Terauke system (terauke seido)

Timeline

1. 1635–1636Edo · EdoIn Keichō 19 the Kyoto shoshidai already ordered apostate Christians to obtain tegata from temples. In Kan'ei 12 the shogunate revised the Buke Shohatto and strengthened the Jinja-Shūbatsu, requiring each school's head temples to supervise branch temples in rooting out Christianity. Commoners too had to choose a danna temple, whose abbot certified they were not Christians. The terauke thus went from individual certificates for turncoats to an identity document everyone had to hold.
2. 1638–1640Edo · EdoThe Shimabara-Amakusa rebellion convinced the shogunate that fumie alone could not eradicate hidden believers. In Kan'ei 17 the shogunate established the shumon aratame-yaku, responsible for religious household registers. Domains were required to enroll residents in temple registers; those refusing to join a temple or converting to prohibited sects that did not receive funa were treated as targets alongside Christians. Temple abbots thereby became grassroots investigators.
3. 1664–1671All Japan · JapanIn Kanbēn 4 the shogunate ordered each domain to appoint dedicated shumon aratame officials and compile shumon registers; in Kanbēn 11 it further standardized the shumon ninbetsu aratame-chō, requiring samurai, townsfolk, and peasants alike to register their temple, age, and relatives. Migration, marriage, and service required both a terauke certificate and a village transfer letter. Household registration, faith, and kinship information were bound into the same set of ledgers, completing the terauke system administratively.
4. 1871–1873Tokyo (formerly Edo) · TokyoThe Meiji government promoted shinbutsu bunri and modern household registration. In Meiji 4 it issued rules for shinkeko survey, attempting to replace temple shumon aratame with Shinto shrine parishioner registration, and repealed those rules two years later. In Meiji 6 the anti-Christian placards were removed, shumon aratame lost its legal purpose, and the terauke system formally ended; but danka-temple social relations long continued among the people.