ĩu n c tio n o f th e
v illa g e ’s a g ric u ltu re , h a n d ic r a ữ a n d c o m m e rc e , th e ro le o f a u to n o m o u s v illa g e s a n d c o m b a t
v illa g e s in th e w a rs, a n d th e v illa g e s ’ s p iritu a l ỉiv es H ovvever, w h a t m a tte rs n o w is th e m e th o d o f
c h o o s in g m a te ria l s o u rc e s , o b je c ts o f c o m p a ris o n a n d s tu d y , c rite ria o f sp a c e , tim e , a n d ty p e s W e are in th e h o p e o f g o in g o n th e d e ta ils o f th is m a tte r in th e C orning tim e.
Since 1990, Japanese Studies in Vietnam
have recorded salient achievem ents, especially
in the studies o f econom ics, politics, culture,
history and the relationship betvveen Japan and
Vietnam ctc In addition, com parative study is
:onsidered to be a prospective approach By
analyzing som e m aterials on villages in
lapanese shõens in the m edieval history and
;om paring them with som e m aterials on
villages o f V ietnam under the dynasties o f Ly -
ĩra n - Le, this paper proposes som e suggestions
Tel.: 84-4-62510658
E-maiỉ: linh_ph@ yahoo.com
for the study o f V ietnam ese and Japanese villages from a com parative approach
1 J a p a n e s e villages in m a te ria ls o n shỗens
The m aterials used in this paper to study Japanese villages in the m eđieval history (12*
C entury - 16lhC entury) w ere m ainly documents
o f proprietors and stew ards o f lw o shõens:
O yam a(1) and H ine(2) T hese w ere tw o shõens
(I) O yam a b e lo n g c đ t o th e Toji in th e S o u th ern v a lle y o f
the O yam a m ountain in the province o f Hyogo Oyam a had existed for about 700 years (845-1508), including
Trang 238 P.H Linh / V N U Ịoum aỉ o f Science, Soáal Sciences and Humanities 25, No.5E (2009) 37-45
t h a t h a d r i c h m a t e r i a l s a n d t h e i r v i l l a g e
s t r u c t u r e s c h a n g e d s l i g h t l y f r o m t h e m e d i e v a l
h i s t o r y u n t i l 1960s
/ / Village structure
h i s t o r i o g r a p h i c a l a n a l y s e s , m o s t o f J a p a n e s e
r c s e a r c h c r s a g r e c t h a t J a p a n e s e v i l l a g e s w e r e
c l o s e l y o r g a n i z e d i n t h e m i d t i m e o f K a m a k u r a
( 1 9 th C e n t u r y ) C u l t i v a t o r s i n t h e s e v i l l a g e s
w e r e l o c a l p c a s a n t s o r r e s i d e n t p e a s a n t s
(Hotiiciike) a n d s o m c “outcast pea sa n ts”
O u t c a s t p e a s a n t s w e r e t h o s e w h o c a m e f r o m
o n e v i l l a g e t o r e s i d e i n a n o t h e r v i l l a g e T h e y
h a d a l o v v e r s t a t u s t h a n l o c a l p c a s a n t s ; t h e y h a d
t o l i v e i n t h e o u t s k i r t o f t h e v i l l a g e a n d v v e re
a t t a c h c d w i t h b a d l a b l e s s u c h a s “person otì the
other side o f the s l o p e T h e y w e r e u s u a l l y
d i s c r i m i n a t c d a n d d i s l o c a t c d T h e i r h o u s c s
s o m e t i m c s b u m c d b y t h c s h õ e n s t e w a r d s o r
t h e y c o u l d b e k i l l e d a t v v o r s t T h e s e w e r e
d e s c r i b e d i n t h e Report o f Shõen Steward
Minamoto Kannesada ( H i n e n o v i l l a g e , H i n e s h -
õ e n ) o n J u n e 4 th i n t h e f o u r t h y e a r o f S h o w a
(1315): “ there w ere house burnings and
kilỉings; therefore, we had to stop recỉaimation
A t t h a t t i m e , o n l y l o c a l p e a s a n t s w e r e
p c r m i t t e d t o r e n t a g r i c u l t u r a l l a n d a n d p a y t a x
t o t h e l a n d l o r d s T h e y w e r e c a l l e d
nameholders^ An Enumeration on Cultivatiotì
in O yama Slìõen o n J u n e 2 2 nd i n t h e s e c o n d y e a r
thrcc m ain divisions nam cly lchiitani, Nishitai and
Kamoguki.
