The ruling system of the Early Former Han Period(前漢) consisted of three powers standing side by side: the imperial court, the government and the kingdoms. In this system, the governmental power was monopolized by a Military Meritocracy. The direction of this system was decided by the Pa-Ma Covenant(白馬之盟), which was concluded between the emperor and his ministers in the 12th year of Gao-di(高帝), and the organization for this system was completed during the reign of Empress Lu(呂后) P. This article, which is based on the connection between the imperial court and the government, further analyzes a movement in the central government during the reigns of Empress Lu period and Emperor Wen(文帝). In reaching his results, the author has studies several matters, including the rebellion of the Lu Family, the relocation of the Marquis States, and the demotion of Jia Yi(賈誼). The author concludes that all these events are connected to the Military Meritocracy of the early Han Period.

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After the rebellion of An Lu-shan(安祿山) the silk and horse trades between the Tang(唐) dynasty and the Uighur empire increased sharply. Until now many studies concluded that it had been caused by a one-sided desire for silk of the Uighur empire. But the author's study of the policy concerning horse-breeding of the Tang dynasty tells us that the loss of national pastures in He-xi(河西) and Long-you(隴右), which invasions by the Tibetan kingdom(吐蕃) caused, expanded the need for foreign horses by the Tang dynasty at that time. Therefore, the most basic sources stating that the trades was one-sided, "accounts of the silk and horse trades in the Qian-yuan(乾元) and the Da-li(大暦) era" contained in Jiu Tang shu『舊唐書』, 195, Xin Tang shu『新唐書』, 217 etc. and Yin-shan dao「陰山道」 by Bai Ju-yi(白居易) must be examined again. As the result, we find that the former sources, which state that unjust trades made the fiscal conditions tight, were written in order to accuse the Uighur empire of violence and arrogance. And through the study of the poem with the same titile Yin-shan dao by Yuan Zhen(元〓), which was composed together with Bai Ju-yi, we find it to have been written ironically so as to expose errors of statesmen of those days, especially in fiscal affairs. We need to do away with these artificialities and depend on accounts with more objectivity. And that leads us to other conclusions. The amount of silk which the Tang dynasty could provide within its budget played an important role in deciding how many horses were to be exchanged. And, as previously stated, the expansion of the trades was caused by the change in the policy concerning horse-breeding of the Tang dynasty which was caused by Tibetan invasions. From these points we can conclude that the trads was not just one-sided by Uighur empire, but was greatly influenced by the domestic politics and the economy of the Tang dynasty and the international situation.

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Archaeological excavation has confirmed a rapid increase in the construction of Buddhist temples in the provinces during the latter half of the seventh century. Looking at the temples built in eastern Japan during that time, we find them located not only in well-known traditional tumulus areas, but in other areas as well. From temples with the names of districts (kori郡), it is clear that temple construction was being carried out by local powerful families, mainly district administrators (kori-no-tsukasa郡司). In addition, from examples of temples being excavated near district offices (gunga郡衙), it has been suggested that these temples possessed public functions. However, since there are no existing records and no chronological connection linking district offices with adjacent temples, we should probably consider their character as family temples, or ujidera氏寺, an idea that appears in such documents as memorials inscribed on Buddist statues sculptured during the period and the "Kanaizawa Hibun"金井沢碑文 inscription. The reorganization of local administration following the Taika reforms of 645 AD made it possible for both district offices and local temples to be constructed in areas other than where tumulus clusters existed. This sudden appearance of district offices in not-tumulus areas is recorded in the legend surrounding Mibu-no-Murajimaru壬生連麿 in the Hitachikoku Fudoki常陸国風土記. Changes in local governance came about under the kori評 system implemented during the reign of Emperor孝徳. While the position of Kori-no-tsukasa under this system favored pre-Taika powerful local families, former kuni-no-miyatsuko国造, the great increase in the number of districts under this system necessitated appointments four times the number of existing kuni-no-miyatsuko families. From the item in an edict issued to governors in the eastern provinces decrying local powerful families falsifying the record to gain appointments, we can confirm the dilemma that this new system posed to local power politics at the time. The excavation of roof tiles from temples in the Kinai region suggest the political nature of temple construction in eastern Japan. In particular at imperial family temples, such as Kawara-dera川原寺, the fact of roof tiles being "donated" seems to have been one way for local families to guarantee their political positions. The significance of temple construction on the local level lay in gaining recognition of existing political positions from the central powers in the Capital. Due to the bureaucratization of local powerful families under the centralized state system, it became necessary to stabilize power on the local level. On the other hand, for newly rising local powers, the implementation of the new kori system presented an opportunity for building new political bases. Finally, this new system of local governance also necessitated a new ceremonial agenda, which was provided by Buddhism.

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In his study of the political structure of the Heian period, Hashimoto Yoshihiko presupposes the existence of the Dajokan太政官 under the guidance of the Fujiwara Regency and the In院. Moreover, recently various related studies have come out which perceive the Dajokan in a state of decline. On the other hand, there is a lot of research concerning the administrative protocol Geki-sei外記政, nansho-moshibumi南所申文, and jin-no-moshibumi陣申文, however, none of this work has attempted to place such administrative affairs within the context of the total political system of the time. When comparing ceremony and administrative affairs depicted in the Gishiki儀式 of the late ninth century with the Saikyuki西宮記 recorded in late tenth century, the former relates ceremony carried out in the Dairi's内裏 Shishiden紫震殿, while the latter records the duties of the Shokei上卿, Ben弁 and Geki外記 in the Jin-no-za陣座, stressing their reports and petitions to the Emperor. During the ninth century, administrative affairs were carried out through a bipolar structure involving the Emperor and the Dajokan, exemplified by Dajokan-Chosei太政官聴政 and Dajokan-so太政官奏. In contrast, from the tenth century on, administrative implementation, consultation and decisionmaking were done through close communication between the Regents and the Emperor through the Kurodo蔵人 and Denjo-ben殿上弁 in the space opened up by the Shokei, Ben and Geki. It was within this form of administration that Geki-sei, nansho-moshibumi, and jin-no-moshibumi became the line of protocol, with affairs of the Jin-no-za being particularly important. In this article, the author refers to "Jin-no-kuji" as administrative protocol in the Jin-no-za other than Jin-no-moshibumi. Through an examination of the Shoyuki小右記 and Shunki春記, he discovers that the role played Ichi-no-Kami一上, the ranking aristocrat in the Dajokan, was of great importance in administrative operations. Not only did he carry out affairs dictated by the Emperor and Regent, but also selected personnel, decided upon their work schedules, and drafted proposals on important affairs that were often implemented on the spot. It seems that the idea of a declining Dajokan from the tenth century on overlooks the unification of the Dairi and Dajokan into a single administrative unit. The latter, centered around the Ichi-no-Kami, continued to hold particular authority within the administrative, authority that could not be easily overruled by imperial politics. Also concerning Shokei, which was involoved in the implementation of ceremonial events, compared to his position as just another aristocrat in the Dajokan of the ninth century bipolar structure, the tenth and eleventh centuries marked a golden age for this administrator.

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