Ancient Eki System and Its Transmutation

Abstract

It is necessary for any state to have some means of communication to rule its territory effectually. So Japanese ancient state prepared radial roads from capital city and placed on them at regular intervals stages (駅家), each of which was provided with a fixed number of post horses. In this article I demonstrated the organization and actual practice of the stages according to the provisions of the Ryo (令), and then clarified the process of transmutation of the Eki (駅) system since the deterioration of the Ritsuryo system. I identified the village whose name was unknown in Totoumi-no-Kuni Hamana-gun Yusocho (遠江国浜名郡輸租帳) of the 12th year of the Tempyo period with the stage village, and by the analysis of this village brought to light the organization of the stages. A stage consisted of a certain number of post horses and Ekiko (駅戸) of the same number, the latter raising one post horse each. All of the Ekiko were Chuko (中戸) by the Santokosei (三等戸制), and their Kacho (課丁) served to Ekishi (駅使) as Ekishi (駅子). Qualifications for the use of post horses were severe and in such countries as Satsuma and Tajima, they were employed only ten times or so in a year. The purpose of the severe qualitication was to provide for the emergency of the state, and to protect the Ekiko. The severe qualification was made possible by the existence of another national traffic systen called Denma system (伝馬制) which took charge of handling usual comings and goings of officials. The communication between the central government and local posts continuously increased since the establishment of the Ritsuryo system, until the capacity of the Denma system was saturated and its aftermath affected the Eki system. Both systems began to go out of order during the Tempyo-Hoji era by the illegal rides and others, and the Ritsuryo government attempted to maintain the systems, as a general rule, by a number of modifications. But it was the most flourishing period of the Eki system though it was already burdened with lots of difficulties. It was in the tenth century that the Eki system rapidly fell into disorder, and in the latter half of the century it was already not a system for an immergency use and had changed into the Shukueki system (宿駅制) which simply dealt with the conveyance of people and luggage in a usual way.