Concerning the Eulogies Given by Bureaucrats at the Mortuary of Temmu Tenno : One Precondition for Reconstructing the Image of Tenno Sippe Politics

Abstract

Conventional opinions concerning the political situation during the establishment of the ritsu-ryo 律令 system present various interesting problems concerning Tenno Sippe members (koshin 皇親) who were thought to be the major political force of the time. However, it is difficult to say that these opinions have sufficiently explained the nature of political power during the period. In this essay the author takes up an investigation of the various status held by bureaucrats who presented eulogies (shinobikoto 誄) at the mortuary (mogari no miya 殯宮) of Temmu Tenno 天武天皇 in AD 688, in an attempt to take one step forward in reconstructing the image of Tenno Sippe members during the establishment of the ritsu-ryo system. For three days from the 27th to the 29th day of the 9th month of the first year of Shucho 朱鳥, the eulogies which various government offices issued before the crypt of Temmu have been understood by Aoki Kazuo 青木和夫 as having been presented by the actual bureau heads (kami 長官) or by aristocrats corresponding in rank to bureau heads. This view has become the established explanation until now. However, these bureaucrats with the titles of Asomi 朝臣 and Sukune 宿祢 were not members of the Tenno Sippe but rather were from the lineage of other ordinary clans. Therefore, if according to the established view that all eulogizers were the heads of government offices, it would mean that during the last year of Temmu's reign the top positions in all government bureaus were held not by Tenno Sippe members but by a force of ordinary aristocrats. Such position seems untenable in the light of the following six points concerning the status of the eulogizers. First, a custom existed at that time in which eulogies would be issued by lower bureaucrats of the maetsukimi 大夫, or 4th to 5th rank acting on behalf of their superiors, who in many cases were Tenno Sippe aristocrats. Secondly, as a proof of the established explanation, the eulogy offered by Oshiama no Sukune no Arakama 大海宿祢菖蒲 has been understood as having a content to announe a certain "political posture." However, this argument is not very convincing and really gives us no way of establishing the true status of the eulogizer. Thirdly, there is the problem of Fuse no Asomi no Miushi 布勢朝臣御主人 who occupied only a second line position among the rankings of the Councilors of State (Monomosu no tsukasa 納言), and merely in that right issued the Bureau of State's (Omatsurigoto no tsukasa 大政官) official eulogy as a delegated representative of that Bureau. Next, there is Ki no Asomi no Mahito 紀朝臣真人 who issued the eulogy for the office of Food Preparation (Kashiwade no tsukasa 膳職) as a representative of the entire office, not just the small division of which he was head. Also there is the case of Kudara no Kokishi no Rogu 百済王良虞 who issued the eulogy in the name of his father Zenko 善光, a practice which goes to show that even the rites for eulogizing a Tenno lying in state conformed to the custom of a lower ranking person ceremonially representing his superior. Lastly, there is Iso-no-Kami no Asomi no Maro 石上朝臣麻呂, the eulogizer of the Legal Bureau (Nori no tsukasa 法官), who can be seen elsewhere in a subordinate position of that Bureau. It therefore becomes clear that these bureaucrats who presented government office eulogies at the mortuary of Temmu Tenno were not the heads of those offices, but rather ranked in various subordinate positions or in leading positions of only small divisions ; and so in discussing the system of governance during the first years under the ritsu-ryo codes, it now becomes. necessary to make clear the structure of the executive officers who were placed above the actually eulogizers at the crypt of Temmu. This problem will be taken up in a later paper.