Shinsen Shōjiroku

The most significant population register in early Japan was the Shinsen Shōjiroku (新撰姓氏録), a peerage compiled in the early 9th century and published around 815. According to this register, about thirty percent of all kabane-titled families clans in the vicinity of the Heian capital in present-day Kyōto were of peninsular or continental origin. By then, significant migration from the peninsula had stopped. Families had mixed. Old families had faded and new ones had emerged. The passage of time and memory made it increasingly difficult, if not pointless, to keep track of lineal origins that no longer seemed to matter. To the compilers of Shinsen Shōjiroku, however, the origins of a family -- never mind the family's title, and the role the family played in the social and political scheme of things -- mattered.

New compilation of what?

"Shinsen" or "Newly compiled" in the title of Shinsen Shōjiroku suggests that there was an earlier Shōjiroku that needed updating. But academic consensus is that there was no precursor -- no earlier such listing of titled families. All that was "new" was the idea of compiling or "selecting" (撰) which titled families of many to include in what was actually a new undertaking.

The 1,182 titled families included in today's "collations" of different versions of the work, were drawn from titled families in the Heiankyō capital and the nearest 5 Kinki provinces. There were many other such families in more distant provinces, but the distances of their residences from Heiankyō signified their lessor importance in the scheme of things that centered on the capital.

Shinsen Shōjiroku does not appear to have been updated since its publication in 815, which suggests that the concern of its compilers was not shared by later generations. And judging from what little survives of earlier copies, there does not seem to have been a lot of interest in the work -- until the early 17th century, 900 years after SSSR was compiled, when national studies scholars -- leading a renaissance of interest in the origins and early history of Japan -- began producing various collations of whatever editions were available and within reach. Interest in the work, and its implications for the nature and quality of early Japanese society, continued to inspire new collations after the start of the Meiji period in 1868, and during the 20th century. Today, in the 21st century, the work still stirs interest and controversy.

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Titles

The full title, Shinsen Shōjiroku (新撰姓氏録), is sometimes referred to by the short title, Shinsen Shōroku (姓氏録), in copies of the work as well as by readers and researchers. Editions consisting of extracts may be titled Shinsen shōroku shō (新撰姓氏録抄).

I will sometimes abbreviate the title SSSR.

I am translating the title "Newly compiled record of titles and families" to reflect all elements of the Japanese title. While 新撰 is dubbed "new compilation" it could just as well be "new selection".

The expression 姓氏 (shō) is rendered "titles (姓 shō, kabane) and families (氏 ji, uji)". This could be interpreted as "titled families", since the object of the record is to account for families with a title bestowed on the family by the court. Putting "titles" ahead of "families" reflects the face that the family name of a titled family is preceded by the title.

New "compilation" or "selection" of what?

"Shinsen" or "Newly compiled" in the title of Shinsen Shōjiroku suggests that there was an earlier Shōjiroku that needed updating. But academic consensus is that there was no precursor as such -- no earlier register or other such listing of titled families. All that appears to have been "new" was the idea of "compiling" or "selecting" (撰) which of many titled families to include in what was actually a new undertaking.

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Dates

The date given at the end of the foreword is precisely 弘仁六年七月二十日 -- Kōnin 6-7-20 -- 815-9-1.

However, Book 23 of Nihon kōki (日本後起) -- which has been lost -- reported the completion of SSSR by 814-6-25, according to the following report in the Nihon kiryaku (日本紀略), a circa 1036 compendium of "Briefs of chronicles of Japan" cleaned from earlier national histories. I have copied, pasted, and formated the text from the J-Texts edition of Nihon kōki, which reconstructs some missing parts from Nihon kiryaku and other texts.

《弘仁五年六月丙子朔》○六月。丙子朔。先是、中務卿四品萬多親王、右大臣從二位藤原朝臣園人等、奉勅撰姓氏録。至是而成。上表曰。云々。
Kōnin 5-nen 6-gatsu heishi tsuitachi [Kōnin 5-6-1 = 814-6-25]. First, Ministry of Central Affairs (Naka-tsukasa-kyō) Fourth Rank Prince Manda, Minister of the Right Junior Second Rank Fujiwara no Asomi Sonodo and others, presented the sovereign Sen Shojiroku, and reporting up (memorializing to the emperor) said, [it is] now finished (had come to this and was completed), and so forth.

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Compilers

Pages 3a-3b

中務卿四品臣萬多䓁(sic 等)親王
右大臣從二位兼行皇太弟《傅》勳五等臣藤原《朝臣》園人
參議從三位行宮內卿兼近江守臣藤原朝臣諸(sic 緒)嗣
正五位下行造東太(sic 大)寺長官《臣》　阿部朝臣眞勝
從五位上行尾張守臣三原朝臣弟平
從五位上行大外記兼因幡介臣上毛(sic)野朝臣頴(sic 穎)人䓁(sic 等)上表

Manta Shinnō

Fujiwara no Sonohito (藤原園人 756-819) served the court under emperors Kōnin, Kanmu, Heijō, and Saga.

Fujiwara no Otsugu (藤原緒嗣 774-843) was the oldest son of Fujiwara no Momokawa (藤原百川 732-779), Emperor Kanmu's father in law. He served the courts of emperors Saga, Junna, and Ninmyō. He was also a collaborating compiler of the Nihon kōki, the 3rd national history, which was commissioned by Saga in 819 and completed in 840. The history covered years 792-833.

Abe no Makatsu (阿部眞勝 754-826) served emperors Kanmu, Heijō, and Saga. His family clan (shizoku 氏族) was 安倍氏 (Abe shi), hence his name is commonly written 安倍眞勝 (Abe no Makatsu).

Mihara Otohira (三原弟平 bd unk) served emperors Kanmu, Heijō, and Saga.

Kamitsuke no Kaihito (上毛野穎人 766-821 Hidehito) served emperors Kanmu, Heijō, and Saga. His clan's name and title, formerly Kamitsukeno no Kimi (上毛野君公), became Kamitsukeno no Asomi (上毛野朝臣). The clan is supposed to have originated in Kudara. 氏姓上毛野君（公）のち上毛野朝臣出自百済系渡来人氏祖称・竹葉瀬（多奇波世君）（豊城入彦命五世孫）種別皇別本貫山城国左京上毛野朝臣穎人（766年-821年） - 従四位上。遣唐使に録事として加わり渡唐。薬子の変にも功。『新撰姓氏録』編纂に参加。『凌雲集』に1首、『経国集』に1首[15]。

Manta Shinnō et al.

The compilation of Shinsen Shōjiroku was undertaken under the supervision of Manta Shinnō -- Prince Shinnō -- the 5th son of Emperor Kanmu (737-806 r 781-806 50th) -- with

Manta was the half brother of Kanmu's first three successors, Emperor Heijō (平城 774-824 r806-809 51st) and Emperor Saga (嵯峨 786-842 r809-823 52nd), who were full brothers born to Kanmu's principal wife Fujiwara no Otomuro (藤原乙牟漏 760-790), and Junna (淳和天皇 786-833 r823-833 53rd), a half-brother born to Fujiwara no Tabiko (藤原旅子 758-788), one of Kanmu's consort wives. Fujiwara no Tabiko was the oldest daughter of Fujiwara no Momokawa (藤原百川 732-779), a veteran minister who had served a succession of tennō, including Empress Kōken (孝謙 718-770 r749-758 46th), her successor Junnin (淳仁 r758-764 47th), his successor Empress Shōtoku (称徳 718-770 r764-770 48th), the former Empress Kōken, and her successor Emperor Kōnin (光仁 709-782 r770-781 49th). Fujiwara no Momokawa is said to have advocated that Emperor Kōnin be succeeded by his (Kōnin's) eldest son, Prince Yamabe, in lieu of Prince Osabe, Yamabe's half-brother, who had been appointed Kōnin's crown prince. Fujiwara no Momokawa's posthumous influence was such that Yamabe, his son-in-law, would succeed Kōnin as Kanmu. And Kanmu's son with Fujiwara no Momokawa's daughter Tabiko -- i.e., Fujiwara no Momokawa's grandson -- would become Junna. Manta's mother, another of Kanmu's consort wives, was Fujiwara no Okuso (藤原小屎 bd unk Oguso), a daughter of Fujiwara no Washitori (藤原鷲取 bd unk).

See Soga and Fujiwara wombs: The violent birth of Yamato harmony for the convoluted details of Kanmu's genealogy.

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Shinsen Shōjiroku preface

Among the bibles of English-language sources on Japanese history were the two volumes of Sources of Japanese Tradition published by Columbia University Press in 1958. The 1st volume contains materials related to early Japan.

Tsunoda 1958

Ryusaku Tsunoda, Wm. Theodore De Bary, Donald Keene (compilers)
Sources of Japanese Tradition
Volume 1 [of 2 volumes]
[Introduction to Oriental Civilizations]
New York: Columbia University Press, 1958
Text edition in two volumes published 1964
Third printing 1967
xxiii, 506 pages, paper cover

The following introduction to the Shinsen Shōjiroku, and the translation of its preface, come from pages 85-86 and 86-88 of this work.

Introductory remarks

Sources of Japanese Tradition introduces Shinsen Shōjiroku as follows (Volume 1, pages 85-86, my formating and highlighting, numbered notes in original, lettered notes mine).

NEW COMPILATION OF THE REGISTER OF FAMILIES

The importance of genealogy in determining claims to sovereignty was demonstrated by the Records of Ancient Matters (A.D. 712). The Japanese who thus stressed the divine descent of the imperial family, were confirmed in this by the Han view of the Mandate of Heaven as conferred, not on individuals, but on dynasties which themselves had been provided with genealogies going back to the sage-kings. However, in the following preface, in that to the Kojiki, and in several Taika edicts, there is evidence that Japanese family genealogies were in a great state of confusion until the seventh century, when Chinese histories were brought over containing well-ordered genealogies of important families. This no doubt inspired the Japanese to draw up similar records, not only of the imperial house, but of all important families. The New Compilation of the Register of Families (Shinsen shōji-roku, A.D. 815) is one result of this development.

The influx of Korean and Chinese immigrants during the Nara Period and earlier had in some respects presented a challenge to the Japanese, for the immigrants were clearly superior to the Japanese in their knowledge of the techniques of civilization. The advantage that the Japanese claimed was their descent from the gods, and to this heritage they jealously clung.

In the Register of Families, the names given are divided into three classes: "All descendants of heavenly and earthly dieties are designated as the Divine Group; all brances of the families of Emperors and royal princes are called the Imperial Group; and families from China and Korea are called the Alien Group." It perhaps seems surprising that the "descendants of heavenly and earthly deities" (who must have included a good part of the Japanese population) should have been mentioned before the imperial family. However, since these deities ruled over the land of Japan before the arrival of the imperial family from Heaven, they deserved their pride of place.

I have reproduced the preface as received in my own wabon copy of Shinsen Shōjiroku below. I created the text by cutting and pasting the text in an on-line version and editing it to conform to my version. The on-line version was created by the process engineer and Miko-phile Huang Tsu-hung (黄祖虹), aka Uraki Yutaka (浦木裕), who inputed the kanbun text from the following publication.

栗田寛
新撰姓氏録考証
東京：吉川弘文館、1900-1901
全２冊 (巻1-10、巻11-20)、索引
国立国会図書館デジタルコレクション

Kurita Hiroshi
Shinsen Shōjiroku kōshō
[Documentary study of Shinsen Shōjiroku]
Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kōbunkan, 1900-1901
Two volumes (Books 1-10, Books 2-20), Index
National Diet Library Digital Collection

Kurita Hiroshi (栗田寛 1835-1899) was a Mito domain national studies scholar (kokugakusha 国学者) who became a professor at Tokyo Imperial University. He is known for the work he continued to do on the massive Dai Nihonshi (大日本史), which was undertaken by Mito scholars from the middle of the 17th century.

