The ritsuryo ̄ statemaintained their power and influence from the pre- Taika era lost both over the course of the
early ritsuryō era.^43
Development of the ritsuryo ̄ state
In terms of written law, the promulgation of the Taihō codes in 701 cleanly delineates the begin-
ning of the ritsuryō state. In practical terms, however, there is considerable room for debate as to
exactly when something that can be appropriately described as “the ritsuryō state” actually
began—or ended. The process of establishing provincial government offices, for instance, was
not completed countrywide until the Tenpyō era (729–749).^44
Research discoveries and scholarly opinions on state control of lands raise even more complex
questions. The famous “Ordinance on Permanent Private Possession of Reclaimed Fields” (konden
einen shizaihō), promulgated in 743, for example, has traditionally been hailed as a dramatic depar-
ture from the spirit of the ritsuryō system, and a key step marking the end of the imperial state in
its original form. Indeed, the English- language literature on the subject universally casts it as
such.^45 Some historians, however, see this ordinance as having deepened ritsuryō-style management
of land, by virtue of facilitating the state’s grasp of large- scale land reclamation.^46 Moreover,
while the law was enacted four decades after the promulgation of the Taihō codes, it was an
adaptation of a much earlier Tang regulation concerning ownership of lands by government
officials. And, the Taihō statutory provisions of private landholding notwithstanding, wooden
tablets unearthed from the site of the residence of an early eighth- century imperial prince (Prince
Nagaya, 684–729) clearly attest to inheritable private possession of lands among the court
nobility.^47
During the Heian period, three collections of supplementary laws (kyakushiki) were compiled,
and procedural manuals for court ceremonies closely following Tang models assembled. These
developments lead some historians to argue that the ninth century, when the ritsuryō system was
expanded and enhanced in this manner, was actually the period during which government in
Japan most closely resembled that of China.^48 Nevertheless, caution is warranted with regard to
how much one reads into the adoption of Chinese ceremonial procedures of this sort. Among
other considerations here is the fact that only parts of the Tang manuals were adopted: the
Chinese texts included protocols pertaining to broader social customs of the ruling class, such as
weddings and coming of age ceremonies, whereas the Japanese versions were limited to rules for
proper behavior while in attendance at court.
The end of the ritsuryo ̄ state
By the tenth century, many of the institutions and practices we have cited as signal components
of the ritsuryō system had been amended, abolished, or allowed to wither. The careful mainte-
nance of household registers disintegrated during the ninth and tenth centuries, and the land
redistribution system was abandoned after 902. The provincial regiments that formed the core of
the ritsuryō military apparatus were eliminated in all but the frontier regions in 792. In the center,
government offices were streamlined, the system governing advancement through the ranks was
recast, and the entire bureaucracy underwent large- scale reform. In the provinces, the power and
fortunes of district magistrates and other traditional elites declined, and provincial governors,
now styled “zuryō” (“custodians of the domain”), utilized private retainers, who followed them
from appointment to appointment, to collect revenues directly from taxpayers.
Until a generation ago, there was nearly universal agreement among historians that such
changes collectively signaled the end of the ritsuryō state. Parsing the classical era though a model