Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #22 Higashimachi-Taishi-do Temple

 

     Kannon-do Temple was founded by a Baba in Itsukaichi Village at the beginning of the 18th century with the horse-headed Hayagriva statue as its main deity. Later, an Avalokitesvara statue made in kneaded incense ash was added. When the image of Prince Shotoku (574-622) was further added, the temple came to be called Taishi-do, namely Prince Hall.

     It is unknown who was a Baba, but his offspring became a local politician after the Meiji Restoration.

     The second conference of the League for the Establishment of a National Assembly was opened on 10 November 1880 in Tokyo. The league was a union of political associations in various regions and areas. The conference resolved to have each political association write up and share a proposal for a draft constitution.

     In Itsukaichi, the Arts and Sciences Lecture Club was organized to write up their own draft constitution, and Baba Kanzaemon (1836-1916) was its active member. In 1882, he joined the Liberty Party. He worked as a secretary of the Nishitama County Branch of the party. He also served as the head of the union of 10 villages including Itsukaichi Town from 1884 to 1889. From 1891 to 1898, he served as the mayor of Itsukaichi Town.

     The Itsukaichi Draft Constitution consists of 204 articles in total. Article 45 stipulates the liberal right, "Japanese citizens may exercise their own rights and freedom, and may not be interfered with by others. National laws should protect their exercising their rights and freedom." Equality, freedom of publication and expression, freedom of religion, freedom of association and assembly, etc. are also stipulated. Article 150 refers to basic human rights and emphasizes the protection of the rights of citizens. In addition, the draft included the right not to be sentenced to death as a political criminal, the right to education including compulsory education, and the right of autonomy. They were revolutionary at the time. The farmers who lived in Itsukaichi Town at the time learned and studied to complete the draft. More than 60 drafts were composed nationwide.

     In 1872, Itsukaichi Town and surrounding villages formed a union and founded Kanno School in Taishi-do Temple as a public elementary school under the Meiji Restoration Government. Despite the central government's intentions, the school was run liberally. Toshimitsu Tsurumatsu (1864-1945), who later founded the Odakyu Electric Railway Co., Ltd., depicted the school's management in his diary, "Although Kanno School was a public school, it functioned as if it had been a sheltered workshop for nationwide jobless intellectuals. Official teachers dispatched from the School Affairs Section of the prefecture were all picked on and scared off. The prefecture condoned the management and the school became a den of highbrow liberals."

     The Constitution of the Empire of Japan was, however, proclaimed on February 11, 1889, without listening to them.

     In 1968, the Itsukaichi Draft Constitution was found in a mud-walled storehouse of the Fukazawa Family in Itsukaichi Town.

Address: 178 Itsukaichi, Akiruno, Tokyo 190-0164

Itsukaichi Draft Constitution

Chapter 1 Citizen's Rights

4.1. The following persons shall be Japanese citizens.

(1) Those born in Japan

(2) Persons whose parents are Japanese citizens even if they were born outside Japan

③Foreigners who have naturalized in Japan　However, the rights that naturalized foreigners acquire are stipulated separately by law.

4.2. The following persons have their right to political participation suspended:

① Persons with serious physical and mental disabilities

(2) Those who have been sentenced to imprisonment or exile, however, they can participate in politics after their prison term is over.

4.3. The following persons shall lose their rights as Japanese citizens.

(1) Those who have naturalized in a foreign country and have acquired foreign nationality

(2) Persons who have received government posts, peerages, titles, and rewards from foreign governments without permission from the Emperor of Japan

4.4. Japanese citizens enjoy their own rights and freedoms. It cannot be interrupted by others. and national law must protect it.

4.5. Citizens of Japan have the right to participate in national politics, to state their pros and cons, and to discuss matters, provided that they possess a certain amount of property and knowledge set forth in the Constitution.

4.6. All Japanese citizens have equal rights under the law regardless of differences in ethnicity, family register, status or class.

4.7. All Japanese citizens are subject to the same laws and enjoy the same protection throughout Japan. Privileges are not given to specific regions, families or individuals.

4.8. The body, life, property and honor of all persons residing or staying in Japan, whether Japanese nationals or foreigners, shall be protected.

4.9. Laws shall not be applied retroactively from the time they were enacted.

4.10. All Japanese citizens are free to express their thoughts, opinions, editorials, diagrams and pictures, publish and issue them, and disseminate them to the general public without prior inspection by the government, regardless of the content, as long as they comply with the law. It can be disseminated publicly through storytelling, debate, and speech. However, if a person violates the law that stipulates necessary measures to prevent such harmful effects, he/she must be punished accordingly.

