Uketorijo in Medieval Japan and Lending Relationships

Abstract

Uketorijo 請取状, or hensho 返抄, have been understood heretofore solely as documents that simply functioned much like present day receipts ; and a more technical analysis of them has yet to be done. In this article, the author discusses the function of these documents in medieval Japan, in order to clarify the process of their formation and show that concepts of giving and receiving at the time were very much different from our ideas today. First, the author confirms that contrary to commonly-held views, medieval uketorijo functioned in the area of debt, much like documents of entrustment or loan certificates, due to a weak perception of private ownership, leading to the use of uketorijo in the receipt of goods, no matter who owned them. Secondly, the author confirms the historical fact the hensho functioned not only as receipts, but also as proof of delivery or transport (okuribumi 送文) ; and the term "osamu" meant both to present (deliver) and to receive (accept). These ideas gave the relationships of giving and receiving and lending and borrowing a very different aspect than in contemporary times. There is also the fact of people using uketorijo as loan certificates to avoid the application of acts of debt forgiveness. Thirdly, these relationships surrounding the ambiguous idea of "osamu" was not only a medieval phenomenon, but rather date back to ancient times. Uketori in the narrow sense of the word means the temporary acceptance of goods that have been delivered, their conversion to other goods of equal value, the determination of the value received, and the application of a signature. Here the element of calculation is present. This aspect developed from uketorijo that first appeared among ukenobumi 請納文 receipts dated the third year of Hogen (1158). Overall, the author concludes that there is a need to reexamine relationships regarding giving and receiving and concluding contracts in medieval Japan from the perspective of debt-credit relationships.