Preface to Shinsen Shōroku
Yosha Bunko wabon edition, folios 4a-10b Created from text posted on miko.org (巫研) by Huang Tsu-hung aka Yuraki Yutaka 黄祖虹こと浦木裕	Translation by Ryusaku Tsunoda Tsunoda, De Bary, Keene (compilers) Sources of Japanese Tradition Volume 1: Pages 86-88
(4a) 新撰姓氏錄序此者第一卷之序也。不載於官書目錄。而載此卷。又抄姓氏錄文註(►注)於此卷。是皆爲備指掌也。(++私所爲也。++) 蓋聞、天孫降襲西化之時、神世伊開、書記靡傳。神武臨夏東征之年、人物漸滋、梟帥間起。泊乎神劍下授、靈鳥于飛、歸首星陣、群凶霧散。(4b) 膺受明命、光宅中州、泰階平齊、海內清謐。既而謹德考功、胙土命氏。國造、縣主、始號於斯。垂仁撫運、惠澤彌新、舉措得中、姓氏稍分。況復任那嚮風、新羅歸賮爾來、諸蕃仰德、無思不來。懷遠賜姓、是時著明。(5a)允恭御宇、萬姓紛紜。時下詔旨、盟神探湯、首實者全、冒虛者害。自玆厥後、(++氏姓自定、更無詐人、++)涇渭別流。皇極握鏡、國記皆燔、幼弱迷其根源、狡強倍其偽說。天智天皇儲宮也、船史惠天(►尺)奉進燼書。至庚午年、編造戶籍、人民氏(5b)骨、各得其宜。自玆以降、歷代帝王、隨時改正、聯綿不絕。【 ¶ 】勝宝(►寶)年中、時(►特)有恩旨、聽許諸蕃、任願賜之。遂使歬(►前)姓後姓、文字斯仝(►同)、蕃俗和俗氏族相疑。萬方庶民、陳高貴之枝葉、三韓蕃賓、稱日本(++之++)神胤。時移人易、(6a)罕知而言。寶字之末、其爭猶繁。仍聚(►緊)名儒、撰氏族志。抄案弗半、逢時有難、諸儒解体(►體)、輟而不興。皇統彌照聖明、生而叡哲、自體性仁。威被日出之崖、德光月朏之域。停烽廢開(►關)、文軌為一。慮周品物、思切正名。(6b)迺降絲綸、撰勘本系。緗帙未畢、鳳輿登瑕。【 ¶ 】天朝至明、紹修前業。至(++聖++)承聖、垂眷後謀。爰勑(►敕)中務卿四品臣萬多親王、右大臣從二位兼行皇大(►太)弟傅臣藤原朝臣園人、參議正四位下行右衛門督兼近江守臣藤原(7a)(++朝臣緒嗣、正五位下行陰陽頭臣阿部朝臣真勝、従五位下行陰陽頭臣阿部++) 朝臣真勝、從五位上行尾張守臣(--臣--)三原朝臣弟平、從五位上行大外記兼因幡介臣上毛野朝臣穎人等、追慕歬(►前)志、推弘此文、開書府之秘藏、尋諸氏之苑丘。【 ¶ 】臣等歷探古記、博觀舊史、文駮(►駁)辭蹐、音訓組(立木+隹)(►雜)。(7b)會釋一事、還作楯矛；搆合兩說、則有牴牾(►梧)。新進本系、多違故實。或錯綜兩氏、混為一祖。或不知源流、倒錯祖次。或迷失己祖、過入他氏。或巧入他氏、以為己祖。新古煩乱(►亂)、不易(華?萃?)(►芟)夷。彼此謬錯、不可勝數。是(丨+ココ)(►以)(8a)雖欲成之不日、而猶十歲於茲。京畿本系、未進過半。【 ¶ 】今依見進、以類詮夫(►矣)。本其元生、則有三例(►體),(++前其群分、則有三例++)。天神地祇之會 (►冑)、謂之神別。天皇皇子之泒、謂之皇別。大漢、三韓之族、謂之諸蕃。所以別仝(►同)異序、歬(►前)後是為三體(8b)也。(++或古記、本系並錄載而++ ►A) 枝別之宗特立之祖、書曰(►約)出自。(►A) 或古記、本系並錄載而錄而載、或載古記而漏本系、或載本系而漏古記、書曰仝(►同)祖之後。宗氏古記、雖云遺漏、而立祖不繆(►謬)、但事涉狐疑、書曰之後。所以辨遠近、示親踈、是為三例也。(9a)夫寸璞尺木、尚有瑕節。況乎後生(►世)、叵知歬(►前)世。故祖次相變、世數頗誤、則不為大失討論而裁成。真人是皇別之上氏也、并(►並)集京畿、以為一卷、附皇別首。未定是諸氏之未明也、摠為一卷、附諸蕃尾。又有諸姓(9b)漏本系而載古記、則抄古記以寫附。本系之與古記違、則拠(►據)古記以刪定。今按之中證引(►孔)古記、則雖文駮(►駁)、而不必改、所以存其文取辭達也。京畿之氏、大體牢籠諸國(++。諸國++)之氏、或不必入京畿。【 ¶ 】臣等奉敕、謹加研(10a)精、捃摭群言、沙汰金礫。裁舊記之煩蕪、採會新之機要。除新系之塗說、撮通古之折中。思所以令文約辭(►解)易、冷然示掌、煥乎指南。起自神武、迄乎(►于)弘仁。温(►溫)故知新、能事粗畢。凡一千一百八十二氏、惣為三十(10b)卷。勒成三部、名曰新撰姓氏錄。雖非韋編耽樂之義、玉板翫好之文、抑(夕+灬)(►亦)人倫之樞機、國家之櫽括也。唯京畿未進、幷(►並)諸國且進等類、一時難盡、闕而不究、其諸姓目列於別卷云爾。	*Preface in the Form of a Memorial to Emperor Saga* [From the Kōgaku Sōsho, IV, 123-24] They say that the Divine Dynasty had its inception when the Grandson of Heaven descended to the land of So [Note 1] and extended its influence in the West, [Note 2] but no written records are preserved of these events. In the years when Jinmu assumed command of the state and undertook his campaign to the East, conditions grew steadily more confused, and some tribal leaders rose in revolt. When, however, the Heaven-sent sword appeared and the Golden Kite flew to earth, [Note 3] the chieftains surrendered in great numbers and the rebels vanished like mist. Jimmu, accepting the Mandate of Heaven, erected a palace in the central province and administered justice. Peace reigned throughout the country. Land was allotted to men who were deemed virtuous in accordance with their merits. Heads of clans were granted such titles as Local Chieftain [Kuni-no-miyatsuko] and District Chieftain [Agata-nushi] for the first time. Suinin [Note 4] cultivated good fortune by his ever-renewed benevolent favors. Through such acts the Golden Mean was attained. [At this time] clans and families were gradually distinguished one from the other. Moreover, Imna (Mimana) came came under our influence and Silla (Shiragi) brought tribute. Later, barbarians from other countries, in due reverence for his virtue, all wished to come to Japan. Out of solicitude for these aliens, he bestowed family names on them. This was an outstanding feature of the time. During the reign of Inkyō, [Note 5] however, family relationships were in great confusion. An edict was accordingly issued, ordering that oaths be tested by the trial of boiling water. Those whose oaths were true remained unscathed, while the perjurers were harmed. From this time onwards the clans and families were established and there were no imposters. Rivers ran in their proper courses. While Kōgyoku held the Regalia, [Note 6] however, the provincial records were all burnt, and the young and defenseless had no means of proving their antecedents. The designing and the strong redoubled their false claims. Then, when the Emperor Tenchi was Heir Apparent, Eseki, an archivist of the Funa family, presented to the court the charred remains of the records. In the year of metal and the horse (A.D. 670) the family registers were re-compiled and the relationships of clans and families were all clarified. From this time on revisions were always made by succeeding sovereigns from time to time. During the Tempyō Shōhō era (749-57), by special favor of the court, all aliens who had made application were granted family names. Since the same surnames were given to the immigrants as Japanese families possessed, uncertainty arose as to which families were of alien and which of native origin. There were commoners everywhere who pretended to be the scions of the high and the mighty, and immigrant aliens from the Korean kingdoms claimed to be the descendants of the Japanese dieties. As time passsed and people changed scarcely anyone was left who knew the facts. During the latter part of the Tempyō Hōji era (757-65) controversies about these matteres grew all the more numerous. A number of eminent scholars were therefore summoned to compile a register of families. Before their work was half completed, however, the government became involved in certain difficulties. The scholars were disbanded and the compilation was not resumed. . . . [ellipsis in Tsunoda] Our present Sovereign, [Note 7] of glorious fame, desired that the work be resumed at the point where it was abandoned. . . . [ellipsis in Tsunoda] We, his loyal subjects, in obedience to his edicts, have performed our task with reverence and assiduity. We have collected all the information so as to be able to sift the gold from the pebbles. We have cleared old records of confusion and have condensed into this new work the essential facts contained in them. New geneologies have been purged of fictitious matter and checked with the old records. The concision and simplicity of this work are such that its meaning will be apparent as the palm of one's hand. We have searched out the old and new, from the time of the Emperor Jimmu to the Kōnin era (811-24) to the best of our abilities. The names of 1,182 families are included in this work, which is in thirty volumes. It is entitled the "New Compilation of the Register of Families." It is not intended for pleasure-reading, and the style is far from polished. Since, however, it is concerned with the key to human relationships, it is an essential instrument in the hands of the nation.
Notes on Japanese text	Notes to English text land of So An ancient name for the southern part of the island of Kyūshū. Location of Mount Takachiho where Ninigi, the Grandson of Heaven, made his descent. (See p. 18.) extended his influence in the West Kyūshū is in the west of Japan. the Heaven-sent sword appeared and the Golden Kite flew to earth Signs confirming Jimmu's divine right to imperial domination. (See Aston, Nihongi, I, 115, 126.) Suinin The name Suinin means "to be benevolent" (of an emperor), and may have that meaning here rather than that of a proper name. Inkyō Traditional dates: A.D. 4411-53. Kogyoku held the Regalia A.D. 642-45. Our present sovereign Saga (809-23).

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Emperor Tenmu's 684 kabane decree

The Nihon shoki (日本書紀), also known as Nihongi (日本紀), usually called "Chronicles of Japan" in English, is a chronology of Japan from from its mythological origins to the 697 in the Christian era. It was completed in 720 (Yōrō 4) in 30 books (kan) and a genealogy, compiled by Prince Toneri (舎人親王 676-735), and later also partly attributed to Oo no Yasumaro (太安萬侶 d723). As such it is the first of Japan's six early national histories.

As of this writing (2019), there are several Japanese versions of the original and various Japanese translations, and Aston's English translation, in print). There is also a full English translation with two versions of kanbun texts (including the J-Texts version) on a "Wiki Site" called nihonshoki.wikidot.com. The on-line English text is convenient for quick reading, and may be an improvement over Aston's rendering. However, it is not more reliable as a guide to the metaphors in the original and has few notes.

For my purposes, I have used the following Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei (NKBT) edition and Aston's translation to facilitate my own translations of excerpts.

NKBT 67, NKBT 68

There are numerous scholarly and popular guides to Nihon shoki. This NKBT edition, edited by an allstar cast of historians and linguists, continues to be an adequate standard if used with care.

Sakamoto Tarō, Ienaga Saburō, Inoue Mitsusada, and Ōno Susumu (translators and annotators)
Nihon shoki
[Chronicles of Japan]
Nihon koten bungaku taikei [NKBT]
[Survey of classical literature of Japan]
Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten
Two volumes (jō, ge)
Volume 1 [Jō], NKBT Volume 67, 1967
Volume 2 [Ge], NKBT Volume 68, 1965

Aston 1, Aston 2

Aston's translation was first published in two separate volumes by the Japan Society in 1896. The two volumes were republished in 1924 as a single volume in which the two earlier volumes were bound together with their original pagination. The 1972 Tuttle publication used here is a facsimile of the 1924 edition, which continues to be the most useful translation in English. It is remarkably reliable, but is best used together with the original text and other Japanese sources.

W.G. [William George] Aston (translator) [1841-1911]
Nihongi
(Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to AD 697)
Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1972
Volume I: iv, 407 pages

Volume II: 358 pages
Paperback, two volumes in one

Emperor Tenmu's 684 kabane decree
NKBT 68: 464-465 Nihon shoki 29 Tenmu Tennō Ka Tenmu 13-nen Fuyu 10-01	Structural translation Nihon shoki Book Number 29 Tenmu Tennō 13-10-01 684-11-16 Gregorian	Aston II: 364-365 Nihongi Book XXIX Emperor Temmu Winter 10-01 A.D. 684
冬十月己卯朔、詔曰、更改諸氏之族姓、作八色之姓、以混天下萬姓。一曰、眞人。二曰、朝臣。三曰、宿禰。四曰、忌寸。五曰、道師。六曰、臣。七曰、連。八曰、稻置。是日、守山公・路公・高橋公・三國公・當麻公・茨城公・丹比公・猪名公・坂田公・羽田公・息長公・酒人公・山道公、十三氏、賜姓曰眞人。	13th year [of reign], Winter, 10th month, 1st day. [The emperor] decreed and said [proclaimed], "[We] again revise the clan titles (kabane 族姓) of the many families (uji 氏), create titles (kabane 姓) of 8 colors [kinds] (yakusa 八色), and thereby blend [consolidate] (marokasu 混) under Heaven the myriad titles (yorodzu no kabane 萬姓). The 1st [title] is called Mabito. The 2nd is called Asomi. The 3rd is called Sukune. The 4th is called Imiki. The 5th is called Michinoshi. The 6th is called Omi. The 7th is called Muraji. The 8th is called Inaki." On this day, Moriyama no Kimi, Michi no Kimi, Takahashi no Kimi, Mikuni no Kimi, Tagima no Kimi, Umaraki no Kimi, Tajiji no Kimi, Wina no Kimi, Sakata no Kimi, Hata no Kimi, Okinaga no Kimi, Sakahito no Kimi, Yamaji no Kimi, to [these] 13 families (uji) [the court] granted a title (kabane 姓) and called [them] Mabito.	Winter, 10th month, 1st day. The Emperor made a decree, saying:-- "The hereditary titles of all the families are again reformed, and eight titles of eight classes instituted. By this means the multitudinous titles of the Empire are amalgamated. The first is Mabito, the second Ason, the third Sukune, the fourth Imiki, the fifth Michi no Shi, the sixth Omi, the seventh Muraji, and the eighth Inaki." On this day thirteen houses received the title of Mabito, vix, oriyama no Kimi, Michi no Kimi, Takahashi no Kimi, Mikuni no Kimi, Taema no Kimi, Ibaraki no Kimi, Tajihi no Kimi, Wina no Kimi, Sakata no Kimi, Hata no Kimi, Okinaga no Kimi, Sakabito no Kimi, and Yamaji no Kimi"

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Selected wabon editions of Shinsen Shōjiroku

Many collations of legacy manuscript and print editions of Shinsen Shōjiroku were published during the Tokugawa period. Saeki Arikiyo describes known editions, some in great detail, and shows photographic images of several. In this section, I will introduce a few of the most prominent editions, based on Saeki's description. I will also show my tallies of editions held in libraries and archives as listed by CiNii.

Selected wabon editions of Shinsen Shōjiroku

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Shinsen Shōjiroku

1668 Shirai edition in NDL

Forthcoming

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Shinsen Shōjiroku

1669 Matsushita edition in WUL

万多親王他 (撰)
新撰姓氏録抄
Manta Shinnō et al. (compilation)
Shinsen Shōjiroku shō
[Newly compiled record of titles and families extracts]
Location and name of publisher not stated
182 numbered folios bound in one volume
Colophon (182a) states as follows.