<2) Hine, located ncar thc city o f I/.um isano, bclonged to
thc South o f Osaka Hinc vvas property o f F ujo fam ily - the
royal family and thc dcscendant o f Fujiw ara family This
m anor had existcd or about 300 years (1234-1574) and
covered four main villagcs nam cly T rusuhara, Ihara,
Hincno and ỉnyam ada.
(3) Myodcn, scido was introduced in the 10,h C cntury in all
a rc a s undcr th c C entral g o v e r r m c n t a n d alỉ sh õ e n s
Accordingly lands wcrc given to vvealthy pcasants callcd
nam choldcrs vvith a prcdctcrm incd tax.
o f B u n p o ( 1 3 1 8 ) d o c u m e n t e d a r e a s a n d t a x e s ir
d e t a i l o f e a c h n a m e h o l d e r T h e c a s c o f t h t
n a m e h o l d e r U m a n ọ j o I e y a s u <4> o f t h e I c h i i t a m
v i l l a g e ( i n O y a m a s h ỏ c n ) v v a s a g o o d e x a m p l e :
[Ieyasu was given] 8 tan 20 s h ir o (about 0.9
h e c t a r e ) , i n w h i c h 1 tan 3 0 shiro v v a s i n t h e
upper íield w ith tax o f 1 koku 2 to, 3 tan and 30 shiro v v a s i n t h e m i d d l e - l e v e l í ì c l d w i t h t h c t a x
o f 2 koku 5 slìO 2 go, 3 tan and 10 sh iro was in the low er field w ith thc tax o f 1 koku 4 /o 4
sho A fter the paym ent to provincial salary
b u d g e t w a s s u b t r a c t e d , t h e t a x a m o u n t w a s 4
koku 6 to a n d 4 go [ 2 , D o c u m e n t N o 1 5 2 ]
N a m e h o l d e r s i n t h e t r a d i t i o n a l f a m i l i c s
w hose had a lot o f land ficlds and the O tona
( e l d e r l y p e o p l e ) w e r e n o m i n a t e d t o t h e C o u n c i l
o f V illage (satanin - executivcs) T he Council
p l a y e d a n i m p o r t a n t r o l c i n o r g a n i z i n g I h c
v i l l a g e ^ s a c t i v i t i e s s u c h a s r e c l a i m a t i o n ,
production and irrigation systcm im provem ent
It w a s w r i t t e n i n t h e d o c u m e n t s o f N i s h i t a i
v i l l a g e ( O y a m a s h õ e n ) t h a t t h e C o u n c i l o f
V i l l a g e n e g o t i a t e d w i t h i t s n c i g h b o r i n g v i l l a g e
o f M i y a d a l o m a k e a c o n t r a c t f o r w o o d - w a t c r
a n d l a n d - w a t e r e x c h a n g e i n o r d e r t o m a i n t a i n
t h e i r a g r i c u l t u r a l a c t i v i t i e s
“Copy c f the coníract fo r xvatcr rcsource.
On land fo r water exchaiỉge.
Including I cho and 5 tan o f ỉand fie ld m th
a deíailed draxvings atíached.
The above mentioìied land fìe ld in the
N ishitai village o f Oy am a shõ en belonged ío the
<4> Ancicnt Japanesc pcoplc uscd to havc o n ly first namcs,
no ĩam ily names F am ily nam cs w ere givcn to aristocratic íam ilics or thosc w ho servcd in thc E m pcror as titlcs or jo b codcs, knovMi as Kabane. Nam cs o f Japancsc pcoplc in thc medieval tim c bccam c m orc com plicatcd They includcd both titlcs and positions in thc family For instance, Fujiw ara Umanojo Icyasu: Fujiw ara w as fam ily name, Icyasu w as first nam c and Um anojo w as re-N^TĨttcn from Uem onjo (a ranking titlc), w hich m eant tha! this man vvas from a aristocratic íam ily in thc region In thc documcnts
o f O yam a shõen, he w as also knouTi as Ucmon Saburo (another title), w hich m cant that hc w as thc third child in thc family.
