JAPANESE CIVIL CODE 401 



to registration forms a supplementary law to the Civil Code, and the 

 present law was promulgated and put into force on the same day as 

 the Code. As the register is the record of man's legal position in 

 society, the development of society is often reflected in the law of 

 registration. Three stages may be distinguished in the history of the 

 law of personal registration in Japan; (1) the epoch of clan-regis- 

 tration; (2) the epoch of house-registration; and (3 the epoch of 

 status-registration. These epochs show the changes in the units 

 of state and correspond to the three stages in the process of social 

 disintegration. 



In the early days of Japanese history, it was not the individual 

 nor the family that formed the unit of state. The state only took 

 cognizance of clans and the government of families and individuals 

 in each clan was left to the chief of the clan or "uji-no-kami," who 

 was usually the eldest male descendant of an eponymous ancestor. 

 He was honored and obeyed by clansmen as the representative of 

 their common ancestor. He was the head of their worship, their 

 leader in time of war, and their governor in time of peace. There 

 were great clans or "6-uji" and small clans or "ko-uji," the latter 

 being included in the former. Clansmen of the small clan were 

 governed by their chief, who was himself subject to the chief of the 

 great clan. The Emperor was the supreme authority over them, and 

 all the laws and proclamations of the Imperial Government were 

 transmitted to the "uji-no-kami" of the great clans, who in turn 

 transmitted them to the "uji-no-kami" of the small clans. Thus 

 each clan was a body founded on community of blood and worship 

 and formed an administrative division of the country, corresponding to 

 the present administrative divisions, such as provinces, cities, towns, 

 districts, and villages. 



After the introduction of Chinese civilization and the Reform of 

 the Taika Era (645 A. D.), in spite of the fact that the clan system 

 of government continued for a long time afterward, the basis of 

 the administrative division of the country gradually changed from 

 a personal to a territorial system and provinces and districts took the 

 place of clans. 



In those early days of clan government, it was of the utmost 

 importance that each man's clan-name should be kept sacred. 

 As only those who belonged to certain clans could fill high official 

 positions, or join the Imperial body-guard, and as several other 

 privileges were enjoyed by particular clans, attempts were often 

 made by clansmen to forsake their original clans and surreptitiously 

 adopt the names of other and more influential clans. In order to put 

 a stop to these abuses, the "ordeal of hot water" or "kugadachi" 

 was resorted to, which consisted in plunging the hand into hot water 

 before the temple of a god. It was claimed that those who assumed 