己酉寛文九年 / 春三月
Kiyū Kanbun 9-nen / Haru 3-gatsu
Earth-rooster 1669-04 Spring

西峯山人序
Seihō Sanjin hashibumi
Seihō Sanjin preface
[→ Matsushita Kenrin 1637～1703] 文政元年狩谷望之校合本より小島成斎写・校合 1818 copy and collation by Kojima Seisai (小島成斎 c1797-1862) from collated book by Kariya Bōshi (狩谷望之 1775-1835), according to Waseda University Library description of this copy. Kojima Seisai, a calligrapher and Confucian scholar, was a retainer of the lord of Fukuyama domain in Bingo province (how part of Hiroshima prefecture). Kariya Bōshi, aka Kariya Ekisai (狩谷棭斎), one of Kojima's teachers, was a collector and biliographer of old Chinese and Japanese texts, and a calligrapher. Kariya was born in Edo the son of a book dealer and a townsman by status.

The first page of this copy shows 5 owner seals as follows, across the top from right to left, then down the right from the middle to the bottom. The seals marked ＊ also appear on the colophon. Both seals appear together, and in the same positions relative to each other, in some other works in Waseda University Library. Both may belong to Gomi Kinpei.

＊去水五味均平蔵
＊不老菴
□□□□□□
□山□所蔵記
石川氏蔵書

Gomi Kinpei (五味均平 1877-1924) was an Imperial Household Ministry (Kunaichō 宮内省) bureaucrat. Waseda University acquired his personal library after his death.

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Shinsen Shōjiroku

CiNii listed copies

CiNii ("sigh-knee"(], a "Scholarly and Academic Information Navigator" database managed by National Institute of Informatics (Inter-University Research Institute Corporation / Research Organization of Information and Systems).

Searching for publications attributed to 萬多親王 (Manta Shinnō) under books and magaines (図書・雑誌検索) on CiNii yields 36 items, which include the 34 items returned from author search (著者検索). The following chart shows a breakdown of the holdings of the 36 items, some held by more than one library, by edition (my tallies, based on data retrieved on 10 September 2019).


Early and middle Edo
3 volume 上中下 editions
1668 Shirai           5
1669 Matsushita       2
1812 Shirai           3
Middle Edo            1
-----------------------
Holdings             11

Middle and late Edo
4 volume 花鳥風月 editions
1807/1818 Hashimoto  18
1834 Hashimoto        6
Late Edo              1
-----------------------
Holdings             25

Meiji Okajima Shinshichi
4 volume 花鳥風月 edition
新撰姓氏録            1
花鳥風月
岡島眞七 [明治年間]

1939 Koten Hozonkai edition
1939 新撰姓氏録抄録  60           
古典保存会

1983 Onko Gakkai edition
新撰姓氏録            3
群書類従、第448、雑部
Gusho ruiju edition
温故学会 Onko Gakkai
<Onko-Academic-Society>
Dedicated to preservation of wood blocks
and other materials related to Gunsho ruiju
and to studies of the work and its compiler
Hanawa Hokiichi (塙保己一 1746-1821)

Zoku Shōjiroku
新撰姓氏録 續姓氏録　 1
[書写者不明] Copiest uncertain
[書写年不明] Year uncertain

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Shinsen Shōjiroku

Yosha Bunko copy of
1807/1818 Hashimoto edition

Forthcoming

加賀屋善蔵河内屋喜兵衛出雲寺文次郎勝村治右衛門堺屋仁兵衛須原屋茂兵衛須原屋新兵衛須原屋伊八岡田屋嘉七美濃屋伊六永楽屋東四郎目録 , 第1-10巻 , 第11-20巻 , 第21-30巻

The title page on the back of the cover of the 1st (Flowers) volume shows, below the title, 音引附 / 全四冊 (Onbikidzuke / Zen-yon-satsu) -- "Pronunciations attached / Total 4 volumes". The "on'in" (音引) are attributed to "the late Motoori no Ushi" (故本居大人). (Ibid.)

Hashimoto Inahiko (橋本稲彦 1781-1809) was born in Aki province (Aki no kuni 安藝國、安芸国), aka Geishū (藝州), now the western part of Hiroshima prefecture. Hashimoto's names included Hojirō (保次郎) and Inazō (稲蔵) among others, and his "shō" (姓) was Minamoto (源). Hashimoto became a student of Motoori Norinaga (本居宣長 1730-1801), a national studies scholar in Ise province (now part of Mie prefecture), in 1798. He was about 17 at the time, around 20 when Motoori died in 1801, and would die 8 years later in 1809, some 9 years before the publication of the SSSR edition attributed to his work in 1818.

The title page attributes the volumes to "The printing blocks of Yoshida Shōkondō" (Yoshida Shōkondō shi 吉田松根堂梓), an "Ōsaka bookshop" (Naniwa shoshi 浪華書肆), which both printed and sold the volumes. (Ibid.)

The preface -- "Teishau Shaujiroku no hashibumi" (テイシャウシャウジロクノハシノブミ) -- is dated and signed "1818 winter, Taira no Ōhira" (Bunshau no hajime no toshi no fuyu, Taira no Ohohira 文政元年冬多平大平). Note that both 正 and 政 are marked to be read "shau" (shō) rather than "sei" in this edition. (Saeki 1:82)

Taira no Ōhira (多平大平) is otherwise known as Motoori Ōhira (本居大平 1756-1833), was born the first son of an Ise province townsman Inagaki Munetaka (稲懸棟隆), aka Inagaki (稲垣), original name (本姓) Yamaguchi (山口). The first son became a student of Motoori Norinaga (本居宣長 1730-1801) around 1769 when about 13 years old, and Motoori adopted him in 1799 when he was about 43. This was the year after Hashimoto Inahiko became a student of Motoori Norinaga, and two years before Motoori Norinaga died, leaving Motori Ōhira as his successor and thus mentor of the young Hashimoto. Motoori Ōhira aka Taira no Ōhira had probably been mentoring his younger fellow "gate desciple" (montei 門弟) from the time Hashimoto was accepted as a student in the Motoori school. Morimoto Norinaga's natural son, Motoori Haruniwa (本居春庭 1763-1828), 年12月13日 had lost his sight by 1795, when he was around 32, hence the need to adopt a successor. Motoori Ōhira signed with various names, including Fuji no Kakitsu (藤垣内).

The colophon is dated wood-hare fall, 1808-8/9 (Bunka 4-nen teibō aki shichigatsu 文化四年丁卯秋七月) and bears the following attributions. (Saeki 1:89, but my readings, romanizations, and [bracketed] remarks)

安藝　源稲彦謹校
Aki [province] [now part of Hiroshima prefecture]
Minamoto no Inahiko kinkō [careful corrections]
→ Hashimoto Inahiko (橋本稲彦 1781-1809)
伊勢　藤長年補正
Ise [province] [now part of Mie prefecture]
Fuji no Nagatoshi hosei [supplementary revisions]
[→ Motoori Ōhira (本居大平 1756-1833)]

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Copy 1 of Hashimoto edition

The Hashimoto edition consists of four separately bound volumes (satsu 冊) with flower-bird-wind-moon (花鳥風月) title. This copy was purchased from an antiquarian book dealer in Ueda city in Nagano prefectue. The book was descibed a published in Bunka 4-7 (1807) by Izumidera Monjirō (出雲寺文次郎) and others (see below).

Publishers and sellers

The colophon lists 12 people who publishers (hakkō 發行) and/or booksellers (shoshi 書肆), beginning with 亰三條通升屋町　出雲寺文次郎 Miyako Sanjōdōri Masuyachō Izumoji Bunjirō

亰 was an alternative way of writing 京 hence 亰都 for 京都 (Kyōto). The graph also has a history of use in early representations of 東京 (Tōkyō) as 東亰. Tokyo was commonly written 東京 (Tokyo, Tokei) was commonly written 東亰 (Tokei, Tokyo) until about the middle of the Meiji period. The character 東 is considered a popular alternative of 京 though careful writers would graphically differentiate them. The Sino-Japanese Go (Wu = pre-Tang), Kan (Han = Tang, Chang'an), and To (Tang = Song, Yuan, Ming, Yuan, Qing) readings of both characters were kyō (kiyou, kiyau), kei, and kin. See Tōkyō Nichinichi Shinbun banners and other examples and details on the New Nishikie website.

Masuyachō (升屋町) is today's Masuyachō (桝屋町).

Among the 12 listed publishers and sellers, 2 were in Miyako (亰) [Kyōto 亰都, 京都), 4 in Edo (江戸), 2 in Nagoya (名古屋) in Bishū (尾州) [Owari no kuni 尾張国], 1 in Wakayama in Kishū (紀州) [Kii no kuni 紀伊国], and 2 in Ōsaka (大坂). Note that the list begins in Kyō, jumps to Nihonbashi in Edo, then continues southwest back to Ōsaka in the Kinki area.

Volume 1 花 Flowers

0a Cover
   訂正 / 新撰姓氏録 / 花
   Teishau Shaujiroku / Ka (Hana)
   Teishō Shōjiroku / Flowers
 
0b Title, pubisher, promotion

   Title
　 訂正 / 新撰姓氏録 // 音引附 / 全四冊
   Teishau Shaujiroku //
   Onbikidzuke (On'indzuke) /
   Zen 4-satsu
   Teishō Shōjiroku
   Pronunciations attached
   Total 4 volumes

   Publisher
   浪華書肆 / 吉田松根堂梓
   Naniwa shoshi / Yoshida Shōkondō shi
   Nainwa (Ōsaka) bookstore
   Yoshida Shōkondō wood blocks (printer)

   Publicity
   抑此音引といふハ姓氏録の目安にして
   故本居大人の撰びおかれし所なり
　 Somosomo kono on'in to ifu ha Shaujiroku no
   mokuan ni shite ko Motoori no Ushi no
   erabiokareshi tokoro nari
   As for the pronunciations,
   they are where (as, according to how)
   [they] were chosen and put (left) [by]
   the late Motoori no Ushi as a guide
   of (to, for reading) Shōjiroku.

1a-2b 訂正新撰姓氏録序
      Teishau Shaujiroku no hashibumi
      Preface ot (to) Teishō Shōjiroku

1a-3a 上新撰姓氏録表
　　　
1a-14b 姓氏録目録　五十音引
　　　 Shōjiroku mokukoku Gojōon-biki

1a-10b 姓氏録を校合(ヨミカムガヘ)たる大むね
       Shōjiroku wo yomikamugahetaru oomune
       Main points of having read and rectified Shōjiroku
       (See the note, below, on
       "Etymology of 校合(ヨミカムガヘ)たる")

Volume 2 鳥 Birds

0a Cover
   訂正 / 新撰姓氏録 / 鳥
   Teishau Shaujiroku / Chō (Tori)
   Teishō Shōjiroku / Birds

Volume 3 風 Wind

0a Cover
   訂正 / 新撰姓氏録 / 風
   Teishau Shaujiroku / Kaze
   Teishō Shōjiroku / Wind

Volume 4 月 Moon

0a Cover
   訂正 / 新撰姓氏録 / 月
   Teishau Shaujiroku / Tsuki
   Teishō Shōjiroku / Moon

Etymology of 校合(ヨミカムガヘ)たる

The editors of the text read 校合たる as "yomikamugahetaru" (ヨミカムガヘたる). This represents early speech before "-mu-" shifted to "-n-", and "he" represents older kana orthography before "ha-gyō" shifted to "a-gyō" in such words.

The entry on "kamugahe" (かむが・へ) 【剣へ、勘へ、考へ】in Iwanami kogo jiten (岩波古語辞典) presents it as the precursor of present-day "kangae" (かんがえ). The entry (page 332) avers that "kamugahe" originates from "ka" (カ) meaning "place" or "point", plus "mukahe" (ムカヘ) meaning the bringing of two things together (in opposition) -- in other words, to compare two things, and study their acceptibility, and correct them. The primary meaning is given as "to study the veracity (truth or falsehood) of something, and correct it" (事の真偽を調べ、ただす). of something and " (mukau) [face, oppose]".

Based on the information in the entry, "kangaeru" originated from "kamukaheru" as follows (Ono et al 1974, 1977: 332).

> "kamukafu" > "kamugafu"
> "kangafu" (kangau), "kangaheru" (kangaeru)
Hence yomi + kangaeru + te aru (taru)
>"yomikangaete aru" > "yomikangaetaru"
. Meaning "reading and considering correctness",
"rectifying", "recensioning", "collating"

大野晋、佐竹昭広、前田金五郎 (編者)
岩波古語辞典
東京：岩波書店
1974年12月25日第１刷発行
1977年7月20日第４刷発行
16 (序、凡例)、1488(本文) ページ、函

Ōno Susumu, Satake Aki, Maeda Kingo, editors
Iwanami Kogo jiten Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten
1974-12-25 1st printing published
1977-07-20 4th printing published
16 (preface, guide), 1488 (entries) pages
Soft cover, boxed

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Copy 2 of Hashimoto edition

訂正　新撰姓氏録　音引付　全４冊（花鳥風月）・文化四年・函付
☆訂正　新撰姓氏録　音引付　全４冊（花鳥風月）・文化四年・函付文化四年　安芸　源稲彦校　伊勢　藤長年補正天保五年　浪華書林　加賀谷善蔵版＊経年の割には良好な状態です。内容は写真をご参照願います。

https://trc-adeac.trc.co.jp/ ADEACとは「ADEAC（アデアック）」は、デジタルアーカイブを検索・閲覧するためのクラウド型プラットフォームシステムです。 https://trc-adeac.trc.co.jp/WJ11F0/WJJS07U/2321315100/2321315100100010/mp00845100 西尾市岩瀬文庫／古典籍書誌データベース岩瀬文庫蔵書目録データ和文政元年冬、平大平序。弘仁６年７月、万多親王等上表。原序。文化４年夏、安藝国人源稲彦凡例（「姓氏録を校合（ヨミカムガヘ）たる大むね」）。奥書「文化四年丁卯秋七月／安藝　源稲彦謹校」。天保５年８月、浪華書林　加賀屋善蔵（心斎橋通安土町）刊。第３冊末左下版外に「中村米堂刀」容平安時代初期に成立した勅撰の史書。日本の姓氏を皇別（天皇家の子孫）・神別（日本の神の子孫）・諸蕃（渡来系）に分け、地域別に列挙し、出自・始祖・姓氏名の由来と変遷等を記す。現存本は全て抄出本。校訂者は、師の本居宣長の著作『古事記伝』、上田百樹説及び百樹所引の内山真龍説（『新撰姓氏録註』か）を参考に訓を決定し、宣長書入本・百樹校訂本を以て本文を校訂したという。第１冊に五十音引の索引を収める。本文は姓氏の下に割書にする（凡例によれば、費えを省くために書林のしたことで、校訂者の志ではないという）。ほぼ全文にフリガナあり。上欄に校異を掲げる。旧蔵印識語印記「荻屋文庫印」（「荻屋」を朱滅）・「棭斎」（狩谷棭斎）・「東洲文庫」（小中村清矩）。備考四周単辺大字７行。頭書書入あり、続日本紀に於ける所在を注記する。別に義象（小中村清矩養子、池辺義象）による朱書書入あり。国書総目録によれば、文政元年初版。資料所蔵機関の名称西尾市岩瀬文庫

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Shinsen Shōjiroku

Yosha Bunko copy of
Kosugi 1876 edition of
Shirai 1668 edition

This edition, which is similar to the Kosugi 1876 edition described by Shirai Arikiyo (see below), was first of two wabon editions of Shinsen Shōjiroku I bought in 2019. The second was the 1807/1818 Hashimoto edition (above).

