We found a record that gives us a clue as to what kind of trial the magistrates of the Edo period, known as "Ooka Judgment," were actually doing.
Many of the court records from the Edo period were burnt down in the Great Kanto Earthquake, and experts say, "It is a valuable document that shows that the officials of the Edo period carefully judged the punishment."
Newly found is an 18-volume booklet called "Oshioki Kagaki", which records the judgments handed down at the magistrate's office of the Edo Shogunate for about 150 years until the end of the Tokugawa shogunate by age group and punishment. increase.
The man's decision, which was accused of murdering his employer and was considered the heaviest "crucifixion" in the death penalty, contained the name of the old man who made the final conclusion, and was not judged by the magistrate alone. It can be confirmed that he was also inquiring to the officials at the center of the shogunate.
In addition, sticky notes are attached here and there, and it seems that he was thinking about punishment with reference to past judgments, and there is also a booklet called "Kamaenashi" that collects cases of acquittal. You can also see that some decided not to impose punishment.
The record was found in the Supreme Court's warehouse, but it is unclear where and how it was taken over, and the Supreme Court will transfer it to the National Archives next year.
Kaya Kazuhito, a professor of the Faculty of Law at Waseda University, who specializes in the history of legal system in the Edo period, said, "Many of the court records in the Edo period were burnt down in the Great Kanto Earthquake, and it is very rare to find them all together. It's a valuable resource that shows what you were making. "
Mechanism for storing court records
This time, a newly found trial record from the Edo period.
Why didn't you ever notice it?
Court records and materials are managed separately according to the provisions of the Supreme Court, such as "judgment documents" such as court records and judgments, and "judicial administrative documents" such as the provisions and notifications of the Supreme Court. Based on the Public Records and Archives Management Act enacted in the year and the agreement between the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Prime Minister, important materials will be transferred to the National Archives.
However, there are no management rules for materials that do not fall under either.
According to the Supreme Court, in the past, courts around the world have found materials from the Meiji era and the early Showa era, for which the process of creation and storage was unknown when renovating or cleaning the government building.
For this reason, the Supreme Court began investigating these materials from last year, and decided to transfer historically valuable materials to the National Archives of Japan.
Last year, a total of more than 300 new materials were found within the jurisdiction of the High Court in Sendai and Nagoya, which were the subjects of the investigation.
According to Hiroshi Miyake, a lawyer who is familiar with the management of official documents, prewar materials may have fallen out of legal control because the court became independent of some administrative agencies after the war. ..
Attorney Miyake said, "Old materials are not only historical values, but also clues to the process by which the current judicial system was created. It is important to proceed with the investigation more quickly and politely."