Trang 3P.H ỉ.inh ! V N U Ịournaị o f Science, Social Sciences and Humanities 25, No.5E (2009) 37-4!) 3 9
Toji ÌI is dijficulĩ)ê to \vater ílìis area o f Uỉĩĩd
field; therefore, we made íhis area as a
concession to the Aíiyada shõen in exchange fo r
\\ater liìte that \\ent through M iyada shỏen to
our ỉ and This contract, a s described in the
explanation o f the residenís in Oyamci shôctì on
Apriỉ 2n(i 1173, based on the precedence that
villagers exchanged xvood fo r waícr yvitlì
Miỵada shõen Botlì sides had agreed uith íheir
contract Recentỉy, Miyada shõen and the uppcr
area o f the Oyama shõen have been in
disagreement As a resulí, the \vood exploitation
and \valer supply were cancelled Nơw, land
concession was made an d wood exploitation
\vas resumed Even thouỵlì contract HY/.S made,
since the Negorọịi and the jiío Ị$l Motokazu
dclineaíed their bounứaty, the Negorọịi lìas no
forest Therefore, ị í has to exchange I cho 5 tan
()f ỉand jìe ỉd fo r water source I f no water is
alỉoxvcd to use, lam! fiel(I must be returned "
|2 D ocum cnt N o.78]
In thc m edieval time, v illag e’s regulations
\vcre not system atized as thosc in the 17*
C entury to 19lh C entury but basic regulations
vvcrc form cd such as regulations to classiíy
uppcr, m iddle and low cr Ticlds, to categoríze
land in the village mcluding public land for
irrígation system o f thc region; rcgulations for
village secunty or penalties for offensive
crim es Espccially, rcgulations were
institutionaiized by edicts o f shỗens ow ners or
other vvaưiors T hese w erc a basis for
rcgulations o f villages in thc m odcm history
The lcrm jito slartcd at ihc cnd o f thc 9lh C cntury with
thc m caning o f local land and Hcỉds For cxam plc, Jito
Qĩukari dokoro indicatcd landlords w ho m adc land
conccssions lo othcrs and bccam c shỏcn stew ards Then,
ihis tcm i gcncrally rcícrrcd 10 landlords in thc I0,h and
I r h C cnturics ỉn Ihc ycar o f Bunji (1185 M inam oto
V o n to m o r c q u c s ic d ih c E m p c ro r to ISSUC th c s ta tu lc to
nssigned Jỉto % chc s ta n o f Jiioseido. Sincc thc 13lh Ccntury
h to b ccam c a tc rm to rcfcr to w arriors w ho hãd
:on!nbution to thc Jokyu disordcr (1221) and wcrc scnt to
iccurc sh ỏ cn s and tax collcction.
L c t’s takc an cxam plc o f thc cdict issucd by
K ụ ị o M a s a m o t o t o v i l l a g e s in t h e H i n e s h õ c n
on April 6 lh in thc year o f Bunki (1501)
“ Edict:
1 Village ọffìcials a re noi alỉo\ved to
pretext public (iu ty to pester ỉocal residents;
2 Those incỉudiììg village ọffìcials who
steaỉ more thun 3 units o f currency \vith clear evidence \vill bi' immediately executed;
3 Village oJJìciaỉs are noí allow ed to in/ringe upotì w ives a n d m aids o f other nam ehoìders " Ị3, p 12].
1.2 Autonomous village
A t thc end o f K am akura and the beginning
o f thc M urom achi (14th - 15,h Centuries), autonom ous villages startcd in cxistence in Japan V illagc peasants requested landlords to rem ove the m ediatc managcrial system and replaced it with thcir own villagcs’ notables These notables w erc responsiblc for land divisions, cultivation activity reports, tax collections and paym ents to thc lanđlords This transition was dcscribed in the Contract o f Land
M anagenal Rights in the Ichiilani village o f
O yam a shõcn on June 14^ in the second ycar o f Bunpo (1318)
44A rcport to the Toji on annual lax payment
o f Ichiitani villagc o f O yam a shõen in the provincc o f Tam ba
Including 8 cho 3 tan and 30 slĩiro, o f
vvhich:
3 cho 3 tan was in the uppcr field with tax
ra te o f 7 to 5 sho/tan
rate o f 5 to 7 sho/tan
1 cho 6 lan 30 sltiro was in the low er field
w ith tax ratc o f 4 to 5 clioỉtan After categorized as upper, middle and
l o w e r f ì e ỉ d s , a p a r t o f o u r ỉ a n d w a s g i v e n Í O t h e
Trang 44 0 P.H Linh / V N U Ịoum aỉ o f Science Soàaỉ Sciences and Humanities 25, No.5E (2009) 37-45
1 kuko/tan B ut there w as a b a d Harvest, the
Tempĩe sent its represeníatìve to have a check
causing both the N egoroji a n d th e village
troublesome Tax m te s are applied respectively
to each category o f th e land fìe ld as upper,
m iddle and low er fìe ld a t th e request o f the
masses Since then, despite b a d harvests or
d r o u g h ỉ s , ÍCLX p a y m e n t s m u s t b e m a d e i n t h e