I bought the edition shown to the right from a Yahoo! Auction seller that specialized in both electronic and paper editions of older texts. The seller gave little information about the book other than to show images of the cover and colophon with the following general description.

江戸和本●新撰姓氏録（寛文8年板後印）白井宗因自省軒訓点寛文8年本江戸中期再刊上田卯兵衛板系譜

【判型】大本3巻合1冊。縦259粍。
Large book. 3 books bound in 1 volume. Vertical 259 millimeters.

【作者】万多親王ほか編。源稲彦校。藤長年補。白井宗因（自省軒）訓点。
Compiled by Manta Shinnō and others.
Corrected by Minamoto no Inahiko. Supplemented by Fuji no Nagatoshi.
Yamato readings by Shirai Sōin (Jishōken)

【年代等】弘仁6年成立。寛文8年4月、白井宗因（自省軒）跋・初刊。江戸中期再刊。［大阪］上田卯兵衛板。

【備考】分類「系譜」。京と畿内の1182氏を、まず出自によって皇別335氏・神別404氏・諸蕃326氏に大別し、ついでその各氏を本貫によって左京・右京・山城・摂津・大和・河内・和泉の順に列挙し、最後に未定雑姓117氏を添える。現存の諸本ではほとんどが省略され、他の諸書に散見する逸文や鴨脚家本の賀茂朝臣と鴨県主との2項から原形が推定されるすぎない（「日本古典文学大辞典」参照）。

★改装（もと3巻本を1冊に合本）・題簽付・状態良好（表紙やや痛み）。記名・蔵書印あり。

The seller stated that the book was a "middle-Edo republication" but Minamoto no Inahiko completed his edition, with the help of Fuji no Nagatoshi, in 1807, and it was published in 1818 -- which was late Edo. This, according to Saeki, was the Hashimoto Inahiko edition, but images of this edition looked nothing the Yahoo! Auction offering. The design of pages of the offering resembled those of an 1876 edtion Saeki attributed to Kosugi Onson (Sugimura), which was early Meiji. However, even if the condition of the cover had been rattier, the price was good, so I bought it.

Having collected several hundred mid-19th century woodblock prints, and a number of late Tokugawa and early Meiji wabon publications, I was familiar with the manner in which publishers reproduced earlier works, copying their colophons as received, sometimes but not always adding their own colophons. So I was prepared for anything. It would be worth it just to have such a wabon in my hands.

Size

The book measures 26 x 18 x 3 centimeters tall, wide, and thick. The dimentions are those of the standard "large book" (Ōbon 大本), which corresponds to today's B5 standard widely used for weekly magazines.

Cover

The title slip on the front cover reads like this.

新撰姓氏録
上中下 / 合本
10丁 (表、序)、167丁 (本文)、2丁 (裏付)

Shinsen Shōjiroku
[Newly compiled record of titles and families]
Jō-Chū-Ge / Gappon
[Upper-Middle-Lower (books) / Bound (as one) book]
10 folio (memorial, preface), 167 folio (main text),
2 folio (colophon) [total 179 folio, 358 pages]

Compilers

The first words in the memorial (表) are 臣萬多等 referring to Manta Shinnō (萬多親王 788-830) and the others who compiled Shinsen Shōjiroku. 臣 is read マクラ (makura), which marks the "head" of the memorial, which "reports" the completion of the work to the emperor. Manda, an imperial prince, holds a position in the Central Affairs Office (Naka-tsukasa-kyō 中務卿), which later became Central Affairs Ministry (Naka-tsukasa-shō), the precursor of the Imperial Household Ministry (Kuanishō 宮内省) created in the Meiji period, which became the Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō 宮内庁) from 1947. Manda and the others credited with the compilation are listed by court rank and name at the end of the foreword, which is dated Kōnin 6 (815), but had been completed and presented to the emperor the year before (see below).

Short title

The short title 姓氏録 (Shōjiroku) appears on the upper part of the fold of all folios except the two unnumbered folios in the back.

The book consists of 179 folios or 358 pages. All but the last 2 folios (4 pages) are numbered. The folios of the main text, including the publisher's corrections, are numbered apart from preceding and following parts, as follows.

1-3 表 -- Dated and signed foreword by compilers
7-10 序 -- Unsigned preface
1-165a Text proper
165b-167b Corrections by publisher Ueda Uhewe (Uhee)
[1] Dated and signed afterword by editor Shirai Soōin
[1] Publisher's address and name and seller's catalog

Pagination of main text

The main text consists of 167 numbered folios.

Multiples (m) of 10 (十) are always m10 (m十) -- e.g., 20 二十), 30 (三十), 120 (百二十) -- except 29 (廾九), 31 (卅一), and 32 (卅二).

Introductory memorial (表) states that the compilation includes 1,182 families (uji 氏) in 31 books (kan 巻) (2b), but the preface (序) says it includes 1,182 families in 30 books divided into 3 parts (bu 部) (10a-10b).

Ordinarily, the first page of a book begins with the book number. In SSSR, however, book numbers come at the end of each book, preceded by "right" (migi 右), which signifies that the book thus numbered appears to the right. Hence Book 1, though beginning from Folio 1a of the text proper, is numbered on Folio 5a, where Book 1 ends and Book 2 begins. The number for Book 30 appears on Folio 165a at, the very end of the text proper, and is followed by a line stating that this is the end of the SSSR books.

  1a-4b, g4ab (一～四), +4ab (後四)  第一帙 Dai-1-chitsu 1st folder 
  5a 右第一巻 Right book 1
 12a 右第二巻 Right book 2
 19b 右第三巻 Right book 3
 24b 右第四巻 Right book 4
 32b 右第五巻 Right book 4
 35a 右第六巻 Right book 6
 38a 右第七巻 Right book 7
 41b 右第八巻 Right book 8
 48b 右第九巻 Right book 9
 52b 右第十巻 Right book 10
 53a 中之本 Middle book
     第二帖 Dai-2-chō 2nd quire
 58b 右第十一巻 Right book 11
 62a 右第十二巻 Right book 12
 65b 右第十三巻 Right book 13
 70b 右第十四巻 Right book 14
 74b 右第十五巻 Right book 15
 80b 右第十 (ママ) Right book 16
 87b 右第十七巻 Right book 17
 93a 右第十八巻 Right book 18
 99a 下之本 Lower book
101a 右第十九巻 Right book 19
108b 右第二十巻 Right book 20
     第三帙 Dai-3-chitsu 3rd folder
113b 右第二十一巻 Right book 21
118b 右第二十二巻 Right book 22
123a 右第二十三巻 Right book 23
130b 右第二十四巻 Right book 24
134b 右第二十五巻 Right book 25
137b 右第二十六巻 Right book 26
142b 右第二十七巻 Right book 27
158a 右第二十八巻 Right book 27
150b 右第二十九巻 Right book 28
165a 右第三十巻 Right book 30
     新撰姓氏録巻終
     Shinsen Shōjiroku books end
165b 上田卯兵衛開校
     Ueda Uhewe (Uhee) unfolds corrections

Colophon

The colophon consists of an unnumbered folio, which I will call 168 because it follows folio 167, the last pages of the main text. The front side (168a) is an afterword by the person who dates, signs, and seals it on the back side (168b), as follows.

Date and editor's name and seal

寛文戌申夏之孟
＜訓点＞自省軒宗因謹跋
＜印? 白井?

Kanbun boshin natsu no hajime
[Kanbun 8 (1668) beginning of summer]
<Kunten> Jishōken Sōin
<In> Shirai-shi
[<Yamato translation markup> (by) Jishōken Sōin]
[<Seal> Shirai family]

Printer and seller

浪華書肆、心齋橋北詰、上田卯兵衛

Naniwa Shoshi, Shinsaibashi Kitadzume, Ueda Uhewe (Uhee)
[Naniwa (Ōsaka) book shop, published by Ueda Uhee of Shinsaibashi on northside (Kitadzume)(of Ōsaka castle)]

新撰姓氏録巻首新撰姓氏録表 1a-3a DATE ATTRIBUTIONS 3a-3b 新撰姓氏録序 4a-10b 新撰姓氏録第一帙右京皇別、山城国皇別、大和国皇別、摂津国皇別
　巻之二　左京皇別上四十二氏
　巻之三　左京皇別下三十二氏
　巻之四　右京皇別上三十三氏
　巻之五　右京皇別下三十四氏、山城国皇別二十四氏
　巻之六　大和国皇別十八氏、摂津国皇別二十九氏
　巻之七　河内国皇別四十六氏、和泉国皇別三十三氏
　巻之八　○第二帙　左京神別上三十八氏
　巻之九　左京神別中二十三氏
　巻之十　左京神別下二十一氏
　巻之十一　右京神別上三十六氏
　巻之十二　右京神別下二十九氏
　巻之十三　山城国神別四十五氏
　巻之十四　大和国神別四十四氏
　巻之十五　摂津国神別四十五氏
　巻之十六　河内国神別六十三氏
　巻之十七　和泉国神別六十氏
　巻之十八　○第三帙　左京諸蕃上三十五氏、左京諸蕃下三十七氏
　巻之十九　右京諸蕃上三十九氏、右京諸蕃下六十二氏
　巻之二十　山城国諸蕃二十二氏、大和国諸蕃二十六氏、摂津国諸蕃二十九氏、
　　　　　　河内国諸蕃五十六氏、和泉国諸蕃二十氏
　巻之二十一　未定雑姓百十七氏
　新撰姓氏録考証補遺、新撰姓氏録逸文、新撰姓氏録姓氏索引

Owner seals on Yosha Bunko copy of
Kosugi 1876 / Shirai 1668 edition of
Shinsen Shōjiroku
Yoshi Bunko scan

Provenance and owner seals

Owners of wabon often impressed their seals on the first pages of each bound section of a book to identify it as theirs. Wabon passed down through generations of owners are likely to accumulate a lot of seals.

My copy of the Kosugi 1876 / Shirai 1668 collation of Shinsen Shōjiroku bears three owner seals on the first page of each of the three volumes (上中下) that have been found together to make the gappon (合本) edition, as follows.

Square seal at top

My thanks to Kunioki Yanagishita for help reading this.

蔵河
書合
Kawai zōsho
Kawai library

Square seal in middle

蔵近
書𫟯
Chikashige zōsho
Chikashige library

𫟯 (nabebuta 亠 plus sato 里) is 俗字 for 重.

3. Small circular seal 北川 Kitagawa 4. Large square seal with flat corners Title slip 新撰姓氏録上中下合本 Shinsen Shōjiroku jōchūge gappon Inside front cover 百五十丁裏ヨリ未定雑姓 Hyaku-go-jū-chō-ura yori Mitei zasshō "Undetermined miscellaneous kabane" from back (reverse) of folio 150 Front matter 1-10 (10 folios) 新撰姓氏録上之本 1-52 (52 folios) 新撰姓氏録中之本 53-98 (46 folios) 新撰姓氏録下之本 99-167 (69 folios) Back matter 2 unnumbered folios 1a publisher's credits. 1b date of source Notations by owners 2a Catalog of publications 2b Blank Catalog of publications 嘉嚮堂儒書目録 Lists 17 titles 10th title 新撰性氏録 (ママ) 萬多親王著 / 性名ノ起ヲ記 (ママ) 三冊浪華書肆心齋橋北詰上田卯兵衛 Colophon 寛文戌申夏之孟自省軒宗因謹跋 [訓点] Negative carved (陰刻) [white on black] carved seal (刻印) reads "Shirai shi" (白井氏) Seal refers to Shirai Sōin (白井宗因), a national studies (kokugaku 国学) scholar during the early Tokugawa period (1600-1868). Shirai, a doctor, was active in Ōsaka (大坂) during the Kanbun (寛文 1661-1673) and Enpō (延宝 1673-1681) eras. He advocated Shintō-Confucian syncretism (神儒一致) and criticized Buddhist teachings (仏教) and Daoist teachings (道教). He added kunten (訓点) [marks from reading Chinese in Japanese] to the Shinsen Shōjiroku and was the first to publish [an edition with kunten]. His gō (号) [names adopted by authors and artists] were Hakuun Sanjin (白雲散人) and Jishōken (自省軒).

