National Treasure Gallery: Engishiki (detailed rules of the Ritsuryo Statute)
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Engishiki (detailed rules of the Ritsuryo Statute) (detail), Heian period, 11th century (National Treasure)
Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Room 2
January 16, 2019 (Wed) - February 11, 2019 (Mon)The Engi shiki is a compilation of detailed regulations for implementing Chinese-style legal codes. Its compilation commenced in 905, during the Engi era, and was completed in 927. The set that includes this particular volume was presumably transcribed in the late Heian period (794–1192) by the regent family of the time, making it the oldest extant set with a substantial number of surviving volumes. Many of the volumes have markings, which were added to facilitate understanding the Chinese text, as well as texts written on their reverse sides, many of which are significant historical documents. This scroll is the first volume from this set, which was formerly owned by the Kujo family. It records regulations concerning the administration of the Department of Divinities, one of the central government offices under the legal code at the time, and includes actual examples of how these regulations were enacted.
| Designation | Name | Creation/ Excavation/ Provenance |
Period | Acquisition/ Ownership/ Accession Number |
CMT | ||
| Highlight | National Treasure | Engishiki (detailed rules of the Ritsuryo Statute) | Heian period, 11th century | B-2370-1 |