THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE JAPANESE BAR.

This article details the historical development of the Japanese lawyers and the legal system. It first focuses on the role of the lawyer in premodern Japan. It was a principle of Japanese jurisprudence prior to the Restoration of 1867 that a litigant could not appear in court by representation. In certain exceptional circumstances, such as infancy, advanced age, or illness, this prohibition might be waived. The article then discusses the evolution of the Lawyers Law of 1893 with exploring problems of lawyer status which were evolved after it. Considering certain social injustice and inequality, the existing Law have been restructured and presented in a new form as the Lawyers Law of 1933. From 1893 to 1933 no complete revision of the Lawyers Law was undertaken, though several important changes were made. In common with many other phases of Japanese law, the Lawyers Law was revised during the American occupation.