上田卯兵衛, 寛文8 [1668] 跋 Kanbun boshin natsu no hajime Kanbun 8 (1668) beginning of summer Kanbun 8 12 February 1668 - 21 January 1669 NOTE (Kitagawa's hand?) 戌申ハ八之年ナリ主上ハ霊元天皇也此年ヨリ明治七十年追二百十七年也 Boshin wa hachi no toshi nari Shujō [Ue, Kami] wa Reigen Tennō naru. Boshin is the 8th year [of Kanbun]. The Lord High is Reigen Tennō. From this year Meiji-17 is 217 years later. Reigen (1654-1732, r1663-1687) reigned for 24 years, during which there were a number of calamaties including a fire that ravaged Edo in 1668, a rebellion of Ezo natives against their Matsumae domain suzerains in 1669-1672 suppressed with the help of forces dispatched by the Tokugawa government, and a Tokugawa government expedition to explore what were then called Buninjima (無人島 Mujintō) -- "islands with no people" -- which inspired the English name "Bonin Islans" -- referring to what later were peopled by Japanese and non-Japanese, claimed by Japan, and named Ogasawara guntō (小笠原群島) or Ogawawara Islands. Red brushed note 明治十七年五月於大坂求之齋部八潮彦 Meiji 17-nen 5-gatsu Ōsaka Motoyuki Inbe [Imibe, Imube, Saibe] Yashiohiko May 1885 At Ūsaka Motoyuki Inbe Yashiohito Black brushed note 大正三年十月二日　於大坂市東區安十一町四丁目百三十七番屋敷書林鹿田静七 (北川) 敍任及辭令近重八潮彦外三名(大阪控訴院)/p277 官報第一八五〇號明治二十二年八月二十八日（水曜日) 二七七金澤始審裁判所長 Kanazawa Shishin Saibansho Kanazawa First Instance Court 13 September 1876 Established as Kanazawa Court (Kanazawa Saibansho 金沢裁判所) 1 January 1882 Became Kanazawa First Instance Court 1 October 1890 Renamed Kanazawa District Court (Kanazawa Chihō Saibansho (金沢地方裁判所) 近重八潮彦近重八潮彦等(宮内省) 官報第四六八九號明治三十二年二月二十一日授爵敍任及辭令二九八 (七) 退職判事従五位勲五等近重八潮彦高知縣士族近重八潮彦 Main text 1,182 uji in 31 volumes Front matter Folio 4 新撰姓氏録序弘仁六年七月二十日 1 September 815 Gregorian 28 September 815 Julius 明治十七年追一千七十年トナル也 1,070 years from Meiji 17 (1885) Folio 1 beginning Volume 1 Square unread double border seal with flat corners in bottom right corner of 1a. Unread note in vermillion in right margin above seal blacked out. 新撰姓氏録　第一帖左京皇別 Folio 53 beginning Volume 2 新撰姓氏録中之本　第二帖左京神別上

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Studies

Shinsen Shōjiroku ranks high among students of Japan's sociopolitical history as a window into the manner in which, by the start of the 9th century, titled "families" (uji 氏) or "clans" (shizoku 氏族) were being classified according to whether they originated from imperial family blood lines, other domestic blood lines, or Chinese or Korean blood lines. Why this should be a concern, at the time Shinsen Shōjiroku . gods"who was who, where"separate titled families by the tracked in what amount to census-style genealogical records. Some researchers have focused on the manner in which the records were used to clea

Since Miller 1974 (above), a number of articles and books in English have touched upon Shinsen Shōjiroku social historians asSince Miller 1974 (above), a number of articles and books in English have touched upon Shinsen Shōjiroku in more than a casual manner.

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Meiji period

Kurita Hiroshi's SSSR studies

Forthcoming

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1950s-1990s

Saeki Arikiyo's SSSR studies

The foremost student and reporter on Shinsen Shōjiroku in the 20th century was

As a specialist in early Japanese history, Saeki Arikiyo (佐伯有清 1925-2005) covered a lot of ground but is best known for his studies and recensions of Shinsen Shōjiroku. He began his work in the 1950s, after the Pacific War. By the early 1960s he had published the first 2 volumes of what would be 10-volume. The initial volume presented the text of the 1812 edition that Saeki adopted as the "base book" (teihon 底本) for his study (see below), with headnotes showing differences in other texts and recensions. The second volume presented his overview of the life of the work over the centuries, including other editions and previous research by other scholars.

From 1981 to 1983, Saeki published 6 more volumes, devoted to commentary on each of the records in light of what was known from other sources about the individuals they describe. In 1984 he published a 9th volume consisting of an index to the 8 volumes and additional commentary. And in 2001 he published a 10th volume of "gleanings" reflecting information and thoughts he had gathered since his earlier work. The first 9 volumes became available in OD (on-demand) editions in 2007 and 2008. The final 10th volume became available through OD in 2018.

I have the first 8 volumes in early non-OD editions.

Saeki 1962-2000

佐伯有清
新撰姓氏録の研究
東京：吉川弘文館
Saeki Arikiyo
Shinsen Shōjiroku no kenkyū
[ Studies of Shinsen Shōjiroku ]
Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 1962-2008
10 volumes, hardcover, boxed

The volumes are not numbered. I have assigned them numbers to facilitate citing them -- Saeki 1, Saeki 2 and such.

I have only the first 8 volumes. The particulars shown for Volumes 9 and 10 have not been directly confirmed.

Saeki 1 -- Basic text

本文篇
昭和三十七年七月一日初版発行
昭和四十一年三月一日再版発行
Basic text
1962-07-01 1st edition [1st printing] published
1966-03-01 Reedition [Reprinting] published
4 (plates), 9 (preface, contents),
399 (main text and SSSR index),
7 (subject index)

Saeki 2 -- Research

研究篇
昭和三十八年四月十五日初版発行
昭和四十六年四月二十日三版発行
Research
1963-04-15 1st edition [1st printing] published
1971-04-20 3rd edition [3rd printing] published
4 (plates), 11 (preface, contents),
543 (main text), 31 (index)

Saeki 3 -- Investigations 1

考證篇第一序論、巻1-2
昭和五十六年十二月十日第一刷発行
昭和六十三年七月十日第二刷発行
Investigations 1 Preface, Books 1-2
1981-12-10 1st printing published
1988-07-10 2nd printing published
6 (plates), 9 (preface, guide, contents),
472 (main text),6 (index)

Saeki 4 -- Investigations 2

考證篇第二巻3-10
昭和五十七年二月二十八日印刷
昭和五十七年三月十日発行
Investigations 2 Books 3-10
1982-02-28 printed
1982-03-10 published
6 (preface, guide, contents), 511 (main text)

Saeki 5 -- Investigations 3

考證篇第三巻11-16
昭和五十七年七月一日印刷
昭和六十七年七月十日発行
Investigations 3 Books 11-16
1982-07-01 printed
1982-07-10 published
7 (preface, guide, contents), 476 (main text)

Saeki 6 -- Investigations 4

考證篇第四巻17-21
昭和五十七年十一月十日印刷
昭和五十七年十一月二十日発行
Investigations 4 Books 17-21
1982-11-10 printed
1982-11-20 published
7 (preface, guide, contents), 476 (main text)

Saeki 7 -- Investigations 5

考證篇第五巻22-28
昭和五十八年五月一日印刷
昭和五十八年五月十日発行
Investigations 5 Preface, Books 22-28
1983-05-01 printed
1983-05-10 published
6 (preface, guide, contents), 482 (main text)

Saeki 8 -- Investigations 6

考證篇第六巻29-30, 逸文、補遺
昭和五十八年八月一日印刷
昭和五十八年八月十日発行
Investigations 6 Books 29-30
Itsubun [Fragmental texts], Hoi [Addenda]
1983-08-01 printed
1983-08-10 published
4 (plates), 9 (preface, guide, contents),
394 (main text), 7 (index)

Saeki 9 -- Index, commentary

索引・論考篇
Sakuin, arguments and considerations compilation]
1984-03, 458 pages

Saeki 10 -- Gleanings

拾遺篇
Shūi hen
[Gatherings and leavings (Gleanings)] compilation
2001-08-01, 384 pages

In this final volume, Saeki examines manuscript copies of Shinsen Shōjiroku texts representing the two oldest lineages of texts, which he calls the "Kenmu 2-nen kei" (建武二年系) or "1335 related" and "Enbun 5-nen kei" (延文五年系) or "1360 related" texts. It includes several short reports concerning the genealogies of some of the families recorded in the peerage. In this connection Saeki demonstrates that the correct name of the 背奈 (Sena) family of Kōkuri (高句麗 Koguryō) origin was actually 肖奈 (Sena).

The Sena family is said to have descended from the 19th-generation Kōkuri (高句麗 Koguryō) king Kwanggaet'o (J Kōkaido 廣開土). The family originated in Yamato with the asylum of Sena no Fukutoku (背奈福徳 bd ukn 7th century), a 7th-generation descendant of King Kwanggaet'o. Fukutoku was first titled Kimi (公) and later became Konikishi (王). His grandson, Takakura no Fukushin (高倉福信 709-789), recieved the title Koma no Asomi (高麗朝臣), aka Takakura no Asomi (高倉朝臣). The peninsular origins of a number of families in the Shinsen Shōjiroku were similarly evident in their family names.

"Basic" and "secondary" texts

Saeki Arikiyo adopted as his "basic text" (teihon 底本) the Mikanagi Kiyonao edition (御巫清直本) of Shinsen Shōjiroku (新撰姓氏録) in the Jingū Bunko (神宮文庫) at Ise Jingū in Mie prefecture (Saeki 1:137). Mikanagi Kiyonao (1812-1894), a late Edo-period and Meiji-period national studies (kokugaku 国学) scholar, was a kannushi (priest) at Ise Shrine. (Saeki 1:137)

Saeki took as an "accessory text" (fukuhon 副本) the Yanagiwara Norimitsu edition (柳原紀光本) of Shinsen Shōjiroku shō (新撰姓氏録抄) in Iwase Bunko (岩瀬文庫) in Nishio city in Aichi prefecture (Saeki 1:137). Yanagiwara Norimitsu (柳原紀光 1746-1899 Motomitsu) was a late middle Edo-era court official and historian.

According to Saeki, these "basic" (Shōjiroku) and "accessory" (Shōjiroku shō) editions represent lines of descent from respectively a 1335 (Kenmu 2-nen 建武二年) text from the end of the Kamakura period, and a 1360 (Enbun 5-nen 延文五年) from the start of the Nanboku-chō era of the Muromachi period (Saeki 1:137).

The Kikutei Bunko edition (菊亭文庫本) in Kyoto University Library reflects the 1335 (Kenmu 2-nen 建武二年) text. The Kikutei family was originally the Imadegawa family, which goes back to the late Kamakura and early Nanboku-chō periods in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The Hayashi Dokkōsai edition (林読耕斎本) is based on the 1360 (Enbun 5-nen 延文五年) text. Hayashi Dokkōsai (1624-1661) was an early Edo-era neo-Confucian scholar. He was the 4th son of Hayashi Razan (林羅山 1583-1657), a leading neo-Confusian scholar scholar of his generation.

My wabon edition

My wabon edition resembles the "Kosugi Onson transcription collated book" (Kosugi Onson tōsha kōgō hon 小杉榲邨謄寫校合本) -- judging from images and descriptions in Saeki (Saeki 1: images 15 and 16 in plates, descriptions on pages 122-123). Kosugi Onson, or Kosugi Sugimura (小杉榲邨 1835-1910), was a late-Edo, Meiji-era national studies scholar from Awa province (Awa no kuni 阿波国) in present-day Tokushima prefecture.

The Kosugi book, an 1876 (Meiji 9) transcription and collation, is in the possession of Iwase Bunko. A "collated book" (kōgō [kyōgō] hon 校合本) is made by combining two or more volumes and binding them together in a single volume called a "gappon" (合本) or "combined book". The title slip on the cover of my copy describes it as a "gappon" of three "jōchūge" (上中下) or "top, middle, and bottom" volumes.

As described by Saeki, the Kosugi book is a collation of the 1668 Shirai Sōin edition (白井宗因本) of Shinsen Shōjiroku, as is my copy. The Shirai edition is the first version known to have been marked for reading in Japanese (kundoku 訓読), by Shirai, a doctor-cum-national studies scholar active in Ōsaka (大坂) circa 1661-1681, where his edition was published.

Saeki states that Kosugi's collation consists of the 3 volumes or (上中下) of the Shirai book, in with "transcriptions" (tōsha 謄写) of the "Naitō Hirosaki collation book" (Naitō Hirosaki kōgō hon 内藤廣前校合本), which Saeki says was collated between 1844 (Tenpo 15) and 1849 (Kaei 2) (Saeki 1:116). Naitō Hirosaki (内藤廣前 1791-1866 内藤広前) was a late-Edo-era national studies scholar. Apparently his library was lost when his son, who was supposed to succeed him, failed, and the Naitō house became insolvent.

Saeki states that the whereabouts of the Naitō collation is unknown. What he knows about it, he knows through what Kosugi has transcribed in the back of his collated book, from the Naitō collation. Whether Naito's library was still around in 1876, a decade after Naito's death when Kosugi completed his collation, or whether Naito's collation fell into Kosugi's hands and was later lost, is not clear.

Saeki shows two images from the Kosugi collation, the first of the very first page of the collation, showing the names and ranks of the Shinsen Shōjiroku compilers, and the last page of main body of the text, showing the last records of the peerage. The corresponding pages of my copy are identical to these (Kosugi 1: Imges 15 and 15 in plates). The considerable blank space on the last page is filled with a long transcription in Kosugi's hand, of what appears to be information he found in Naitō's collated book. Saeki transcribes Kosugi's transcription in its entirely (Saeki 1:116-117).

