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The , also known as is a system of voluntary and long-term affiliation between Buddhist temples and households in use in Japan since the Heian period.〔 In it, households (the ''danka'') financially support a Buddhist temple which, in exchange, provides for their spiritual needs.〔Marcure (1985)〕 Although its existence long predates the Edo period (1603–1868), the system is best known for its repressive use made at that time by the Tokugawa, who made the affiliation with a Buddhist temple compulsory to all citizens. During the Tokugawa shogunate, the system was turned into a citizen registration network; supposedly intended to stop the diffusion of Christianity and help detect hidden Christians, it soon became a government-mandated and Buddhist temple-run system to monitor and control the population as a whole.〔Tamamuro Fumio〕 For this reason, it survived intact long after Christianity in Japan had been eradicated. The system as it existed in Tokugawa times is sometimes called because of the certification (or ''terauke'', because the ''tera'', or temple would issue an ''uke'', or certificate) issued by a Buddhist temple that a citizen was not a Christian.〔Nam-lin Hur〕 The mandatory ''danka'' system was officially abolished after World War II, but continues nonetheless to exists as a voluntary association between the two sides, constitutes a major part of the income of most temples and defines as before the relationship between households and temples.〔 == The ''terauke''== The ''danka'' system changed drastically in 1638 when, in reaction to the Shimabara Rebellion (1637–38), the bakufu decided to stamp out the Christian religion using it as a tool.〔 The relationship between temple and ''danka'', until then voluntary, was formalized and made compulsory: Buddhist temples were ordered to start writing ''terauke'' certificates for all their , while households on their part had the duty to become ''danka'' of the closest Buddhist temple, regardless of its sect (Nichiren, Jōdo, Rinzai, etc.), and to obtain from it a ''terauke''.〔 Although never written into law,〔 this use of the system nonetheless quickly became a universal and extremely important feature of Tokugawa Japan.〔 Administratively speaking, all Japanese, Shinto priests included, became an integral part of the Buddhist bureaucratic organization, which in turn referred to the Tokugawa. The system had three tiers, with at the lowest the temple which issued the ''terauke''. Local government officials would then collect all ''terauke'', bind them in ledgers called 〔 and submit them to higher authorities.〔 The purpose was to force Christians to become affiliated to a Buddhist temple, while making the monitoring of suspected Christians easier.〔 The very first registries in existence are dated between 1638 and 1640 and, unsurprisingly, are found in areas where the Christian religion was strong, for example Kyoto, its province and Kyūshū.〔 Registries in other areas aren't found until the second half of the 17th century, but individual ''terauke'', which clearly served the same purpose, are.〔 Because in 1664 the bakufu ordered to all daimyōs the establishment in their domain of an officer of religious investigation called or , from the following year registries of religious affiliation started being produced nationwide.〔 In 1671 the registry's format was standardized. The document had to record all peasant households, state the number of men and women of each town, plus the totals for all districts and the province.〔 The intendant had to keep the registry and send a one-page summary to higher authorities.〔 Further, all departures from the community due to marriage, work or death were to be recorded. This registry format was maintained unchanged until 1870, three years into the Meiji era.〔 Since the order explicitly states that "''Naturally, it is appropriate to investigate many things, and not only at the time of inquiry into religion''",〔 the system clearly had from the beginning purposes that went beyond religion. The result was an Edo equivalent of today's household registry, set apart only by the temple's obligation to specify a family temple and the citizens' to obtain a ''terauke''.〔 In some regions, the right to issue certificates was called ，a right which gradually became a source of great power for the temples.〔 Not only was a certificate issued after payment of a fee, but it gave religious authorities the power of life and death over parishioners.〔 This document had to be obtained every year after an inspection at one's temple of affiliation.〔 Those who for some reason couldn't obtain a temple certification were recorded as hinin (''non-persons'') and thereafter subject to discrimination,〔 or simply executed as Christians.〔 Not only peasants, but even samurai and Shintō priests could not live or function within society without a ''terauke'',〔 which had assumed a role similar to that of identity papers now. It was necessary to get married, to travel, to gain access to certain jobs.〔 After 1729 the breaking of ties between a temple and a ''danka'' (or ) was formally outlawed, making the link between a ''danka'' and a temple impossible to break.〔 This eliminated competition for parishioners between temples, giving a man and his family no possibility to change temple of affiliation. By the late 17th century the system had become an integral part of the Tokugawa state apparatus.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Danka system」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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