Many studies have come out about funeral rites in ancient Japan lately, but few of them analyze the S^^Os^^o-ry^^o喪葬令, a chapter of the ritsu-ry^^o 律令 statutes that establishes funeral rites of the noblity. This paper analyzes the S^^Os^^o-ry^^o in comparison with classic Chinese books of rites -Girai 儀礼 etc.-and the equivalent statutes of the Tang period. It also explains the meaning of these rites from the stand point of the relationship between the Emperor and uji 氏 clans of ancient Japan. Under the statutes, aristocrats (ky^^okan 京官)were required to inform the Emperor of any deaths of kin, and the Emperor would send a messenger of condolence. Those who had to obey these duties were restricted within narrower limits than in China. Therefore, in Japan these rites aim to confirm the personal relationship between Emperor and ky^^okan, who were usually the uji leaders. The Japanese statutes provided public officials with much more tools and laborers for funeral rites than in Tang China, and in Japan, those public officials allowed such tools and labor were less limited in number than in China. While it was necessary for Japan to introduce and establish new rites from China, it was also necessary to open up these rites which had been performed only by uji members to the public. Whenever an aristocrat died, the Emperor would promised that he would support the deceased's successor in the uji. This is a practice exclusive to japan, by which relationships prior to the statutes between the Emperor and uji continued. These points clearly indicate that such unofficial and traditional relationships were the basis of the ritsury^^o system in ancient Japan.

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The European missionaries who came to Japan in the 16^th century found themselves faced with values very different from those they had grown used to in their home countries.This was especially the case with the Japanese views on marriage, which stood diametrically opposed to the Catholic idea that marriage was a one-time, unbreakable bond. The Catholic Church took the position that the marriage institution was linked to ideas on the cases of conscience and that questions concerning it fromed an important subfield of the theology of morality. In this paper, based on materials left by the Society of Jesus, the author discusses the process by which missionaries, groping for a solution to the problem of reconciling Church law with the actual practices of Japanese society, established a marriage doctrine for Japan. In 1592, Visitor Alessandro Valignano asked the famous Spanish theologist Gabriel Vazquez about his ideas on marriage; and in 1595, Vazquez' response was offered. However, as the historical examples of marriages show, the Jesuit missionaries had already arrived at and practiced some of their own ideas concerning marriage before they were instructed by Vazquez. In order to facilitate the propagation of Christianity, they recognized the possibility of divorce and tacitly allowed marriages between Christians and nonChristians. Moreover, they even wished to avoid applying to Japan the rulings of the Council of Trient concerning marriage. The marriage policy of the Society of Jesus for propagating Christianity in Japan provoked harsh criticism both from within and without the Society. In response to this, when Valignano asked leading theologians and even the Pope for a clear endorsement of his policies, Vazquez obliged. His response, endorsed in turn by by the Jesuit General and the Pope himself, became the foundation for countering criticism directed at the Jesuits' marriage policies in Japan. Afterwards, the views on marriage of the Society of Jesus became the norm in Japan, and they were included in Bishop Luiz de Cerqueira's Manuale ad Sacramenta Ecclesiae Ministranda, [Nagasaki, 1605].This solution to the problems connected with marriage policies, however, soon became moot by the promulgation of the interdiction of Christianity and the inevitable suspension of the activities of the Church in Japan.

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This paper discusses the administrative structure in the Salin region of central Burma through an investigation of source materials called sittan from the reign of King Bodawhpaya(r.1782-1819).One of the fundamental administrative units of Konbaung Burma was the myo. A myo in many cases was composed of a central town (myo-ma), secondary townships (also called myo), and villages (ywa). A hereditary local headman, thu-gyi, ruled each jurisdiction.' The sittans are replies made by these thu-gyis to the king's interrogations. A thy-gyi was required to submit a sittan before the king acknowledged his claim to the office. The sittans contain various information about the local society, such as the lineage of the thu-gyi, the boundaries and population under jurisdiction, and the customary fees and services. The collection of " Salin myo sittan" contains eighty-nine documents. Through the study of the contents of each sittan, the local administrative structure of the region canbe described as follows. While two myo-ma thu-gyis administered the Salin basin and the Mon basin respectively, other thu-gyis ruled myos and ywas. In addition, there were officials who discharged specific responsibilities, such as the supervision of irrigated lands and the collection of dues called taing-gyei. The Salin sittans report the headman's interests in local society, such as thu-gyi sa-myei, lands allotted to thu-gyis for their services, fees collected in judging disputes among villagers, and their share in the proceeds from the disposal of animals. In contrast, the sittans of Hanthawaddy region in southern Burma refer merely to the headman's claim to the office, and the boundaries and population under his jurisdiction. Thus, the author concludes that the headmen of the Salin region exercised greater authority in carrying out local administrative tasks and enjoyed more income than their counterparts in Hanthawaddy.

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