The system of compromise or conciliation, whereby cases in the civil procedure would be settled through mutual agreement between the two, had developed to a great degree in the Tokugawa era. In the civil procedure in this era no case could be taken up if a village officer would not certify that a compromise between the two was not effected notwithstanding his effort on his own responsability. This procedure was called " Hiki-ai " and its papers " Hiki-ai-gaki ". It is, I can say, the pre-conciliation system, whereby a village officer had settled many cases on his own responsibility before a petition was presented to a court.
Even after a petition was presented, a judge was used to advise in person the mutual agreement, or to try to settle the case through designating a village officer as an arbitrator. Such settlement was called " Nai-sai " and such arbitrator Atsukai-nin ".
My paper is written to make clear the principles of " Nai-sai " through the diaries by such " Atsukai-nin " charged with the settlement.
