# Kondei

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The **kondei'*(健兒, lit. 'able-bodied youth') system was an institution developed by the Japanese [Imperial court in Nara](/source/Imperial_court_in_Nara) during the [Nara](/source/Nara_period) and early [Heian periods](/source/Heian_period) for the [conscription](/source/Conscription) and regulation of local [paramilitary](/source/Paramilitary) or [militia](/source/Militia) forces.[1] The*kondei*system was divided into regional administrative divisions overseen by****kondeidokoro**(健兒所, lit.**kondei* office').

## Early history

The term "kondei" appears for the first time in the [Nihon Shoki](/source/Nihon_Shoki), although [glossed](/source/Gloss_(annotation)) as the native Japanese word *chikarahito* (ちからひと, lit. 'strong man'), in the record for the 22nd day of the 7th month of 642 AD, the first year of the reign of [Empress Kōgyoku](/source/Empress_K%C5%8Dgyoku).

*[The Empress] commanded **chikarahito** to [wrestle](/source/Sumo) (sumahi) in the presence of [Gyōki](/source/Buyeo_Gyogi) [of Baekje]*... 乃ち**健兒**に命せて、翹岐が前に相撲とらしむ…

Later, in the record for the 13th day of the 8th month of 669 AD, second year of the reign of [Emperor Tenji](/source/Emperor_Tenji), it appears again in reference to Japanese forces who had been [sent to rescue](/source/Battle_of_Baekgang) the Korean kingdom of [Baekje](/source/Baekje):

*I have heard that [kimi](/source/Kimi_(kabane)) Iohara [no Omitari], rescuing general of the land of Great Yamato, went across the sea with more than 10,000 **kondei***... 今聞く、大日本國の救將廬原君臣、**健兒**萬餘を率て、正に海を越えて至らむ…

## Later development

Under the [Ritsuryō](/source/Ritsury%C5%8D) system, which began to be fully implemented in the early [8th century](/source/8th_century), military and paramilitary militia units were to be established throughout the country for the defense of the state. *Kondei* militia were typically raised in the interior of the country where military preparedness and quality of troops was not as important. In outlying areas, such as [Sado Island](/source/Sado_Island) and the [Saikaidō](/source/Saikaid%C5%8D), where the court feared foreign invasion, professional troops drawn from the martial aristocracy were deployed instead. However, according to the [Engishiki](/source/Engishiki), *kondei* were deployed to Sado in the early [10th century](/source/10th_century).

Over time, the *kondei* evolved from peasant-soldiers on foot to [horseback archers](/source/Horseback_archer) whose prestige rivalled that of the martial aristocracy itself. It is believed that the impetus for this evolution was the court's urgent need to counter the advanced [horsemanship](/source/Horsemanship) of the [Emishi](/source/Emishi), against which the early *kondei* footsoldiers had little effectiveness.[2] The later mounted *kondei*, especially the well-regarded *kyūba no shi* (弓馬の士), have been suggested as prototypes of the later [samurai](/source/Samurai).[2]

## See also

- [Sakimori](/source/Sakimori), another ancient Japanese militia serving as coast-watchers
- [Tondenhei](/source/Tondenhei)
- [Sonae (military unit)](/source/Sonae_(military_unit)), the basic operational unit of medieval Japanese footsoldiers that succeeded the collapse of the Ritsuryō system

## References

1. 永原 Nagahara, 慶二 Keiji & 石上 Ishigami, 英一 Eiichi (1999). *岩波日本史辞典 Iwanami Nihon-shi jiten*. 1st ed. Japan: 岩波書店 Iwanami Shoten. ISBN 4000800930.

1. 吉川 Yoshikawa, 真司 Shinji (2022). *律令体制史研究 Ritsuryō taiseishi kenkyū*. 1st ed. Japan: 岩波書店 Iwanami Shoten. ISBN 9784000255844.

## Further reading

- 高柳 Takayanagi, 光寿 Mitsutoshi & 竹内 Takeuchi, 理三 Rizō (December 1, 1974). *角川日本史辞典 Kadokawa Nihon-shi jiten*. Japan: 角川書店 Kadokawa Shoten. ISBN 4040305027.
- ["The Kondei System: An Official Order of the Council of State"](http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/japan/kondei.pdf). *Columbia University*. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kondei](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kondei) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kondei?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.