In the transcription, Naitō -- who signed his name "Hirosaki" (廣前) -- describes in great detail the collated books he borrowed between 1844 and 1849 to make his collation. Details include the names of the owners, and dates and other information from colophons. The transcription, in other words, explains how Naitō went about gathering available copies to in order to make his own collated copy.

The information in the transcription identifies one of the sources of Naitōs collation as a 1335 (Kenmu 2-2-7) 建武二年捌月七日) collation by "former Interior Minister Yoshida" (吉田前内府), referring to Yoshida Sadafusa (吉田定房 1274-1338). Yoshida served as the Interior Minister from 1334-10-15 (Kenmu 1-9-9) to 1335-3-19 (Kenmu 2-2-16), which suggests that he was not yet "former" as of the date recorded in Kosugi's transcription from Naitō's collation.

As noted above, Saeki establishes two major "lineages" of texts descending from the original Shinsen Shōjiroku -- one the 1335 "Kenmu 2 line" (建武二年系), the other the 1360 "Enbun 5 line" (延文五年系). He maps the many texts that have come down since in an elaborate "gengealogical chart" that spans all of 3 pages.

The line of descent of my wabon copy appears to be as follows, based on Saeki's placement of the Naitō and Kosugi collations (Saeki 1:126-128).

原本
Original book
  抄録原本 (建武二年系)
  Extract records (Kenmu 2-nen kei) [1335]
    吉田定房本
    Yoshida Sadafusa [1274-1338] book
      白井宗因本
      Shirai Sōin book [1638]
        本居宣長校合本
        Motoori Norinaga [1730-1801] collation book
          内藤廣前校合本
          Naitō Hirosaki collation book [1844-1849]
            小杉榲邨校合本
            Kosugi Sugimura collation book [1876]

The above lineage follows the most direct and prominent lines on Saeki's two family trees -- the second (Saeki 1:128) a more detailed elaboration of the part of the first (Ibid. 126-127) that concerns especially descendants of the early-Edo Shirai Sōin edition. I have not shown the many "collateral" texts that feed into or branch off the main line. Saeki came up with his "genealogy" with the help of charts showing representations of selected terms in 7 texts, including the 1335 and 1360 variations of the "original book" and the Shirai book (Shirai 1:72-76). The charts, in effect, compare the "graphic DNA" of the selected editions, in terms of the presence and absence of characters or differences in their styles.

Shirai edition

Saeki begins his chapter on printed editions of SSSR with Shirai Sōin's 1668 "kundoku" (訓読) edition -- the first known eduction to mark the kanbun text for reading in Japanese. It consisted of 3 volumes (上中下) and measured 26.2 by 18.1 centimeters (糎), essentially the same dimensions as my wabon version. (Saeki 1:78-79)

The size is that of a "large book" (ōhon 大本 27cm×18cm), which was probably the most common size of wabon. Its folios consisted of sheets of minoban (美濃判 minnishiban 美濃紙判) paper (27cm×39cm) folded in two. This size of wabon compares with today's B5 (257mm×182mm) standard, commonly used for weekly magazines. A "medium book" (chūhon 中本 18-19cm×12-13cm), half the size of a "large book", was commonly used for more popular works, including illustrated stories of the "kusazōshi" (草双紙) or "gesaku" (戯作) kind. The size is comparable to today's B6 (182mm×128mm) standard. A "small book" (kohon 小本 15-16cm×10-11cm), comparable to today's compact "bunko" (文庫) size, was used for a variety of genres, including commical "sharebon" (洒落本) stories set in the pleasure quarters.

The afterword, date, and signature and seal are identical to those in my version. The afterword in my version, unlike the front matter and main text, which are marked for reading, is unmarked. Saeki's shows the afterword both puntuated and marked -- presumably his doing.

Matsushita book

In 1669, the year after Shirai's edition came out, Matsushita Kenrin (松下見林 1637-1704) published Shinsen 姓氏録抄. Saeki describes it as a stitch-bound-folio (袋綴) work in one volume measuring 15.7 by 10.4 centimeters, which corresponds to a "small book" (see above). Matsushita was a neo-Confucian-cum national studies scholar who, like Shirai, made a living as a doctor. (Saeki 1:79-80)

Saeki remarks that Matsushita's book was strongly influenced by Shirai's book (Shirai 1:90). RESUME

Gunsho ruiju edition

The 3rd printed edition of SSSR in Saeki's list is the 3-volume (上中下) version published as Book 448 (巻第四百四十八) of Gunsho ruiju (群書類従), a collection of some 1273 books published beween 1793 and 1819. Saeki dates the KSRJ edition of SSSR to around the last year of the Bunka reign, which ended during its 15th year in 1818. He describes this edition as a wood-printed book measuring 26.5 by 18.1 centimeters -- i.e., a "large book" like that of the Shirai edition.

Shiraki views the GSRJ edition of SSSR as a descendant of several lines of texts that are ancestrally closer to the Kenmu-2 (1335) line than the Enbun-5 (1360) line, including the Shirai and Matsushita texts. Later metal-type editions of the GSRJ version of SSSR reflect later influences. (Saeki 1:80-81)

Hashimoto Inahiko edition

The 4th book in Saeki's list of printed editions is the Hashimoto Inahiko correction (橋本稲彦校) titled Teishō(Teisei) / Shinsen Shōjiroku (訂正 / 新撰姓氏録) or "Revised and corrected / Newly compiled record of titles and families". The date associated with the names of the two scholars credited for the corrections in the work is 1807-8/9 (Bunka 4-7) [Saeki erroneously writes 一八〇四 (1804)]. But the work was published in 1818/9 (Bunsei 1) in 4 separately bound volumes titled Flowers (ka 花), Birds (chō 鳥), Wind (fū 風), and Moon (getsu 月). The volumes are 24.8 by 17.9 centimeters -- a smaller variation of a "large book". (Saeki 1:81)

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Cover of Miller 1974 showing Emperor Tenmu's kabane decree
Yosha Bunko scan

Penciled checks of Miller's totals and my percent and Χ² comps
Yosha Bunko scan

1960s-1970s

Richard Miller's 1974 SSSR study

Richard J. Miller
Ancient Japanese Nobility
(The Kabane Ranking System
Berkeley: University of Calilfornia Press, 1974
xii, 209, paper cover

Forthcoming

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2000s-2010s

Suzuki Masanobu's genealogy studies

Suzuki Masanobu (鈴木正信 b1977) specializes in early Japanese history, in particular the clan system (shizoku seido 氏族制度) and regional control systems (chihō shihai seido 地方支配制度). Suzuki received his doctorate in 2012 from Waseda University. The same year, he published his dissertation as Nihon kodai shizoku keifu no kiso-teki kenkyū (日本古代氏族系譜の基礎的研究) [Basic research on Japan early-era clan genealogies] (Tōkyōdō Shuppan 東京堂出版). Since then, he has published a number of articles and books in Japanese and English.

Of particular interest to me are the following works.

Masanobu Suzuki
Methodology for Analyzing the Genealogy of Ancient Japanese Clans
早稲田大学高等研究所紀要
第7号、2015年3月15日
Waseda Daigaku kōtō kenkyūjo kiyō
[ Waseda Institute for Advanced Study Bulletin ]
Volume 7, 15 March 2015
Pages 17-27, pdf file

This article grew out of Suzuki's 2012 book, Nihon kodai ujizoku keifu no kiso-teki kenkyō (日本古代氏族系譜の基礎的研究) <Basic Study on Genealogy of Ancient Japanese Clans>.

The abstract makes these observations (page 17).

The genealogies of ancient Japanese clans were created to declare their political positions and claim legitimacy for their service to the great kings in the Yamato sovereignty. Their genealogies, which include a great deal of semifictional content, and they are closely related to the "logic of rule". In other words, they are representations of the view of the world created by the ancient clans and used to support each other. By analyzing the genealogies, we can understand the actual situations of the ancient clans that we were not able to illuminate by using well-known historical materials. In addition, we can reveal the formation process of ancient Japan. However, these points are not well known to Japanese researchers, much less to foreign researchers. Furthermore, until now, the history of genealogical studies was compiled as necessary in case studies, or classified from a researcher's own particular viewpoint. Therefore, in this article, I have presented previous research in chronological order and by various categories, confirmed each category's respective significance, and advocated three methodologies for analyzing the genealogies. These will help us progress beyond previous studies

Suzuki makes this observation in the last part of the introduction (page 22).

3. Methodology for Analyzing Genealogy
In the discussion above, I presented the history of research on genealogy in modern times. I have categorized it into three stages. In the first stage, social interest in genealogy increased. In the second stage, the case studies of genealogy accumulated. In the third stage, studies on genealogy were systematized.
Particularly in the second stage, Saeki established the standard technique of the study. He tried to elucidate the actual situation of the ancient Japanese clans by closely examining the credibility of the genealogy. Then in the third stage, Mizoguchi pointed out the "multilayered structure," and Yoshie categorized genealogies into three types: "the genealogy of political positions," "the genealogy of marriages," and "the genealogy of the paternal line." From now on, based on these studies, we need to advance case study and synthetic study in parallel. . . .

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Suzuki 2017a

鈴木正信
日本古代の氏族と系譜伝承
東京：吉川弘文館、2017年
512ページ

Suzuki Masanobu
Nihon kodai no shizoku to keifu denshō
[Family clans and genealogy legends of Japan's early era]
Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kōbunkan, 2017
512 pages

Backcover blurb

The back cover promotes the book like this (my translation).

古代氏族の系譜や伝承は、単なる家系の記録ではない。それは彼らの祖先がいつの時代、どのような職掌で王権に奉仕したのかを伝えたもので、氏族の政治的地位の正統性を主張するきわめて現実的な役割を担っていた。『円珍俗姓系図』や『海部氏系図』などの分析を通して、地方支配・祭祀・外交に活躍した古代氏族の実態と諸相を解明する注目の一冊。

Genealogies and legends of early-era clans are not only records of family descent. Because they convey in what period, and in what sort of official capacity, their ancestors served the sovereign authority, they also assume the very realistic role of asserting the legitimacy of the clan's political position. A notable volume which, through analyzing Enchin zokushō keizu (円珍俗姓系図) [Enchin's secular-surname descent-chart] [<The Lay Genealogy of Enchin>], Amabe-shi keizu (海部氏系図) [Amabe-family descent-chart (genealogy)], and other works, elucidates the actual conditions and various aspects of the early-era clans that were active in regional control (rule), rites, and diplomacy.

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Suzuki 2017b (2019)

The Japanese edition has been partly translated into English as follows.

Masanobu Suzuki
Clans and Genealogy in Ancient Japan
(Legends of Ancestor Worship)
[Routledge-WIAS Interdisciplinary Studies]
London and New York: Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group), 2017
First issued in paperback 2019
viii, 288 pages, paper cover

Routledge-WIAS Interdisciplinary Studies series books are edited by Hideaki Miyajima and Shinko Taniguchi, Waseda University, Japan.

Preface and acknowledgments

In the undated "Preface and acknowledgments", Suzuki gives special thanks to three professors he names at Waseda University, "for giving me the opportunity to publish research books in English" and signs the preface as follows (Suzuki 2017b 2019: viii).

Masanobu Suzuki
Senior Analyst for Textbooks
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan
Formerly Associate Professor at Waseda University
Ph.D. in Literature, Waseda University

Analytical method for genealogy and legend
Structure and source manuscripts of Enchin Keizu
Consciousness of the bloodline of the Inagi-no-Obito Clan and Enchin
Editing process and historical background of Amabe-uji Keizu
Genealogical relationship of the Amane-no-Atai clan
Legend of the Ōmiwa-no-Ason Clan and the eastern expedition
Legend of the Ōmiwa-no-Ason clan and diplomacy View abstract
Conclusions and future prospects

Publishers blurb

In recent years, there has been a noticeable and enthusiastic increase of interest in Buddhist temples and Shintō shrines in Japan. The legends of these temples and shrines are recorded in many historical manuscripts and these genealogies have such great significance that some of them have been registered as national treasures of Japan. They are indispensable to elucidate the history of these temples and shrines, in addition to the formation process of the ancient Japanese nation.

This book provides a comprehensive examination of the genealogies and legends of ancient Japanese clans. It advances the study of ancient Japanese history by utilizing new analytical perspective from not only the well-known historical manuscripts relied upon by previous researchers, but also valuable genealogies and legends that previous researchers largely neglected.

Comments

This book will be welcome by historians outside Japan, who are interested in clan genealogies in early Japan, and in the roles that genealogy played in the formation and maintenance of the political system that centered on the imperial family, which claimed descent from the Sun Goddess. It is not, however, without drawbacks for students of the political and social history of early Japan, who are unable to read Japanese sources.

Stages of genealogical studies

The book begins with an overview of the development of historical genealogy studies, which Suzuki divides into three periods (Suzuki 2017b, 2019: 1)

The first stage from the 1930s to the 1940s.
The second stage from the 1950s to the 1970s.
The third stage: after the 1980s.

Saeki Arikiyo, whose works I have introduced here, represents the second stage. The third stage is represented by scholars who divide themselves into "invariability" and "variability" schools -- referring the theories about whether, when, and how family clan genealogists change in terms of form and/or content. The "invariability" (fuhensei 不変性) school holds that "genealogy began to be created in the fifth century, and the contents changed with the times, but its structure remained consistent until the ninth century." (Ibid. 12) In contrast, the "variability" (kahensei 可変性) school emphasizes that "If the political position of a clan changes, the genealogy must also change. Otherwise, it would have no meaning" (Ibid. 11).

Suzuki states that "the relationship between the two characteristics ["invariability" and "variability"] is unclear." He feels that "[the two] characteristics are inseparable, and both are important essences of genealogy and legend." He calls the the presence of both characteristics a "multilayered structure", and he stresses the need to "re-examine the 'multilayered structure' of genealogy by analyzing the relationship between invariability and variability based on concrete examples in order to progress beyond the previous studies" -- and the standoff between the two schools. (Ibid. 12).

