近年、古代史研究の大きな課題の一つは、各地における地方豪族と農民との間の支配関係の実態を明らかにすることである。その末端行政をものがたる史料として、最近注目を集めているのが、郡符木簡である。郡司からその支配下の責任者に宛てて出された命令書である。この郡符木簡はあくまでも律令制下の公式令符式という書式にもとづいているのである。したがって、差出と宛所を明記し、原則として律令地方行政組織〔郡―里（郷）など〕を通じて、人の召喚を内容とする命令伝達が行われるのであろう。これまでに出土した一〇点ほどの郡符木簡はいずれも里（郷）長に宛てたもので、例外の津長（港の管理責任者）の場合は個人名を加えている。このような情況下で新たに発見された荒田目条里遺跡の郡符木簡（第二号木簡）は、宛所が「里刀自」とあり、三六名の農民を郡司の職田の田植のために徴発するという内容のものである。まず第一に、刀自は、家をおさめる主人を家長、主婦を家刀自とするように、集団を支配する女性をよぶのに用いている。宛所の里刀自は、上記の例よりしても、本来の郡―里のルート上で理解するならば、里を支配する里長の妻の意とみなしてよい。第二には、行政末端機構につらなり、戸籍・計帳作成や課役徴発を推進する里長と、在地において農業経営に力を発揮する里長の妻＝里刀自の存在がにわかにクローズアップされてきたと理解できるであろう。これまで里刀自に関する具体的活動の姿は皆無であっただけに、今後、女性と農業経営の問題を考察する格好の素材となると考えられる。

An important theme in recent ancient history research is the elucidation of how the gōzoku, or local powerful families, controlled farmers in various parts of the country in ancient times. The gun-fu mokkan, i.e., wooden tablets on which gun (district) officials ― who were of gōzoku background ― issued directives to those in responsible posts under their jurisdiction, have been receiving much attention as a source revealing what the lowest rungs of local administration were like. The tablet directives were written according to a strictly prescribed official form, called fushiki, under the ritsuryō system of government. The issuing authority and the addressee are expressly mentioned, and as a rule, it is presumed, they were relayed through the ritsuryō local administrative organization (from the gun to its subdivisions, such as Sato) to summon specific persons. Almost all the approximately ten gun-fu mokkan excavated thus far were addressed to Sato heads. The only exception is one issued to a port administration head, whose personal name was included.A gun-fu mokkan (mokkan No. 2) newly unearthed at the Aratame Jōri Site (Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture) , was addressed to the “Satotoji,” conveying an order for mobilization of thirty-six farmers for rice-planting at fields (shikiden) grantec to the gun official (who sent the tablet) by the central government as part of his salary. The tablet is significant in a number of ways. First is the matter of the identity of the “Satotoji.” The term toji was usually used to indicate a woman leading a group, as in the usage of ie-toji, meaning “mistress” as distinct from the ie-osa, or male household head. The Satotoji, to whom the tablet was addressed, can therefore be interpreted to mean the wife of a Satoosa (Sato head) who governed the village, if the tablet is understood in the context of the usual route by which administration was relayed from gun to Sato.Another important implication of the tablet is its evidence of the role played by the Satoosa and his wife at the lowest level of administration, the former compiling household registers and tax documents and facilitating the collection of taxes in kind and corvēe levies, and the latter, known as the Satotoji, acting as a leader in local farm management.Until the discovery of the tablet nothing was known about the specific activity of the Satotoji, making it an invaluable artifact for the study of the relationship between women and agricultural management in ancient Japan.

source:https://www.rekihaku.ac.jp/outline/publication/ronbun/ronbun3/index.html#no66