m iddle o f every November
Ju n e I4 th s e c o m ỉy e a r o f B unpo
Umanojo (signed)
Taira Shọịi (ỉnitialed)Ị5)
M eizen (signecị) [2, D ocum ent No 152]
During thc vvarring time (m id 15,h C entury
- mid 16 !h Century), the C ouncils o f V illage
played a very im portant role in the village
deíense A t that timc, Notables w ere also the
heads o f groups o f nam eholders They
negotiated w ith the proprictors or othcr vvarriors
and w ere responsiblc for thc village security
The report o f the head o f the O yam a shõen in
the forth year o f Showa (1315) docum ented that
inhabitants in N ishitai village follow ed one
Notable, Y ukioka N yudo to cooperate w ith the
local w aư io rs for protection
“Response o f the stew ard o f O yam a shõen
on problem s o f the 0)>ama shỏetì
Yukioka N yudo in íhe N ishitai village and
fello w s took the fa c t thai th ey d id not have
money a s a p retext not to p a y the ta x to the
C e n t r a l Emperor
The villagers requested lo use m oney to p a y
the tax o f rice
<5) Ancient and mcdicval docum cnts vvcrc usually scalcd
by the person w ho preparcd and the person w ho vvas
r c s p o n s ib le fo r th e d o c u m c n t s a s w c s i g n OUI d o tu m e n is
novvadays It w as common that docum cnts w ere sealed by
the stam ps but ihc mcdicval Japancsc uscd to sign with the
quill pens T hcsc signalurcs w crc knovvn as kao. Those
w ho could not vvritc w ould makc a circle instead o f
signing thc docum cnts T hcsc circlcs w ere known as
ryakuo, translatcd as thc initial.
They b a se d on the ịito seid o , d id n o t obe\ the ru les a n d fo Ilo w ed the evil g a n g (6} G en zo v
[2, D ocum cnt N o 137]
I f nccded, N o tab les vvere w illing to go to the Central govem m ent o r to thc neighboring villages to n eg o tiate for their villages’ benefits
D ocum ents o f H in en o villagc rccordcd an event
on S eptcm bcr 3rd in the y car o f Bunki (1501)
On h c a n n g that the vvarriors from the N egoroji
(belonged to the tc m to ry headed by
H atakeyam a) prepared to attack H ineno village, its N olables discussed that “this is a m om ent o f deciding o u r survival It is necessary to negotiate (w ith th c N egoroji) and m ake a concession (to avoid w ar) ” [3, p.149] O n the day follow cd, rcpresentativcs o f H ineno
subm itted to thc N egorọịi m ore than 200 katì [3,
p 154] w hich vvas equivalcnt to their annual tax paym ent
1.3 C om baí Village
T h e villagc m ilitia was vcry im portant in
autonom ous villages in Japan T h e militia was
responsible for th c night patrols, fire and crim inal prevcntion T he docum ents o f H ine sh- õen show ed that th e villagc m ilitia vvas about 20
strong men, know n as m ura no bushi Notables
in the villages “ chosc the elderly to lead the strong y o u th s " [3, p.258]
D uring the w ar tim e, the m ilitias were main íorces to protcct their villages They set up guarding posts, send alarm s o f enemy to the villages T hey h elp ed villagers to evacuate properties and cattle, im plem ent the plan o f
“em pty garden and deserted house” On 26ưi June in the second ycar o f Bunki (1502), having heard that their village vvould be attacked, villagers o f the H ine shỏen dccided to take
(6) This term used b y thc ccntral govcm m cnt and the Bakufu to reĩer to local sclf-arm ed gangs who did not obey the adm inistration.
Trang 5p II I inh ! V N U lo u m a ỉ o f Sàenct', Sociaỉ Sciences and Humanities 2bẩ No.5L (2009) 37-45 41
advantagcs ol’ their v illag c’s gcographical
position to sct up thc battle to d elcat the enem y
" residents in th e easíern p a r t o f ỉỉin e n o
left the village and m oved up to the m ountains
The enem y Hvtild attack fro m Tsuchim aru - a
com m unes xvould gather to a íta c k at the
Tsuchimaru at the request o f th e en em y " [3,
p 125]
On Septcm bcr 2 ^ in ih c y e a r o f Bunki
(1501), on hearing that the en cm y p lan n cd to
atlack thc village, the leaders o f the v illa g e ’s
militia and thc C ouncĩl o f N o tab les gathcrcd to
discuss a plan to lìght thc cncm y “ (villagers)
evacuate their properties, d riv e th eir horses
a n d cows in the early m o rn in g th e m iỉitia
p rcten d ed to go hunting b u t th cy m a d e an
ambustì for the enem y [3, p.73].