Concrete examples

Apart from the "theory" -- which will not interest many historians -- concrete examples of documented genealogies and related legends, from a variety of primary sources, are mostly what this book is about -- and why readers of English who are studying early Japan may find it worthwhile.

Students studying kanbun to gain access to historical texts will appreciate the fact that practically every page of Suzuki's book shows excerpts of kanbun texts which have been marked and otherwise punctuated for reading in Japanese -- followed by English summaries. The English summaries include some close paraphrasing, so readers sufficiently familiar with kanbun and English, if not also Japanese, can verify the quality of the English against the kanbun. It's not quite like having actual translations, but it's better than having only English.

While Suzuki captures the general purport of the cited genealogies, he sets the usual bad examples for usage of terms like "emigrate" and "immigrant". He is also inconsistent in his use of geopolitical terms -- showing the names of "Korean" entities in present-day ROK romanization in some cases, and Yamato in others -- seemingly uncertain of (or disinterested in) the vantage point from which the received chronologies were written, or how their authors or other contemporaries might have read them.

Example from Ryōno shūge

Each chapter has many "concrete examples", which Suzuki calls "articles". Suzuki numbers the examples Article 1, Article 2, et cetera, but rather than continue numbering from the previous chapter, he resets the number counter, so that the first example in every chapter is Article 1.

Suzuki presents the following "concrete example" from Ryō no shūge (令義解) (Article 4, page 204, and note 7, page 227).

Suzuki Article 4 『令集解』賦役令15没落外蕃条所引霊亀三年（七一七）十一月八日太政符 (Ryō-no-Shūge, Botsurakugeban-Jō, Buyaku-Ryō 15, Daijōkanpu [Note 7] issued on November 8, the third year of Reiki [717]) 外蕃免課役事。高麗・百済敗時投化、至_二干終身_一、課役俱免。 Article 4 states that after Goguryeo and Baekje were ruined, people of these countries who emigrated to Japan, were exempted from a tax for the duration of their lives. There should have been people who were not recorded in the above mentioned historical materials. After Goguryeo was ruined, many people might have emigrated to Japan as they were forced to move. [Note 7] Daijōkanpu (太政官符) was an official document from Daijōkan (太政官) to local governments. Daijōkan was a Grand Council of State.
Comments The title and date should have been represented like this. (Ryō-no-shūge, Buyaku ryō 15, Botsuraku geban jō, cited from Dajōkan notice (of, dated) 8th day of 11th month of 3rd year of Reiki [Reiki 3-11-8 = Gregorian 717-12-19 = 19 December 717] Suzuki misrepresents all lunar months with solar calendar months -- which suggests that the English version was not vetted by someone familiar with such problems. Explaining "Dajōkan-pu" (太政官符) is fine. But why not translate "fu" (符) as "notice" or something? The kanbun tells us that the notice had "been cited" (所引), but Suzuki does not tell us the chronological source of the "concrete example", which happens to be the Shoku Nihongi. See Soldiers from Koma and Kudara given relief for life on "Reports from early records" page under "History". Why does Suzuki represent 高麗・百済 as "Goguryeo and Baekje" rather than as "Koma and Kudara" as these terms were probably read, if not as "Kōrei and Hyakusai"? In another article in another chapter, he writes Sino-Korean "Baekje" for 百済 rather than Yamato "Kudara", but Yamato "Mimana" rather than Sino-Korean "Imna" for 任那. Suzuki's opinion about the number of people who "emigrated to Japan" at the time is fine -- though no Japanese record characterizes their "migration" as "emigration" -- or even "immigration". Of course many people "might have emigrated"? But what evidence is there that they were "forced to move"? If many more than are mentioned in historical counts did, in fact, seek asylum or otherwise take refuge in Japan, why "should" they have not been recorded? Statements like this are puzzling at best.

Example from Shinsen Shōjiroku

Shinsen Shōjiroku is only one of the many sources Suzuki cites, and he cites it rather sparsely. But SSSR students will want to check out the SSSR articles through the index.

Suzuki first substantial mention of SSSR comes in Chapter 3, "Consciousness of the bloodline of the Inagi-no-Obito Clan and Enchin". Suzuki's principle work has been on the so-called "Enchin Keizu" (円珍系図) -- which is supposed to be found in "Figure B" -- apparently an error for "Figure A" as there is no "Figure B" in the book. In any event, Suzuki mentions the Shinsen Shōjiroku in the course of describing a "movement to change the name of the Inagi-no-Obito clan" in Articles 17 and 18. He divides the movement into three periods, and describes the first like this (Suzuki 2017b 2019: page 52 and note 39, page 21, (parenthetic graphs) Suzuki's, [bracketed graphs] mine).

The first [period of the movement] is the era of Enryaku (782-806). In 799, the government issued Daijōkanpu to order clans to submit Honkeichō [本系帳] in order to use the source manuscript for editing Shinsen Shōjiroku [Note 39] (新撰姓氏録). In response to this order, the Inagi-no-Obito clan submitted their Honkeichō with the Iyo-no-Mimurawake-no-Kimi clan in 800. It is written that the Inagi-no-Obito clan and the Iyo-no-Mimurawake-no-Kimi clan built a Dōsō relationship [Note 40 (同宗) in the Honkeichō.

[Note 39] Shinsenshōjiroku (新撰姓氏録) was a newly compiled register of clan names and noble titles. It was edited in 815.

[Note 40] Dōsō relationship (同宗) means that two clans shared a common ancestor.

Shinsen Shōjiroku was not "edited in 815" but appears to have been formally released that year. It was presented to the emperor the year before, as completed, and so had to have been compiled before then. There is evidence that some elements of the record changed before its formal release, but that is not what Suzuki says.

The description of SSSR is immediately followed by "Article 19", which consists of a citation from Nihon kōki (日本後紀), of an entry Suzuki calls "Article 19" and presents in Japanese and English like this (Ibid. 52, (parenthetic graphs) Suzuki's, [bracketed graphs] mine).

Article 19 『日本後紀』延暦十八年十二月戊戌条

(Bojutsu, December of the eighteenth year of Enryaku [799], Nihonkōki [Note 41])

[Note 41] Nihonkōki (日本後紀) is the history book that recorded the period after Shokunihongi [続日本紀]. It was edited in 840.

This should read be translated as follows.

Nihonkōki, article (item) [of, dated] 6th day of 12th month of 18th year of Enryaku [Enryaku 18-12-6 = Gregorian 800-1-9 = 9 January 800]

"Amabe" and "Amane"

Suzuki makes most use of Shinsen Shōjiroku genealogies in Chapter 5, "Genealogical relationship of the Amane-no-Atai clan". The chapter explores reports in historical sources that illuminate the "Amabe family genealogy" (Amabe-shi keizu 海部氏系図), an Important Cultural Property since 1976.

This, the longest chapter in the book, weighs 86 articles, some a page or more long, 94 end notes, and a 4-plus-page bibliography.

Coming on the heels of Chapter 4, "Editing process and historical background of Amabe-uji Keizu", the "Amane" in the title of Chapter 5 is puzzling -- especially since the chapter continues to explore the significance of "Amabe" family genealogy. One expects a plot twist that reveals "Amane" to be the truer name -- but that never happens. At the end of the day, one is left to image a typist hitting "n" instead of "b" in the title, and the error going unnoticed by serial proofreaders paid by the word. Alas, only "Amabe" is in the comprehensive index.

English editing

A book published by Routledge, through an arrangement with Waseda University, raises the question of whether the book originated in English or was translated from Japanese. Given the fact that Suzuki published his much longer study in Japanese first, one might think that the similarly titled but shorter English book is a partial translation or adaptation.. But there are no translation credits in the Routledge book. Two of the three Waseda University professors Suzuki thanks for giving him the opportunity to publish in English, however, are Hideaki Miyajima and Shinko Taniguchi, the editors of the Routledge-WAIS Interdisciplinary Series.

Further investigation reveals that Suzuki is known as a young scholar who endeavors to write papers in English -- the English he learned in Japanese schools and polished in college by using it in some of his papers. In an Editage Insights interview posted on 18 January 2016, Suzuki said he preferred "sutandaado kōsei" (スタンダード校正) ["standard proofing"] to "purimiamu kōsei" (プレミアム校正) ["premium proofing"] because it meets his needs, which did not require publishing in first-rate journals that would have warranted the cost of "premium proofing". He pays for proofreading from research funds, which he tries to conserve. He mainly wants there to be no mistakes or misunderstandings.

Editage Insights is a professional editing company. The interview with Suzuki was essentially a plug for its cheaper and more popular "Standard English Proofreading" service. The company has partnerships with both Taylor & Francis Group and Waseda University.

So there you have the reason why Suzuki's book -- while representing the enormous scope and intensity of his research -- does not quite measure up to the standards of academic English writing on the history of early Japan.

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2010s-2020s

Nadia Kanagawa's SSSR studies

Nadia Kanagawa, a specialist in premodern Japanese history, studied history at Yale (BA) and the University of Southern California (MA, PhD). As of this writing (2019), she is teaching Asian studies and history at Furman University.

Kanagawa's dissertation explored the "incorporation, assimilation and configuration" of what she calls "immigrants and their descendants" in Japan from the 7th through 9th centuries, through studies of early Japanese histories and Shinsen Shōjiroku.

Kanagawa 2017

The following article was a spin-off from Kanagawa's dissertation work.

Nadia Kanagawa
Approach and be transformed: Immigrants in the Nara and Heian State
Chapter 1 (pages 1-16), Volume 1: History
Duncan Ryōken Williams (editor)
Hapa Japan
Los Angeles: Published by Ito Center Editions (An Imprint of Kaya Press)
New York: Distributed by D.A.P. (Distributed Art Publishers)

Kanagawa 2018a

In this presentation, Kanagawa summarized her dissertation work on Shinsen Shōjiroku.

Nadia Kanagawa
"Transforming the Realm:
Foreign Lineages in the Shinsen Shōjiroku"
Association of Asian Studies
Annual Conference, 22-25 March 2018
Marriot Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, D.C.
Annual Conference Program, Volume 69
Panel 269, 24 March 2018, 10:45am-12:45pm
Overcoming Nativism: New Approaches to Discourses of Identity in Japanese History (Chaired by Mark McNally, University of Hawai'i at Manoa)
"Transforming the Realm: Foreign Lineages in the Shinsen Shōjiroku" (Nadia Kanagawa, University of Southern California)

Kanagawa 2018b

This is Kanagawa's dissertation.

Nadia Kanagawa
Making the Realm, Configuring the People:
Foreign Subjects in Eighth-Century Japan
University of Southern California, May 2018
PhD Dissertation, History

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My own studies

I cannot claim to have "studied" SSSR in a thorough and systematic manner. I am not an "expert" on the work. I am a generalist who dabbles in the present condition and history of various social issues.

My abiding "interest" in historical works is what they reveal about social status and relationships governed by status.

I was at the University of California at Berkeley in 1974 when UC Press published Richard Miller's Ancient Japanese Nobility (see Miller 1974 above). Miller was at at the University of California at Davis. He dedicated his book to Peter Boodberg (1903-1972), a professor in the Department of Oriental Languages (now the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures). Boodberg, some of whose lectures I had audited, had recently died, and several months or so after his death, I had spent a couple of nights at his home, which had become the residence of a friend of mine, Bill Boltz, one of Boodberg's graduate students and assistants. Bill had taken care of Boodberg the last few months of his life, and he was residing in the home with his wife, Judy, also an OL grad student, while overseeing Boodberg's estate. Three people Miller thanks in his book -- Bill McCullough (OL), Wolfram Eberhard (Sociology), and Delmer Brown (History) -- were members of my doctoral oral exam committee. I had a foot in OL, and Bill McCullough would also be my most important dissertation committee member.

Miller's book was especially exciting for me, however, because at the I was immersed in both classical literature with the McCulloughs in OL and present-day social issues in Japan with George De Vos in Anthropology. I saw Miller's work as connected with studies I had already begun on Koreans in Japan with De Vos, who was the chair of both my oral and dissertation committees.

Shinsen Shōjiroku was an attempt to clarify "who was who" among the title-holding clans, some of whose family names masked their origins -- by identifying clans of sun-deity descent, clans of heavenly-god and earth-god descent, and clans descended from people who, from a few to many generations ago, had come to Yamato from neighboring countries, especially countries on the Korean peninsula. In my mind, the impetus for compiling the Shinsen Shōjiroku deserved comparison to Japan's policies regarding the names of especially Chosenese during the Annexation Period (1910-1945/1952), when Chōsen was an integral part of Japan.

After buying Miller's book, I immediately set about replicating his statistics using his data. At the time, it occurred to me that Miller was demonstrating what I would call "co-residency" in the Kinki provinces centering on the Heian capital -- in a way that I might use to show the "co-residency" of Chosenese (Chōsenjin 朝鮮人) and Interiorites (Naichijin 内地人) and others in Ōsaka in the 1930s, for example. For me, Miller's work suggested mainly a "methodolgy" -- a way to use classical texts to extract demographic data related to social status and residency.

The McCulloughs, especially Bill, exploited Japanese classical literature for its insights into early Japan's social history. Bill was comfortable with anthropological and sociological issues like family structure, marriage, adoption, and residency.

I would balk at drawing parallels between early 9th and early 20th century Japan in terms of how class and caste figured in the determination of a family's social status and residence. But I wouldn't hesitate to apply the same methodology to describe "co-residence" of different classes or castes in any country in the world at any time.

Wetherall 1981

This is how I described Shinsen Shōjiroku in a footnote to a 1981 article I wrote in the late 1970s (William Wetherall, Public Figures in Popular Culture: Identity Problems of Minority Heroes, in Changsoo Lee and George De Vos, editors, Koreans in Japan: Ethnic Conflict and Accommodation, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981, Chapter 12, pages 281-303 text, 406-413 notes, footnote 57,

All periods of Japanese history have witnessed ethnic conflict along Japan's northern, southern, and western frontiers. Run-ins between Yamato peoples and Ainu or other northern groups are well attested, as is the friction between mainislanders and the peoples of the Okinawan islands. The animosity engendered by the Japanese-dominated pirates who preyed upon East Asian seaports is also well known. Two failed invasions of the Korean peninsula at the end of the 16th century left scars still visible in present-day Japan/Korea relations.

