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*''Japanese'': 悪党 ''(akutou)''
''Akutô'' (lit. "evil bands") was a term used in the [[Nara period|Nara]] (710-794) to [[Muromachi period]]s (1333-1573), but primarily in the [[Kamakura period]] (1185-1333), to refer to bands of brigands, thieves, or others engaging in violent and destructive acts. The term was more of an accusatory label than a true descriptor of a specific phenomenon, and ''akutô'' ranged dramatically in size, composition, activities, and motives. Some were brigand bands composed of samurai, others of peasants, revolting against authority in general, while others were organized by dispossessed land managers to strike out against political rivals. While the activities of some ''akutô'' are known to have included thievery, arson, and murder, official complaints and other original contemporary documents on the matter simply describe their transgressions as outrages (''rôzeki'') or evil acts (''akugyô'').
Still, loose as the category of "''akutô''" may be, the phenomenon reflects the relative lawlessness at a local level prevalent under the [[Kamakura shogunate]], which was unable to effectively exert its power down to the local level.
Though the term appears in documents as early as the Nara period, and as late as the Muromachi period, ''akutô'' activities in the Kamakura period can be said to have focused around Kyoto and Kyushu, in the period immediately following the [[Jokyu War|Jôkyû War]] of [[1221]]. It was after this date that the Kamakura shogunate extended its administrative authority to the west, establishing the post of ''[[Rokuhara Tandai]]'' in Kyoto, that of ''[[Chinzei Bugyo|Chinzei Bugyô]]'' or ''Kyushu Tandai'' already in place. ''[[Jito|Jitô]]'' were installed to govern and administer territories (''[[shoen|shôen]]'') on behalf of the shogunate, often displacing the former stewards of the territory, known as the ''[[gesu]]''.
Thus it was that incidents such as that of 1227, at Toyokuni estate in [[Yamato province]], occurred. The ''gesu'', a man by the name of Yukisue, had been dispossessed of his authority over this estate when a ''jitô'' was appointed by the shogunate. After trying and failing to regain his authority through the proper legal means, the ''gesu'' and a core of his officials led a band of roughly three hundred men in destroying homes, lighting fires, and forcibly expelling the new ''jitô'' from the land. The ''jitô'' of course filed a formal complaint, but the ''akutô'' managed to fight off the official forces sent from Rokuhara. Similar incidents occurred across the country. In some cases, the shogunate, persuaded by the arguments of the dispossessed former official, would remove the new ''jitô'' and restore the ''gesu'' to his position; this did not happen in the case of Toyokuni.
''Akutô'' are explicitly mentioned by that term in the ''[[Goseibai shikimoku]]'', a set of laws issued in [[1232]], though under that edict they are equated with mere thieves, various other crimes or types of criminals apparently not coming under the jurisdiction of the nationwide shogunate government. These other crimes associated with the ''akutô'', including piracy, night raiding, and violent theft were placed under the jurisdiction of the provincial governors (''[[shugo]]'').
==References==
*Harrington, Lorraine F. "Social Control and the Significance of Akutô." in Mass, Jeffrey (ed.). ''Court and Bakufu in Japan: Essays in Kamakura History''. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1982. pp221-250.
[[Category:Kamakura Period]]
[[Category:Terminology]]
''Akutô'' (lit. "evil bands") was a term used in the [[Nara period|Nara]] (710-794) to [[Muromachi period]]s (1333-1573), but primarily in the [[Kamakura period]] (1185-1333), to refer to bands of brigands, thieves, or others engaging in violent and destructive acts. The term was more of an accusatory label than a true descriptor of a specific phenomenon, and ''akutô'' ranged dramatically in size, composition, activities, and motives. Some were brigand bands composed of samurai, others of peasants, revolting against authority in general, while others were organized by dispossessed land managers to strike out against political rivals. While the activities of some ''akutô'' are known to have included thievery, arson, and murder, official complaints and other original contemporary documents on the matter simply describe their transgressions as outrages (''rôzeki'') or evil acts (''akugyô'').
Still, loose as the category of "''akutô''" may be, the phenomenon reflects the relative lawlessness at a local level prevalent under the [[Kamakura shogunate]], which was unable to effectively exert its power down to the local level.
Though the term appears in documents as early as the Nara period, and as late as the Muromachi period, ''akutô'' activities in the Kamakura period can be said to have focused around Kyoto and Kyushu, in the period immediately following the [[Jokyu War|Jôkyû War]] of [[1221]]. It was after this date that the Kamakura shogunate extended its administrative authority to the west, establishing the post of ''[[Rokuhara Tandai]]'' in Kyoto, that of ''[[Chinzei Bugyo|Chinzei Bugyô]]'' or ''Kyushu Tandai'' already in place. ''[[Jito|Jitô]]'' were installed to govern and administer territories (''[[shoen|shôen]]'') on behalf of the shogunate, often displacing the former stewards of the territory, known as the ''[[gesu]]''.
Thus it was that incidents such as that of 1227, at Toyokuni estate in [[Yamato province]], occurred. The ''gesu'', a man by the name of Yukisue, had been dispossessed of his authority over this estate when a ''jitô'' was appointed by the shogunate. After trying and failing to regain his authority through the proper legal means, the ''gesu'' and a core of his officials led a band of roughly three hundred men in destroying homes, lighting fires, and forcibly expelling the new ''jitô'' from the land. The ''jitô'' of course filed a formal complaint, but the ''akutô'' managed to fight off the official forces sent from Rokuhara. Similar incidents occurred across the country. In some cases, the shogunate, persuaded by the arguments of the dispossessed former official, would remove the new ''jitô'' and restore the ''gesu'' to his position; this did not happen in the case of Toyokuni.
''Akutô'' are explicitly mentioned by that term in the ''[[Goseibai shikimoku]]'', a set of laws issued in [[1232]], though under that edict they are equated with mere thieves, various other crimes or types of criminals apparently not coming under the jurisdiction of the nationwide shogunate government. These other crimes associated with the ''akutô'', including piracy, night raiding, and violent theft were placed under the jurisdiction of the provincial governors (''[[shugo]]'').
==References==
*Harrington, Lorraine F. "Social Control and the Significance of Akutô." in Mass, Jeffrey (ed.). ''Court and Bakufu in Japan: Essays in Kamakura History''. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1982. pp221-250.
[[Category:Kamakura Period]]
[[Category:Terminology]]
