SOCIO-ECONOMIC HISTORY

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Reformation Sigismundi, this widespread pamphlet has long been known as the first "Trompete des Bauernkriegew" and as the first revolutionary document written in vulgar german, although its original text has not been discovered and its author remains unknown. Since Bamler published it for the first time in 1476 (so called "Vulgata"), to the end of 19. century, no one had expected that there would be many other editions completely different in their wording. In 1898 and 1902, Koehne discovered two fragments, (G,K), of which were lately confirmed not standing in V-edition. And in 1926, Beer published criticized edition including Koehne's G and K. Thus the search after the original text seemed to have got to an end. In 1951, however, Koller discovered a new complete text (N), which has until now been recognized as the nearest one to the original text X, and not belonging to V. Close on the heels of Koller, discovered Straube too in 1954 a complete text (P), which also is quite different from V-edition. According to the genealogical-tree made by Koller, we have now five groups of different editions (N, K, P, G, V). We have long been concerned exclusively with the problems of editions and of original text, But now, as to the interpretatin of RS, we have only five predecessors and among them Smirin and Straube make one group and Werner, Heimpel and Dohna another. Smirin and Straube make one group and Werner, Heimpel and Dohna another. Smirin, basing mainly on V., makes sure of its revolutionary characters. He thinks that RS is a reflection of "burgerlichen" class consciousness in the midst of feudal crisis. It was a "burgerliche" programm to open the way to the german national unity. Reaching to this interpretation he uses V-text only. Yet now that a great deal of manuscripts are classified in five different groups, we must set each group in the proper position in the history of pamphleteers, of german city-inhabitants, of chancellers and emperors. We intend in this article, Through commenting to Smirin's works, to give a hint to set V-edition in its proper position. This fact, that V-edition has been the most widespread and best read one among the other editions, urges us not to neglect V-edition in spite of supposed differences from the still unknown original text.

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In Tokugawa Era there were two method of taxation, the one was the yearly inspected taxation (検見制), and the other was the regular taxation (定免制), and we can recognize the histrical trend from the former to the latter generally. But disregarding the method of taxation, we must acknowledge previously that the land tax rate entered in public rolls does not mean the real amount of tax per peasant but the amount of land tax per village. The transition of this method in Funai Han was as follows; the period before Kyoho years was the yearly inspected taxation, the period from Kyoho to Tenmei years was the mutually adoption between the yearly inspected and regular taxation, the period from the 7th of Tenmei to 12th of Tenpou coexisted the above two method according to the want of each villagers, the period of the Tenpou Reform after the 13th of Tenpou was the regular taxation always, the period after the Tenpou Reform revived the former coexistence again. We may say that among the several changes of the method of taxation the averaged rate of land tax inside village was adopted to understand the local circumstances. In this article I examined this averaged rate of tax as a part of the basic study on the Funai Han. The followings are the results of my examination. 1) The difference between the land tax rate per village and the real rate of peasant's pay was confirmed. The latter was represented by the averaged rate of land tax inside village. 2) By and by the Funai's government became to determine the land tax rate according to the inspection based on this averaged rate of tax. 3) This averaged rate of tax was arranged by the rate of land tax and waste land. Since the Horeki years the latter became to the more deciding facter, and in "The Rolls on the Real Rate of Land Tax" (田方格式調) after the 3rd of the An'ei the rate of waste land was recorded. 4) Since the adoption of the regular taxation the averaged rate of land tax inside village had lost its original meaning. 5) The reason to adopt this averaged rate of tax was that the exchanged new Daimyo wished to raise the low rate of land tax having enforced in the period which Tokugawa Shogunate directly governed this Funai teritory.

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