A Study of Proceders for Processing Public Opinion in the Edo Bakufu

这项研究调查了平民向江户八户和汉朝政府提交的各种请愿书。对这些请愿书进行了分析，以了解不同地区或社会群体之间的团结和分裂，以及这一时期政府如何处理请愿书的信息。实验结果如下：早期的研究强调了这一时期政府的专制和秘密性质，平民被排除在政治进程之外。然而，日本各地留存下来的请愿书包括对相关地方现行政策的批评，也包括要求改变这些地方政策的呼吁。这项研究表明，到18世纪初，政府已经将决定是否接受平民提议的程序制度化了。本研究还表明，大约从1世纪中叶到8世纪中叶，贵族阶层开始积极向平民寻求新政策的建议。大约在这一时期，扩大区域经济和发展其经济独立性的需要，以及开发新的领主收入来源的需要，已经成为领主阶级最重要的事情。但是，这一阶层制订新政策的能力是有限的，因此，有关方面征求和实际通过关于一般民事行政和关于开发特定产品的经济潜力的政策，这一点也不奇怪。在天平的另一端，这项研究表明，平民也积极寻求向他们的统治者提出政策选择。提出的政策种类繁多，从重建村庄或地区社会的比例，到寻求获得营销和其他商业特权的商人提出的营销政策。提出这些政策的人的动机，一方面是由于农业歉收和饥荒的循环造成了农村社会的破坏，另一方面是由于商业经济的快速发展，市场结构发生了根本性的变化。这项研究还证实，在这一时期，除了某些个人提出政策建议的活动之外，民意对政治的影响也显著增加。少

This research examined various types of petitions presented by commoners to the Edo Bakuhu and to Han govermments. The petitions were analyzed for information regarding union and disunion between different regions or social groups, and for information concerming how govermments in this period dealt with petitions. The results were as follows.1.Earlier research has emphasised the despotic and secretive nature of govermment in this period, and that commoners were excluded from the political process. Hawever, petitions surviving from throughout japan include criticisms of current policies in their relevant localities and also include calls for changes of these local policies. This reserch established that, by the eary 18th century, govemments had institutionalised procedures for deciding whether to accept these proposals from commoners.2.This reserch aiso established that the seigneurial class began to actively seek proposals for new policese from commoners from around the middle of the 1 … More 8th century. By around this period, the need to expand the reginal economy and to develop its economic independence had become matters of prime importance to seigneurial class, along with the need to develop new sources of seigneurial income. However, this class was limited in its capability to formulate new policies, and therefore it become not at all unusual for the relere to solicit and acutually adopt policies on civil administration in general, and on the exploitation of the economic potential of specific products.3.At the other end of the scale, this research established that commoners aiso actively sought to present policy altemative to thier rulers. The kind of policy presented ranged from proporsals to regenerate either village or regionl society, through to marketing policies presented by merchants seeking to be granted marketing and other commercial privileges. The motives of people presenting these policies were rooted in a background of the disruption of rural society by a cycle of crop failures and famines on the one hand, and radical changes in the market structure in line with the rapid development of the commercial economy.4.This research also established that independently of the activies of certain individuals in presenting policy proposals, the influence exerted by jinshin (public opinion) on politics in this period also incresed markedly in importance. Less