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Japanese Law

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Book cover Legal Traditions in Asia

Part of the book series: Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice ((IUSGENT,volume 80))

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Abstract

This chapter deals with Japanese law in a historical perspective with a special emphasis on genuine Japanese legal thinking which we can observe even today, though modern Japan rests, in theory, on western fundaments of law. The first unit unfolds the story of Japanese law from its very beginning in the first centuries CE until the coming to power of the Tokugawas. Important documents produced in this period, such as the political advises of Shotoku Taishi based on Buddhist ethics and ritsu-ryo codes are also studied to some length. The next unit is about the isolationist policies of the Tokugawas and the study of their political and legal system which had a long lasting impact on Japanese society in the form of militarism and the moral value of complete obedience, remnants of Japanese feudalism and samurai rule. The third unit has a detailed analyses of the Meiji reforms and the problems of the westernisation of law which met social and political resistance and led to militarism between the two world wars. The last unit is dedicated completely to genuine Japanese legal thinking and how it determines social behaviour to this day.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Steenstrup (1996: 1–7).

  2. 2.

    Steenstrup (1996: 8–15).

  3. 3.

    For the see Drapkin (1989: 334–335).

  4. 4.

    Faris (2009: 29); Meyer (2009: 47–48); Steenstrup (1996: 16–18, 30–32).

  5. 5.

    Brinkley and Kikuchi (1912: 177–179).

  6. 6.

    Frank (1996: 212–213); Steenstrup (1996: 34–37).

  7. 7.

    Drapkin (1989: 351); Steenstrup (1996: 38–42).

  8. 8.

    Steenstrup (1996: 50–57).

  9. 9.

    Faris (2009: 50–52).

  10. 10.

    Steenstrup (1996: 59–63).

  11. 11.

    Drapkin (1989: 354).

  12. 12.

    Frank (1996: 216).

  13. 13.

    Faris (2009: 158–160); Steenstrup (1996: 71–72, 84–90, 97–98).

  14. 14.

    Drapkin (1989: 342–345).

  15. 15.

    Beer and Maki (2002: 1113); Frank (1996: 225); Steenstrup (1996: 108–115).

  16. 16.

    Frank (1996: 222).

  17. 17.

    Steenstrup (1996: 116–121, 128–130).

  18. 18.

    Katsuta (1996: 254); Steenstrup (1996: 130–136).

  19. 19.

    Henderson (1980: 270–281).

  20. 20.

    Steenstrup (1996: 150–154).

  21. 21.

    Oda (2009: 15–16); Beer and Maki (2002: 17–21).

  22. 22.

    Haley (1991: 79–80).

  23. 23.

    Beer and Maki (2002: 25–29).

  24. 24.

    Morton and Olenik (2005: 168–177).

  25. 25.

    Röhl (2005: 23–28).

  26. 26.

    Katsuta (1996: 251–252, 259); Oda (2009: 18–19); Chiba (1986: 314).

  27. 27.

    Frank (1996: 211, 227).

  28. 28.

    Katsuta (1996: 255–256); Rahn (1980: 479–482).

  29. 29.

    Obayashi (1996: 109, 116–117).

  30. 30.

    Hozumi (2009: 30–31, 73, 85, 99).

  31. 31.

    Haley (2006: 189–190).

  32. 32.

    Frank (1996: 228); Rahn (1980: 482–487); Chiba (1986: 343–344).

  33. 33.

    Rahn (1980: 491–494).

  34. 34.

    Anderson and Ryan (2011: 142–143); Ramseyer and Nakazato (1989: 429–430).

  35. 35.

    Tanaka (1985: 386–388).

  36. 36.

    Obuchi (1987: 526–533).

  37. 37.

    Haley (1991: 135–136).

  38. 38.

    Haley (2006: 82–84).

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  1. Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest, Hungary

    Janos Jany

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Jany, J. (2020). Japanese Law. In: Legal Traditions in Asia. Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice, vol 80. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43728-2_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43728-2_12

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