This article, which critically follows along the lines of Nakada Kaoru's monumental work Chusei no zaisan sozoku-ho 中世の財産相続法 (The inheritance of wealth in medieval times), is an attempt to clarify the legal provisions concerning inheritance specified by the Kamakura Bakufu. In particular, the author examines the root problem of the disposal of wealth (shobun 処分), which he finds contrary to Nakada's understanding, to cover everything that the inheritor (the original owner) is allowed to transfer of his own free choice and is thus not required to divulge to his heirs; and whenever the owner's wishes towards the inheritance of his estate are recognized in any way shape or form, the right of "shobun" is established based on that recognition. Furthermore, the fact that the Bakufu's courts of appeal defined any document containing the term "yuzuri 譲" to be a last will and testament (yuzurijo 譲状) was not as strict a provision as Nakada indicates. However, in legal disputes where there were conflicting documents establishing the free wishes of the original owner, a bona-fide "yuzurijo" was generally regarded as the most authoritative evidence in deciding the case. On the other hand, if the free wishes of the original owner had not been recognized, the property in question would be defined as "yet to be disposed"(mi-shobun 未処分) and it would then be distributed by the owner's widow, his children,etc.; but if no arrangements had been made, the Bakufu would conduct the distribution. On the point of giving the document "yuzurijo" the highest legal authority, the author finds examples in which such was not the case; and as to the circumstances, he cites the "Original Ownership Restoration Provisions (honshu-kogyorei 本主興行令)" of the Shoou Era (1288-93), which strengthened the rights of original owners. This act recognized "yuzurijo"-like provisions for heirs contained in the document called "imashimejo 誡状" (advice to posterity) of original owners and formed the basis for strengthening that document's legal authority. "Provisions" was an epoch-making legislative act 1) protecting original ownership rights, 2) providing the opportunity for proclamations made by original owners, which were no more than family "norms," to generally function as binding "laws" and 3) laid the basis for the Bakufu's "act of virtuous governance" (tokuseirei 徳政令) of 1297, which ordered that property transferred (by sale or pawn) in lieu of debt had to be eventually returned to its original owner.

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This article attempts not only to determine the institutional transition of the Northern Command (Beiya 北衙) system but also elucidate the interrelation between its development and coups d'etat that occurred during the early Tang period. The early Beiya, which also denominated the Four Imperial Armies of the North Gates (Beimen Sijun 北門四軍), can be divided into two regiments according to their role: the Garrison and the Imperial Guard. The Garrison, called the Flying Cavalry (Feiqi 飛騎), larger sized regiment of the Beiya, was established as the Seven Encampments of the Northern Command (Beiya Qiying 北衙七営), later transformed into the Left and Right Encampments (Zuoyou Zhunying 左右屯営) during the Taizong 太宗 era, then expanded and renamed the Left and Right Forest of Plumes Armies (Zuoyou Youlin Jun 左右羽林軍) during the Gaozong 高宗 era. They were permanently stationed at the North Gate, the Gate of the Black Tortoise (Xuanwu Men 玄武門), in order to defend the northern section of Chang'an Palace. Whereas the Garrison generally protected the palace and the Emperor within it, the Imperial Guards accompanied the Emperor whenever he left the palace for hunting or progresses. The Guards of the Yulin Jun developed from the Hundred Cavaliers (Baiqi 百騎) during the Taizong era, through the Thousand Cavaliers (Qianqi 千騎) during the reign of the Empress Wu, then the Left and Right Myriad Cavaliers (Zuoyou Wanqi 左右万騎) during the Zhongzong 中宗 era, and finally were promoted to the Left and Right Militant-as-Dragons Armies (Zuoyou Longwu jun 左右龍武軍) during the Xuanzong 玄宗 era. It should especially be noted that the development of the early Beiya virtually coincides with the rapid rise of the Imperial Guards, and ultimately the military strength of the Garrison and the Guards was completely reversed by the end of the early Tang period. Comparing the developmental stages of the Beiya mentioned above with the dates in which coups occurred, we can discern a close correlation between the military growth of the Beiya and these acts of rebellion. Whenever a coups d'etat was attempted, the Beiya was always made full use of in eliminating political opponents, and consequently, within the Beiya, the Garrison and the Guards gradually began to compete with each other. Although the Guards were little more than a small group within the Yulin Jun at the beginning, their utilization during coups triggered the regiment's expansion repeatedly, such that the more coups occurred, the more increases in personnel and military growth occurred only in the Guards. Therefore, during the early Tang period, to win a decisive victory in any coup d'etat, it became necessary for claimants to the throne not only to take control of the Beiya itself, but also to ally themselves with whatever was then the stronger of the two regiments inside the Beiya, the Garrison or the Guards.

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This article attempts to clarify how the ward-oriented structure of local politics in Tokyo was transformed after the 1st Sino-Japanese War. The main focus is on the confrontation that occurred between the Seiyukai's 政友会 powerful leader Hoshi Toru 星亨 and members of the city's fifteen ward assemblies, a group which has not drawn sufficient attention as a political actor in the research to date on Hoshi's political leadership as a city council member. After the 1st Sino-Japanese War, the Tokyo city council was confronted by a mounting expectation for infrastructure improvement, but was unable to abandon its austere policy-making style right away. The austerity inclination was shared by members of ward assemblies, who had enjoyed influence over the city council members elected from their respective wards. In 1899, when Hoshi was first elected to the city council, he had already become known as the father of the Seiyukai's bold policy-making style, and proceeded in attempting to attract more residents and ambitious industrialists in Tokyo through large infrastructure projects. However, his success in quickly dominating the city council drove the ward assembly members to organize an opposition movement to protect their hegemony over local politics. Although up until that time assemblymen of different wards seldom came into contact, they rallied together over the question of a streetcar system. Recognizing that controlling the city council was insufficient to enable free implementation of his agenda, Hoshi tried to undermine the political foundation of the ward assemblies by consolidating the administration of the city's ward-based primary education system at the municipal level. The weak position of the ward assemblies brought about by the Municipal Incorporation Act of 1888 became evident by the confrontation that ensued between the city council and ward assemblies over the streetcar question. Efforts to thoroughly institutionalize the relationship between the council and the assemblies enabled Hoshi to gain the upper hand over his opponents, who had been empowered by the latter. The ward assemblymen responded to Hoshi's tactics in two ways: (1) constructing a fundamentally different interpretation about a ward's legal position, and (2) establishment of a permanent city-wide association, resulting in an irreconcilable confrontation between the two parties. It was only Hoshi's assassination that prevented drastic changes from being implemented. However, the city council, now enthusiastic about preparing infrastructure, gained independence from the ward assemblies, who then tried to reestablish their influence by officially appealing to and criticizing the city council as representatives of the residents of their respective wards.

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