抄録
The creation of the land succession law system before the first Japanese Civil Code of 1890, which did not come into force after a long controversy, started from the Great Council of State Decree No. 153 of 1875. This Decree introduced two kinds of legal formalities of transferring landownership in the succession to a house. On the one hand, in the succession to a house at the retirement from the position of househead, landownership was transferred to the heir by means of renewing the land certificate. To this succession should be applied the Great Council of State Decree No. 106 of 1875, which prescribed the requisite for transferring landownership in the sales and alienations. The land certificate was to give a conclusive evidence of landownership to its holder. On the other hand, in the succession to a house at the death of househead, when the land certificate was not renewed within six months after succession, the heir should be fined fivefold seal tax to the land certificate. It was assumed that landownership could be inevitably transferred to the heir in the succession to a house at the death of househead.
The Ministry of justice proposed transferring landownership, without renewing the land certificate, even in the succession to a house at the retirement of househead, and criticized severely the distinction between two legal formalities of the Decree No. 153 of 1875. Nevertheless, the Great Council of State found a legitimate reason to transfer landownership by means of renewing the land certificate in the succession to a house at the retirement of househead, on the authority of "donation entre vifs" of the French Civil Code. The Japanese translation of the French Civil Code by Mitsukuri Rinsho was published in 1875. Thus the Great Council of State positively rejected the proposal of the Ministry of Justice.
The Decrees Nos. 106 and 153 of 1875 were repealed by the land sales and alienations Law of 1880. This new Law povided that the land certificate should be renewed when the heir obtained landownership in the succession to a house at the death of househead or to property at the death of the members of family, but the heir would be fined if the land certificate was not renewed within six months after succession. It also provided that the requisite for transferring landownership in the sales was to register a document at the town or village headman office.
But it was not long before it was found out that this Law of 1880 had held three complicated problems, for which there was no legislative provision. The Great Council of State came to resolve successively these problems until 1883 as follows. First, the requisite for transferring landownership in the succession to a house at the retirement of househead was to renew the land certificate. Second, the requisite for transferring landownership in the legacy was to register a document at the town or village headman office. Third, the fine in the expiration of term for renewing the land certificate could be applied to the legacy, with the heavy responsibilities of househead.
