The object of this article is to study the historical features and significance of the "Peerage Capital" which has not been fully discussed. We can summarise its characteristics at the stages of capitalistic development as follows. The characteristic at the first stage of capitalistic development (the original capital accumulation) was that main peers invested their money and annual revenue in banks and companies, or managed their business under the control of the "Souzoku" (relatives from early times) system in spite of their being also "Rentner". In regard to the next stage of capitalistic development (establishment and development of capitalism), we can point it out that not only they invested their money actively in securities, but also they took part in the management of the companies to some extent. And they obtained and maintained some amount of rent from tenant farmers and changed the former "Souzoku" system to "council" system (consisted of their former relatives, etc.). As to the stage of monopolistic capitalism, we can point out the remarkable development of "Peerage Capital" such as mine-owners. They mainly took the ranks as princes and marquises (sometimes counts) who had heavy responsibility as the major peers among all peers. They maintained a certain social influence as "Peerage Capital" possessing both credit and fortunes. While most of the other peers were to be reckoned as so called "middle class" people. The characteristics of Japanese "Peerage Capital" were mainly due to the pecuriarity of Japanese peerage. So the most important obligation of Japanese peerage was to protect the Emperor. Let's investigate further this problem from the two sides-privileges and regulation of Japanese peerage. lt was true that Japanese peerage had such privileges as the right to be member of the House of Peers, to take greater honors, to establish a household regulations by law, etc. These privileges were not small in general. Therefore they had been always in the fear of the special punishment since the establishment till the abolition of peerage institution, besides the criminal law. In other words Japanese peers were more strongly regulated than English ones because the Japanese Emperor was powerful as a political sovereign. Such a contradictory image was also due to the process of creation of Japanese peerage. By "Hanseki Hokan" (institutional "abolition of feudal system"),feudal lords were separated from local public government organs and were limited to manage their private household affairs. On the other hand, they were appointed a new public position-"Kazoku" (peerage). This duality prevented them from devoting themselves to be a big capital like "Zaibatsu".

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