1.4 Inter- village connecíion
The rclationship betw een villages in thc
same rcgion vvas a spccial fealure o f Japan in
thc mcdicval history 'ỉ'he rclationship betw ccn
N ishita and M iyata vvas ju st introduced in the
above Hvcn though thcy som etim es had
troublcs in thc usc o f w atcr rcso u rce and the
w ood exploitation, the fact that N ishitai
villagers used the w ater line from the fields o f
M iyada shõen during the tim c o f K am akura
indicatcd thc coopcration betvveen the tw o sides
D ocum cnts o f Ilinc also recorded the ku m i
no g o - the association am ong villages during
thc vvarring time T h ey agrccd to lct o f f ílares as
a signal o f bcing attacked to call for h elp from
othcrs “IVhen the N egorọịi sta rts to a tta c k one
village, there w o uld be a whir ỈVhenever a
\vhir, other villages in the a sso cia tio n w ould
com e to help The w hir w as w inded, a ll villages
immediateỉy cante to help fr o m n o w on, they
wiỉl come tu Help whenever n e e d e d \3, p.82-83].
W hen there w as a natural d isaster, all
villages in the association vvould co op erate to
overcom e it O ne good exam ple o f this cooperation was the fact that Hine shõen helped Tsuchim ura and Shobu o f Iriyamada village,
w hich was recordcd in thc docum ents o f Kujo, one proprietor, on Scptcm bcr 15Í in thc second year o f Bunki (1502)
was heard thai the fỉo o d h a d svvept
aw ay í he w ater conduit o f Tsuchim ura and Shobu to the N agatưki shõen A heỉp was offered bu í they sa id it was no í needed Bu ỉ ií
vvaỏ’ dij]ìcult to rep a ir the w ater conduit A ll
p eo p le incỉuding chiỉdren a n d the elderly fro m
fo u r com m unes o f Iriyam ada a n d fr o m Hineno cam e to Help repair ỉ he conduit M ore than 400
p eo p le w ere unabỉe ío com plete the íask
neighborìng K am i a n d N agataki carne to heỉp The K am i offered m any kinds o f wines to celebrate their com pletion o f í he ta sk ” [ ĩ,
p 1 4 8 ]
1.5 C ultural a n d sp iritual activiíies
M any cultural and spiritual activities o f Japanesc w ere rcílected in the docum ents o f
O yam a and H ine shõcns B uddhist pagodas
w ere built in traditional rcsidcnt arcas ( Choarỹi
o f Ichiitani and Ik ẹ ịin ) o r in im portant areas o f
the vvater resourcc (Shipporyuji o f Hineno
Iriyam da) Some pagodas vvere the headquarters
o f the villages o r shõens ( Chofukuji o f
Inyam ada) Each family had its OUT1 pagoda in the villages such as that o f the M uhenkọịi o f the
M inam oto family In addition, each village had its own genie tem ple (Oyuscki Tcm ple in
H ineno, H achim an in Ichiitani) and many shrines in the borders am ong villages to
w orship the earth genics, sainokam i, jizo
V illage festivals w ere celebrated in four seasons in accordance w ith agricultural celebrations w hich grcatly influcnced by
C hincsc culture such as the festivals to pray for good harvests and rains, to thank the G od o f
A griculture etc D ocum ents o f O yam a shõen
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did not recorded any o f thesc íestivals but those
íestivals vvere many tim es recorded in the
docum cnts o f M asamoto O ne o f them was the
festival to pray for rain on July 20lh in the year
o f Bunki (1501): “ due ío th e recen t drought,
now m onks fr o m Shipporyụịi o f the Inunaki
m ountain cam e to p ra y f o r rain I f the drought
coníinues, th e pray w ill be h e ld at the Pory ụịi
I f no rain, the pray \vill be at the Bai D ong
M inh Vuong S íilỉ no rain, a b o m o r a stag head
will be thro\vn into the stream It is said that i f so
rain will tìot be impossibIe [3, p.56].
