Frequently Asked Questions
What Kind of Law Code Was the Goseibai Shikimoku?
The Goseibai Shikimoku (also called the Joei Shikimoku) was promulgated in 1232 by Hojo Yasutoki — Japan’s first written law made by samurai for samurai. Fifty-one articles. Written in Japanese (kana script), it covered warrior land rights, judicial procedures, women’s inheritance rights, and moral norms. By putting long-standing warrior customs into writing, it established a system where every samurai retainer was judged by the same standard.
Why Is Yasutoki Called an “Exemplary Regent”?
Yasutoki established the Hyojoshu (deliberative council), distributing power and shifting from Hojo clan near-autocracy to collective deliberation. The Goseibai Shikimoku included progressive elements such as recognizing female jito inheritance rights, and the retainers broadly trusted him as “the regent who delivers fair rulings.” Later historians frequently rate him the best of the Kamakura regents.
Where Is Yasutoki’s Tomb?
Yasutoki’s tomb is said to survive in the Kita-Kamakura area but is not maintained as a publicly accessible site. His father Yoshitoki’s tomb (Yoshitoki’s tomb (yagura), Nishimido) and grandmother Masako’s tomb (Masako’s tomb (yagura), Jufukuji) are both open to visitors.
The Hyojoshu established in 1225 was the shogunate’s supreme deliberative body. Under the regent and the rensho (deputy regent), powerful retainers and learned officials (practical administrators) deliberated collectively on government affairs and judicial cases. Functionally similar to a modern cabinet, it served as a check on unilateral Hojo clan dominance of shogunate politics.
What Was the Goseibai Shikimoku’s Influence on Modern Japan?
As the starting point of Japan’s “legal culture,” the Goseibai Shikimoku contributed enormously to the stability of warrior society. Its methodology — codifying warrior customs and ethics in writing — was inherited by the domain codes of warring-states domain lords and the Edo shogunate’s legal codes. The principle that “everyone is judged by the same standard” is evaluated as a precursor of modern law and remains a required topic in historical education.
Last updated: April 25, 2026