ABSTRACT
FAR-REACHING EFFECT OF STATUTES OF TAIKA AND TAlHo.-The Reformation of Taika effected in the era of Emperor Kotoku, and, later, the Statutes of Taiho, may be regarded as constituting a notable turning-point in Japanese history, not only because of the sweeping changes involved, but also because of the codification of the statutes which took the place of the former unwritten customary laws made at random. Taken in conjunction with the Statutes of Taiho, it forms a parallel to the Pandects and the Codes of the Emperor Justinian in their far-reaching effect upon later ages. No trace remains of the ambitious expeditions of the Emperor Justinian, nor of the glories of the Empire, nor of the all-embracing power over many nations, but the codes have left an ineffaceable impress on the European countries. Such is the case with the statutes in question: they continued to affect social conditions for many centuries when the Imperial Court had long ago been bereft of actual sovereign rights. The only difference is that the Codes of Justinian were completed between A.D. 527 and 565, while the Statutes of Taika and Taiho were brought forth between 645 and 701, or at least one hundred years later. The Codes of Justinian, however, are merely a collection of the old customs and former laws into a systematic compilation, and, meritorious as the work is, it is nothing much more than an ordinary codification. On the contrary, the Statutes of Taika and Taiho were a work of both codification and reformation, whereby a new social system was designed to displace the former organization. Viewed from the standpoint of contribution to the national welfare, the Statutes of Taika and Taiho must be placed far above the Justinian Codes.