One o f the biggest íestivals o f Japancse
pcoplc vvas the Urabon<7) This fcstival vvas greatly
significant to the peoplc o f thc H ine shõen, vvhere
they used to face with wars, epidem ics, natural
disasters Therefore, it was annualiy hcld from the
11lh to 16 U’ o f the 701 month o f thc lunar calcndar
“ ow the l ì th niglĩt, Tsuchimaru villagers
worship and p ra y in fr o n t o f the pagoda Otì the
I2th night when them oon is clearest, Ogivillagers
vv/// tíỉke their turn to worship a n d p ra y in the
fro n t garden on the I3 lh nighí, viỉlagers o f
Funahuchi com e to Hvrship a n d p ra y in the
garden After worship a n d pray, they perform a
variety o f datices The)’ perform these activities
very ỵvelỉ Or seeing íhese celebraíioKs, (I
íhought) their skiìỉs and taỉents were so
marveỉous oti the 15'h night, when the moon is
clear, villagers o f Slỉobu w orship a n d p ra y in
the garden otì the I 6 lh n ig h t O gi villagers and
som e o f Tsuchimaru villagers continue ío
worship a n d pray in th e g ard en while the
Tsuchim am a n d ỉhe Ogi, the Sh o bu a n d the
Funabuchi arc dancing together ” [3, p.55-
56]
^ Urabon is 2 translation of Ulmabana, mcaning the pray
for ur\an This is similar to thc Buddhist holiday hcld
annually on 15th o f thc 7,h m onth o f thc lunar calcndar In
Japan, this íestival uscd to bc hcld 13‘h -15ỉh o f thc scvcnth
month o f thc lunar calcndar but today il is hcld diíĩercntly
in various locations and can bc in thc 7,h an d 8,h m onth o f
thc lunar calcndar.
In the context o f unstable lifc during th
w arring tim e, these íestivals hclped to conncc pcoplc and reílected im m ortal living strength o Japancse villagers at that time
2 Sonic co m p ariso n s \vith villages in V ietn am
In V ietnam , evcn though not very m any o:
m aterials on V ietnam ese v illag e’s structurc, anc cultural and spiritual activities in thc tim e o f L>
- 'I ran - Le dynasties w ere prcservcd, othei
m atenals such as historical books, cpitaphs and researchcs shovv that V ietnam esc villages had many sim ilarities vvith those o f Japan Some rescarchers have com pared v illag e’s regulations and bclicís bctw ccn V ietnam and Japar« [4,5] The tbllovving section is to provide some com parisons betw een Japanese villages in thc medieval history and those o f V ietnam under the dynastics o f Ly - T ran - Le
As above analyzed, Japanesc villagc structurc was rellected in docum ents o f which serv'ed as a íorcrunner o f village lcgal regulations V ietnam ese village structure vvas partly rcílcctcd in the village rcgulations and conventions w hich startcd in th e 14th and 15lh
C enturics and w ell dcvelopcd in the 16^ - 19lh
C cnturics Inhabitant struclurc was also dividcd into original o r local villagcrs and outcast villagers O utcast villagers had a low cr stalus Ihan that o f local villagcrs T he villagc was
m anagcd by the village officialdom which
included a village c h ie f {Xa truong) and some other posts (Xa tu, X a giam) Thesc positions
w ere selected by the villagers and thcy vvere
prestigious, wealth and literacy like satanin in
Japan
In the 15th - ló lh C enturies, in Japan one bordcr territory w as establishcd by some nam eholđcrs w hose lanđs w cre close to each other This border territory was lcd by a ch ief
w ho was elderly and had a lot o f land Pcoplc in
Trang 7p ll Linh / VN U /ounial o f Science, Social Sciences and Humanities 25, No.5E (2009) 37-45 43
this tcrntory coopcratcd in cultivation, tax
collection and controlled each othcr A t thc tìrst
glance, this tcrntory seem cd to sim ilar to the
Giap in Vietnam with m ale m em bers and its
activity vvcnt beyond the village adm inistrative
boundary H ow ever, G iap w as a com m unity
based on family lincage and its main activity
vvas to cooperate in vveddings and ĩunerals;
whereas the bordcr tcrritory in Japan w as more
inclincd to coopcrating in productivc activities
It is hoped that thcrc w ould bc m ore m aterials
on the bordcr territory o f Japan to com parc it
vvith Giap in Vietnam
The cconom ics o f th e m edieval shõens in
Japan mainly bascd on valley agriculture while
V ietnam ese agriculture at that tim c bascd on the
largc river delta but the function o f agricultural
