This article attempts to survey the financial privileges (beneficium) bestowed upon the Church and clergy in the Early Byzantine Empire, principally through an investigation of the Codex Theodosianus. This period is well known as the period when imperial financial system was successfully established and Christianity became a unique imperial faith. In the course of time Byzantine emperors following Constantine the Great were more or less eager to confer upon them the favor of tax exemptions. The results of the author's investigation are as follows. The distinction between the "Church" (ecclesia, εκκλησια) and "clergy" (episcopus et clerices, επισκοποι και κληρικοι), which was also recognized in the Codex, has been retained for the investigation. The Church was recognized as a legally independent organisation in the Codex. Each church in the eastern Roman provinces was ensured exemption first from the ordinary land tax co1lection (canon, canonica) and second from the munera possessionis, which was the burden imposed on the possesion of land itself, regardless of the proprietor. On the other hand the clergy were forced to pay the land taxes, despite exemptions from the munera sordida, genaral civil duty, and from the chrysargyron tax levy, which was devised in the age of Constantine the Great as an assessment on commercial trading. Many clerices, lower class of clergy, engaged in some form of producting or trading occupations on a small scale. Such business was regarded as a holy act benefitting each church, so tax exemption was given to it. Theoretically the privileges accorded to the clergy were bestowed for the purpose of benefitting the Church. Such treatment of Church and clergy in the public financial system was also profitable for the Empire. This is because the church would carry out the social welfare services which was expected of the imperial administration. During the early Byzantine period the church would increase its wealth and take charge of charitable activities in such institutions as xenodochium (hotels for strangers), ptochotrophium (poor houses), nosocomium (hospitals). In the 5th and 6th centuries similar financial privileges were also conferred upon these institutions. Accordingly, all of the financial privileges of the Church and clergy, I contend, were bestowed in exchange for the social welfare activities, as well as the administration of the sacrament, of churches based on their property in land.

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The major characteristic of the urban structure in Kinsei Kyoto is a three level composition made up of cho 町 (the basic township unit), chogumi 町組 (made up of several cho), and socho 惣町 (composed of several chogumi). One of the important points in clarifying this structure is to appreciate the chodai 町代, a functionary established in each chogumi with the function of connecting the cho with the Tokugawa bakufu. The clarification of the chodai at the beginning of the Kinsei period is very important for the study of the process of the historical development of Kinsei Kyoto. The previous research has held that the basic character of the chodai was his role as an empolyee of the chogumi at the beginning, and then gradually grew to a lower officer of the Tokugawa bakufu under its ruling policy concerning Kyoto. It, however, seems to be necessary to re-study this matter, as there are some problems on the basic viewpoint and method in the previous research. The main theme in this article is to study the basic character of the chodai by forcusing on its formative process at the beginning of the Kinsei period. It is in the Tensho 天正 era (1573-1592) that the existence of the chodai can be confirmed for the first time in the historical records. In this period, the gachigyoji-cho 月行事町 (the cho on duty each month) executed most of the functions of the chogumi, and the duty of the chodai was to assist it in these operations. During the Toyotomi regime, the cho was controlled mainly through the gachigyoji-cho. However, just after the establishment of the Tokugawa regime in the early 17th century, we can see changes occuring in the operation of the chogumi, that is, the duties which the gachigyoji-cho had executed before were being executed by the chodai. It was the ruling policy of Kyoto by the Tokugawa regime that one of the toshiyori 年寄 (elders) class of the chogumi was to be put in the position of the furegashira 触頭 of the chogumi in the name of the chodai, who stood between the Tokugawa regime and the cho, as a system to control the cho directly. As mentioned above, there is a definite difference between the Toyotomi and the Tokugawa regimes on the ruling policy of Kyoto, especially on that of the cho, and it comes from the establishment of the chodai as the ruling system. It can be determined from the above study that the basic character of the chodai was his role played within the ruling system established for the chogumi by the Tokugawa regime in the early 17th century. After that period, the duty of the chodai came to be extended and strengthened gradually, as the Tokugawa bakufu's ruling system of Kyoto was properly arranged and strengthened, but yet it was done within the frame of this ruling system. This is why a complete re-examination is necessary to appreciate the process of the historical development of Kinsei Kyoto.

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