4.11. Crimes involving the right to freedom of thought shall be tried in accordance with the occasions and methods prescribed by law. With regard to offenses involving the expression of ideas, a jury will judge the seriousness of the offense, except for special cases stipulated by law.

4.12. Japanese citizens are not forced or stopped to do anything except what is provided for by law.

4.13. Citizens of Japan, whether individuals or groups, shall have the right to make petitions and proposals to the Emperor, the Diet and other government agencies in accordance with the methods provided for by law. You will not be charged or sentenced for making such a petition or proposal. If the people themselves find anything unreasonable about the conduct of the government, the relations between the people, or any other matter, they can make a petition or proposal to the emperor, the Diet, or any other government agency.

4.14. All Japanese citizens, regardless of whether they belong to the peerage, the samurai class, or commoners, have equal opportunities to find employment as government officials or military personnel according to their talents and character.

4.15. Japanese citizens are free to follow any religion. However, the Government may at all times take appropriate action to preserve national security and inter-religious and sectarian peace. Nor shall the laws of the state be religious, and such laws are unconstitutional and void.

4.16. No work, industry, or farming shall be prohibited unless it is contrary to public order and customs and harms the well-being and health of the people.

4.17. The Japanese people have the right to form associations and assemble peacefully without any means or intent to endanger the peace of the country, or without arms. However, the rules necessary to prevent adverse effects (disadvantages) due to such acts shall be established by law.

4.18. The Japanese public will not be scrutinized for the secrets of correspondence. Correspondence from Japanese nationals may not be confiscated except in cases of lawful and proper investigation, in times of war, or upon the judgment of a court as provided by law.

4.19. No Japanese citizen shall be taken into custody, summoned, taken away, confined, or forced into his/her home, except on the occasion and on the basis of the rules provided for by law.

4.20. Each Japanese citizen is free to choose where to live in Japan. Do not allow others to disturb your residence. You cannot enter another person's house at night without the permission of the owner of the house, unless you invite them from inside the house, or to prevent disaster or danger.

4.21. Japanese citizens have the right to own property. Under no circumstances will property be confiscated. No property can be purchased by a State agency unless it can be shown in accordance with public regulations that it is in the public interest and the appropriate amount of money is paid in advance at the time.

4.22. Citizens of Japan shall not be subject to taxes except as determined by the Diet and permitted by the Emperor.

4.23. A Japanese citizen is not brought to justice except before the judge or court in charge of his case. Even if it is based on criminal law or other statutory rules, it cannot be tried by other bodies.

4.24. No one shall be taken into custody, arrested, convicted or punished except as expressly provided for in the text of the law. In addition, once a crime or sentence has been confirmed, it must not be re-criminaled and sentenced.

4.25. Japanese citizens shall not be arrested except in cases provided for by law. In the case of arrest, the suspect must be informed of the reason for the arrest, the name of the accused person and the names of the witnesses by means of a document signed by the judge.

4.26. A person arrested shall be brought before a judge within twenty-four hours. If an arrested person cannot be released immediately, he or she may remain in custody if the judge issues a document stating the reason. The proceedings shall be carried out as expeditiously as possible and within the time limits established by law.

4.27. If a person arrested and detained so desires, he/she may immediately appeal/appeal the case presented by the judge.

4.28. Persons arrested for common crimes have the right to bail as provided by law.

4.29. No one is tried for crimes except by a legitimate judge. For this reason, provisional courts cannot be created.

4.30. No one should be sentenced to death for a crime against the government.

4.31. If arrests are made illegally, the government must pay damages to those arrested.

4.32. All Japanese citizens, regardless of their attributes, can become members of the navy or army in accordance with the law and are recruited to serve in the defense of Japan.

4.33. Every Japanese citizen must bear the taxes that support the national finances according to the size of the property they own. Even members of the royal family should not be exempt from the tax burden.

4.34. Japanese citizens must bear the debts of the state and public institutions.

4.35. You are free to choose what and how you teach your child. However, providing primary education for children is the inescapable responsibility of parents.

4.36. The status and powers of the chiefs of prefectures must be determined by national law. Since the autonomy of prefectures is based on the customs and customs of each region, it is not possible to interfere or interfere with it. Even the Diet cannot infringe on the area of self-government of prefectures.