villagcs in both V ictnam and Japan was quite
sim ilar T h e village w as to mangc its
cultivation, tax collcction, rcclainiation,
irrigation, and to overcom e natural disasters and
to íìght against the enem ies In addition, it vvas
also to com binc agricultural activities with
handicrart and trading activities
The m ilitia in Japan w as m u ra no bushi
(young and strong m cn) led by thc taishu The
m ilitia in V ietnam w as Tuan dinh, tuan trang
(village guard m en), w ho w ere at the age o f 18
and 45 and form ed the Tuan p h ien (village
night patrol group) T he group was hcadcd by
X a giam K han phu or Truông luan [4, p.282-
283) The m ilitias’ duties on both V ielnam and
Japan w ere sim ilar T hcy had to patrol, secure
the village and prcvcnt crim inals at the peaceful
time At the w ar tim c, thcy w ere the armed
íorces to protect their villages
A utonom ous and com bat villages were
clearly reílectcd in the docum ents o f both
O yam a and H ine shõens and ihey w ere also the
images o f villages in V ictnam T he term "evil
gang", existed in the docum cnts o f the Oyama
shõen in the 14"' - 15,h C en tu n es, referred to the
local self-arm cd group w ho did nol obey the rules and the adm im stration T he M ing also uscd the samc tcrm to refer to the village sclf- armeci groups in V ictnam in thc 15lh Centuries
It was recorded in Binh dinh Giao nam luc o f
K hau Tuan that "evil gangs em erged like the
m ushroom after the rain, on ly Giao Clmu was
p a c ifìe đ ' [6, p.282] T h e docum cnis o f H ine sh-
õen also recorded the íights betw een the villagers and the w arriors by cvacuating people and cattle in the H ineno villagc They
im plem entcd thc plan o f “cm pty garden, desertcd house" and cnticcd thc cncm y into the
m ountain o f Iriym ada to attack ihe encmy These pictures o f com bat villages rem inded o f com bat villages in V ictnam during the Lam Son
U prising such as M ac V illage (Loe village,
D ong N inh C om m unc, Dong Son D ist., Thanh Hoa Province), thc hom e o f N guycn Chich The
M ac V illage was thc site for the military exercises o f the insurgent army and it is well know n by the historical relics including Con La
co, Con Trai cong, C on Phao, Con Luoi kicm, and the structure o f three íorces and rcarguards that írightened thc M ing enem y to death so
m uch th a t “the enem y d id not dare to com e to
D ong Son ” [6, p 183-279].
T he com bat villages vvere found in the epitaphs in thc villages o f Yen So and Dac So (íbrm crly knovvn as Ke G ia or C o So in Hoai Duc, Ha Tay) T he epitaphs docum ented rich inform ation about thc com bat villages Sincc the 601 C entury, in the uprising o f Ly Bi, Ke Gia was w ell-know n w ith thc G eneral Ly Phuc Man
w ho m ade a great contribution to the national liberalization against the L iang enem y in the year o f 524 and battlcs in C uu Duc (Nghe Tinh) and D uong Lam (B a V i, Ha Tay) After his death, the lo"1 o f M arch w as taken to celebrate Hoi Gia festival which dcm onstrated the participation o f villagers in Ly Phuc M an’s battles In the 13lh C entury, in the Tran
D y n asty 's resistances against the M ongols, Ke
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Gia bccamc thc írontier T h e C om plete A nnals
o f Dai Viet docum ented th a t à,in the p c rio d o f
Nien P hong ( ỉ 2 5 1-1258) o f the Tran D ynasty,
the Thai Dai (the M ongolians) in v a d ed the
couníry; when entcred this area [K e Gia], their
horses could noi m ove and thev w ere defeaíed
b y th e villưgers In the p e rio d o f Trung H ung
(1258-1293), the enem y invaded th e country
everyw here bui thai area [K e G ia] w as sta íic "
[7] lìpitaphs in Q uan G ia also charactcrized the
battlc against thc M ongol as such “th e enem y
\vas surrounded bv the f ir e circỉe w hich goí
rnore a n d more closed a n d destroyed the
e n e m y " [8] Located several dozcns o f
kilom ctcrs from the Thang Long Palace and
with brilliant tactics, Kc G ia pcople bravely
kept thc cncmy out o f the village and defeated
thcm
D ocuments o f Ilin e shõcn recorded the
associations o f villages know n as ku m i n o g o in
one region T he ku m i no g o w as also founded in
V ietnam but it was called the inter-village