As for confrontation nearer the inner sanctums of Japanese society, one of the most overlooked documents is the Shinsen shoji roku (815), an aristocratic peerage of clans with titles of nobility residing in the inner provinces centering on the Heian capital in present-day Kyoto. Some 326 (28 percent) of the 1182 clans listed in this register were of immigrant origin. The majority of these immigrant-origin clans resided in the capital itself, where they dominated the right district of the Chinese-style divided city. The sun-deity clans, and other clans of nonimmigrant origin, dominated the left district. Residential patterns in early Japan were clearly status related, and status was dearly a matter of ancestral proximity to the Imperial family and indigenous gods, with groups of immigrant origin or unknown ancestry at the bottom. See Richard Miller, Ancient Japanese Nobility: The Kabane Ranking System (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1974), especially statistics on page 190.

I would heavily rewrite parts of this rather over-simplified assessment of 9th century Japan. I was caught up in the "ethnic studies movements" of the late 1960s and 1970s, and "ethnic" was one of those words that students like myself felt we needed to use to make the past seem "relevant" to current issues. Today, in hindsight, I think "ethnic" is overworked -- along with "identity" and several other terms.

Later studies

I turned to many other projects and didn't return to SSSR until the 1990s, when I was wrote a paper called

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Who's who where

Forthcoming

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Heiankyō

The center of the universe of the Yamato court at the time of the compilation of Shinsen Shōjiroku was the Heian-era capital city usually referred to as "Heiankyō" (平安京) literally "Heian capital" -- better known today as Kyōto (京都), which means "capital city" -- sometimes called "Miyako" (都)

The city was designed in the style of Chang'an in China, meaning that it was laid out in the form a square with gates north, south, east, and west. The city was divided by a boulevard called Suzaku Ōji (朱雀大路) -- Vermilion Bird Great Road -- which ran from Sujakumon gate in the north to Rajōmon (羅城門) gate -- later Rashōmon (羅生門) gate -- in the south. The main palace buildings were just inside the northern gate.

The square was broken up into a grid of blocks between between larger and smaller north-south and east-west streets. 9 streets called "jō" (條、条) cross Suzaku east to west, and 8 streets called "bō" (坊) -- 4 on either side of Suzuku -- ran north-south across the jō. Smaller streets ran between these major streets. Some entries in Shinsen shōjiroku give jōbō intersection addresses.

Sakyō, Yukyō

Heiankyō was divided into left (west) and right (east) halves -- "Sakyō" (左京) to the east and "Ukyō" (右京) to the west of Sujaku. Within a section of Shinsen Shōjiroku, "Left Capital" families were listed before "Right Capital" families.

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Kinai provinces

Among the many provinces of Japan in the 9th century, Shinsen Shōjiroku listed only families in the left and right halves of the capital, followed by families in the 5 nearest Kinki (近畿) or Kinai (畿内) provinces -- Yamashio no Kuni (山城国), Yamato no Kuni (大和国), Setsu no Kuni (摂津国), Kafuchi no Kuni (河内国), and Izumi no Kuni (和泉国). Kafuchi is sometimes found as "Kauchi" and "Kawachi". The graphs are those of Sino-Vietnamese "Hanoi" (河内).

Because the Kinai provinces figure in our discussion of the Shinsen Shōjiroku, I have described them in the following table.

Kinai -- The inner provinces of Yamato The heartland of Japan from the 4th through 12th centuries
Kinai (畿内 within the capital), as a term used in early China, designated the territory within the immediate jurisdiction of the court. During the Yamato, Nara, and Heian periods in Japan, it referred to the provinces of Yamato, Yamashiro, Kawachi, Izumi, and Settsu -- the heartland of the Yamato court, which moved its capital several times within Yamato (Asuka, Nara) and Yamashiro (Nagaoka, Kyoto). Kinai today refers more narrowly to the "Keihanshin" area of Kyōto [kei], Ōsaka [han], and Kōbe [shin] in the larger and more vaguely Kansai (関西) [west of the pass] region of Japan. As a geographical term, Kinki (近畿 near the capital) consists of Mie, Shiga, Kyōto, Ōsaka, Hyōgo, Nara, and Wakayama prefectures.
Province	Borders with other Kinki provinces Present-day prefecture Major cities past and/or present
Yamato	South of Yamashiro, east of Kawachi Nara prefecture Nara, Asuka, Kashihara
Yamashiro	North of Yamato, northeast of Settsu and Kawachi South central part of Kyōto prefecture Nagaoka, Kyōto
Kawachi	Yamato east, Yamashiro north, Settsu northwest, Izumi west East (inland) Ōsaka prefecture, Yodo river Higashi Ōsaka, Kashiwara
Izumi	Settsu north, Kawachi west Southwest (coastal) Ōsaka prefecture, Inland Sea Osaka, Sakai
Settsu	Yamashiro northeast, Kawachi southeast Most now in Hyōgo, part in Ōsaka, Inland Sea, Yodo river Kōbe, Amagasaki, Ōsaka

The fours roads are those that led from the inner provinces to the outer provices: (1) Hokuriku, north then northeast along what is now called the Japan Sea by Japan and the Easter Sea by the two Koreas, (2) Tokai, northeast along or near the Pacific coast, (3) Seido (San'yo), southwest along the Inland Sea, and (4) Tanba (San'in), north and then southwest along the Japan Sea.

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Uji -- Clans and families

Forthcoming

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Kabane -- Titles

Forthcoming

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Statistics

The imperial family and other putatively indigenous clans maintained their powers by reserving the highest kabane ranks for themselves. To clarify the caste-like status of all clans, the Yamato court commissioned the compilation of a guide to kabane-titled residing in the Heiankyō capital (now Kyō) and in the five surrounding Kinki (近畿) provinces. The Shinsen Shōjiroku (Newly compiled Register of clan names and titles of nobility), the last such peerage to be compiled in early times, was completed around 815.

This 9th-century peerage lists 1182 clans, of which 326 (28 percent) were of of immigrant (Korean or Chinese) origin, while 335 (28 percent) were clans of imperial (sun-deity) descent. Some 404 (34 percent) were indigenous clans that claimed the protection of other deities, and 117 (10 percent) were of unauthenticated (undetermined) lineage.

Imperial clans were designated "kobetsu" (皇別) or "emperor line", indigenous clans with titular deities other than the sun goddess were called "shinbetsu" (神別) or "diety-line", and immigrant-origin clans were labeled "shoban" (諸蕃) or "various neighboring countries" -- the "ban" (蕃) of which is the same Chinese graph that was used in the Nihon shoki to label the Imna wives of Yamato men as "barbarian" or "of neighboring or frontier countries".

Source Percents are mine, computed from tallies in Richard J. Miller, Ancient Japanese Nobility (The Kabane Ranking System), Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974, p. 190. 　

Over half of the imperial-descent clans (54 percent) and the immigrant-descent clans (53 percent) lived in the Chinese-style capital itself, while the vast majority of the clans in the other two categories resided in the provinces. Of the clans that were domiciled in the capital, most imperial-descent clans (57 percent) and most other indigenous-descent clans (56 percent) lived in the left district (sakyō 左京), while most immigrant-descent clans (59 percent) and unauthenticated clans (68 percent) lived in the right district (ukyō 右京). While the immigrant-descent clans were as likely as the imperial-descent clans to be domiciled in the capital, they were more apt to co-reside with the lower ranking clans of unconfirmed ancestry. (Source Miller 1974, p. 190. Comment District subtotals were tallied by Miller. Heiankyō and district subtotals were tallied by me using Miller's figures. All percents are my calculations.)

The titles of nobility corresponded to the services that a clan rendered the Yamato court at a time when families were essentially occupational guilds. The higher the title, the more prestigious if not essential the service, and the more likely the service was rendered by an indigenous clan. Of the first six titles listed in the peerage, the imperial clans clearly dominated the first two and the fifth and sixth, while the other indigenous clans dominated the third, and the immigrant clans dominated the fourth. Yet immigrant clans are generally well represented in the next six titles on the list, and they dominate one. This would seem to indicate that, by the end of the 7th century, when most of the titles had been assigned, immigrant clans had become an indispensable part of the Yamato nobility. (Source Miller 1974, pp. 189-190, 94-101)

Number of families

Miller's tally is 1182 because his data is based on Saeki's work. Saeki compares the number of families recorded in various editions of SSSR. The stated and actual numbers are different in both lines texts that have descended from the "original" book (Saeki 1:24-25).

Number of families
Line     1335    1360
Listed   1172    1173
Actual   1178    1166 (1165)
Saeki        1182

Saeki chose to show all families represented between the known editions.

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Kudara (Paekche) kings

That there should be some discrepancies in generational reckonings is understandable, given the fact that the names of Paekche's kings vary in different early accounts, and latterday historians labored to come up with the current list. But the discsrepancy in SSSR's figure for Munei's generational separation from Tobo is simply too large.

If would make more sense if
in the Yamato no Asomi record
18 were regarded as an error for 28.
This would make the discrepancy +3 rather than -7.
And +2 of the descrepancy can be explained.

As of this writing (2019), the mostly widely circulated lists of Paekche kings on the Internet show the following 31 sovereigns. I have added Tobo, the founding King of Koguryš,as the 0 sovereign, since Paekche's 1st sovereign, Onjo (J Onso 温祚 rBC18-AD28), was Tobo's 3rd son, who established Paekche after his half-brother, Tobo's 1st son, became Koguryŏ's 2nd sovereign Yurimy#335; (J Rurimei 瑠璃明 rBC19-AD18).

Note that, if Tobo were taken as the 1st sovereign, and his successor Rurimei were regarded as the 2nd, the numbers on the list of 31 Packche sovereigns would shift down by 2, which would eliminate the +2 descrepancies in the SSSR records.

Packche (Kudara) kings and their reigns Cobbled together from Internet lists circa 2019
0 都慕王 BC37-BC19 1 温祚王 BC18-AD28 2 多婁王 28-77 3 己婁王 77-128 4 蓋婁王 128-166 5 肖古王 166-214 6 仇首王 214-234	7 沙伴王 234 8 古尓王 234-286 9 責稽王 286-298 10 汾西王 298-304 11 比流王 304-344 12 契王 344-346	13 近肖古王 346-375 14 近仇首王 375-384 15 枕流王 384-385 16 辰斯王 385-392 17 阿莘王 392-405 18 腆支王 405-420	19 久尓辛王 420-427 20 莘有王 427-455 21 蓋鹵王 455-475 22 文周王 475-477 23 三斤王 477-479 24 東城王 479-501	25 武寧王 502-523 26 聖王 523-554 27 威徳王 554-598 28 恵王 598-599 29 法王 599-600 30 武王 600-641 31 義慈王 641-660

Packche (Kudara) kings and their reigns
Cobbled together from Internet lists circa 2019

 0 都慕王 BC37-BC19
 1 温祚王 BC18-AD28
 2 多婁王   28-77
 3 己婁王   77-128
 4 蓋婁王  128-166
 5 肖古王  166-214
 6 仇首王  214-234


 7 沙伴王 234
 8 古尓王 234-286
 9 責稽王 286-298
10 汾西王 298-304
11 比流王 304-344
12   契王 344-346


13 近肖古王 346-375
14 近仇首王 375-384
15   枕流王 384-385
16   辰斯王 385-392
17   阿莘王 392-405
18   腆支王 405-420


19 久尓辛王 420-427
20   莘有王 427-455
21   蓋鹵王 455-475
22   文周王 475-477
23   三斤王 477-479
24   東城王 479-501


25 武寧王 502-523
26   聖王 523-554
27 威徳王 554-598
28   恵王 598-599
29   法王 599-600
30   武王 600-641
31 義慈王 641-660

Mon'en (22nd) to Munei (25th) succession Apparently Mon'en -- aka Bunshū (K Munju 文周 22nd) -- was succeeded 1st by his son Sankin (K Samgŭ 三斤 465-479 r477-479 23rd), 2nd by his brother's son or nephew Tōjō (K Tongsŏng 東城 b unk d501 r479-501 24th), and 3rd by his brother's son's son or great nephew Munei (K Munyŏng 武寧 462-523 r501-523 25th), the progenitor of the Yamato no Asomi line.

Mon'en (22nd) to Munei (25th) succession

Apparently Mon'en -- aka Bunshū (K Munju 文周 22nd) -- was succeeded 1st by his son Sankin (K Samgŭ 三斤 465-479 r477-479 23rd), 2nd by his brother's son or nephew Tōjō (K Tongsŏng 東城 b unk d501 r479-501 24th), and 3rd by his brother's son's son or great nephew Munei (K Munyŏng 武寧 462-523 r501-523 25th), the progenitor of the Yamato no Asomi line.

Yamato no Asomi

Shoku Nihongi links Emperor Kanmu's mother with the Yamato no Asomi clan.

Takano no Asomi Niigasa's death, funeral, and burial for remarks in Shoku Nihongi (above) for details.

Of interest here is that Manta Shinnō, the hightest ranking and first listed compiler of Shinsen Shōjiroku, is one of Kanmu's son's and therefore a grandson of the late Takano no Asomi Niigasa. Her ancestors included Yamato no Fumi (和史), which may be related to Yamato no Kimi (wether graphed 倭君 or 和公).

503 Son of Kudara prince becomes progenitor of Yamato no Kimi and 513 Prince Junda (Sunta) passes in Nihon shoki accounts (above) for details.

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Shinsen Shōjiroku

"Newly compiled record of titles and families" in 815 Japan

By William Wetherall