National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

　　Household registers were made every six years as a basic account book for the law of allotment (Handen Shuju) etc., which was implemented on a family basis under the Ritsuryo legal system. This is the householdregister of Te’i Village of Nakatsu District of Buzen Province (around present-day Miyako Town, Yukuhashi City, Fukuoka Prefecture) dated Taiho 2 (702). As for the description of the family, the householder is listed first, followed by the other members of the family in the order of blood relationship, with one name written on one line. As for each member of the family, information on the relationship with the householder, name, age and age bracket is added. The paper is stamped with the “Seal of Buzen Province” in red. This household register has 44 lines of text. The 7 lines on the extreme right are the data at the end of one family registry, indicating the statistics of the family members and the total allotments of personal rice fields for cultivation (Handen). It is followed by the family register in which the householder is Kawabe Sho Hosshi (川辺勝法師). Although the latter part of this household register has been lost, there are still 37 members in the remaining part. On the back of the paper, text that has nothing to do with the household register is written. The is because the back of the paper was used at the Scriptorium (Shakyo sho) for a book for office documents after 30 years, i.e., the retention period of the household register, had elapsed.