association In the resistance against the M ing
enem y, thcsc intcr-village associations actively
participatcd in w capon and food transportation
and attacking the cncm y T he good cxam ple
was the association o f five villagcs nam ely Yen
Hoa, Ha Vi, N am Xuong, D ong N ham and
Chau X uycn (in Bac G iang tow n) These
villages participated in surrounding the X uong
Gian citadcl o f thc enem y for six m onths and
deícatcd it 10 days before their m ilitary aid
a m v cd [6, p.288]
Cultural and spiritual activity in villages o f
the H ine shõcn is also an interesting topic and it
has similarities with that o f V ictnam ese
villages The systcm o f tcm ples o f deities,
Buddhist pagodas, and shrines was a special
charactcristic o f Japancsc b c lic f systcm but it
also had many sim ilarities vvith thc system o f
village^s lcmples, B uddhist pagodas and shrines
o f ancicnt villagcs in Victnam
V illage fcstivals and agricultural cerem o n ials w crc popular im agcs to th c people
o f thc w atcr rice agriculture T h e S h u sei festival
in every Jan u ary for luckincss and good
harvests in Japan was sim ilar to th e K h a i ha
fcstival in N orthern villages o f V ictnam ; the
Shen N o n g íestival and S e kim a i festival in Apnl
o f Japan w cre sim ilar to th e H a D ien ícstival in
Junc o f V iem am T he Lunar July full-m oon day for “p ard o n in g hom clcss so u ls” in V ictnam and
Japan arc both C hincse original; thc N eU’ R ice
íestiv al is cclcbratcd in A ugust in V ietnam and
in Scptem bcr in Japan; both H otaki fcstival o f
Japan and T h uong D ien festival o f V ictnam are
celcb ratcd in N ovcm bcr F o r the rccovcr from natural disastcrs, both V ictnam and Japan have
thcir ow n íestivais such as P ra yin g fo r Raitì íestival in Japan o r N huong thu íestival in
V ictnam
In a nutshell, thc com parison o f villages in
V ietnam and Jap an shows that villages in both countrics w cre influenced by thc agricultural land possession in the O ricntal systcm including
p o ssessions o f the govcm m cnts, villages and individuals T h e structurc, function, activity and regulation o f villages in both Victnam and Japan are sim ilar Particularly, thc íunctions o f
p roduction, reclaim ation, irrigation system
im provem ent and o f fighting the outside enem ies w erc very clearly documented
H ow ever, Japanesc villagcs since the 14*
C entu ry had a highcr autonom y and indcpcndcnce and the individualization o f agricultural land possessions sừongly
d evclopcd as a rcsult o f shỏcn systcm in the
m edieval history W hercas, the govcmmental and collcctivc possessions rcm aincd in a long period, thc individual possessions w cre mainly landovvncrs and the rclationship bctwcen the landovvners and thc tenant farmcrs
T he abovc are somc initial discussions o f the papcr in thc study o f villagcs in Japan’s shõcns in reference with villagcs in Vietnam
Trang 9p 11 Linh / VN U Ịo u m a l o f Science, Soãnl Sciences and Humanities 25, No 5E (2(K)9) 37-45 4 5
The com parativc study o f villagcs in Jap an and
V ietnam is co nsidcrcd as a highly potcntial
approach T he papcr w clcom cs com m cn ts and
discussion from researchers and ihosc w ho are
ìnterested in this topic
R cíeren ces
11 ] K u n aich o , K u joke M o n ịo, D o c u m c n t N o 64,
T o k y o 1976.
[2 ] H y o g o k cn sh i h c n sh u s c n m o n iin k a i,
H yogokenshi, H y o g o , 1991.
[3] C h u sc k u g cn ik i k e n k y u k a i, M asam oỉoko
tahibikitsuke, l/u m i sh o in , 1996
[4] V u D u y M cn & I lo a n g M inh L oi, V illage
K cg u latio n s in N o rth ern V ictn am and
R c g u latio n s o f K anlo V illa g c in Japan (1 7 th
Ccntury - 19,h Ccntury), Institute of History:
H anoi 2001.
[5] T rin h C a o T u o n g , Tuteỉary G od o f Viỉlage in Vietnam a n d Shinto in Jap a n - A C om parative
Study, Culturc and Intbmiation and Institute of
C u ltu rc P u b lish crs: lla n o i 2005.
[6] In stitu tc o f H isto ry , Vietnam 's Rurtiỉ in H istory,
V o l ỉ S o cial S cicn cc P u b lish in g H ousc: Hanoi 1977.
[7 ] P h an H uy L c, In search o f Nation 's Origin, Vol.
II, T h e W o rld P u b lish in g H o u sc: H an oi 1999 [8] N g u y cn B a H an, Q uan G ia E pitaphs, T h e VVorld
P u b lish in g H o u sc : H anoi 1995.