檢察官上內恒三郎的思想與司法實踐

A Study on the Thoughts and Actions of Japanese Prosecutor Kamiuchi Tsunasaburōduring the Japanese Colonial Period

先行研究對於個別日治時期日本人檢察官之研究尚屬有限。上內恒三郎自1903年來臺參與舊慣調查，其後從事檢察官工作，直到1930年離臺。他並且撰寫臺灣刑事政策的研究著作，呈現當時的刑事司法之運作。從在臺工作時間長短以及留下的論述來看，他無疑具備研究重要性。循此，本文考察上內的思想與行動，由此瞭解日治時期日本人檢察官。思想上，上內認為法律是日本道德的一環，法律教化亦屬日本道德普遍化之一環；上內藉由臺灣舊慣調查與司法實務參與，建構臺灣人民族性格，由此和日本人加以區別；但他仍以日本道德普遍化為主要的目的，偏向漸進式同化主義。1920年代以後，上內吸收田中智學的日蓮主義，建構以天皇為中心的國體論述，由此企求共存共榮，排擊天皇機關說。他的思想立憲主義等色彩稀薄。在行動方面，他作為在朝法曹，雖為站在國家權力一方之人，但對於在臺日本人官吏的瀆職甚為在意和批判。上內屬於先行研究提及對於殖民地有強烈關心的法律人，以殖民地作為研究主題，儘管到後期殖民地相關論述減少，仍以日本國體為主要的關心。再者，從顯密二元區分以觀，上內偏向於顯教，但主要以日蓮主義為論述資源。

Prior research on Japanese prosecutors in the colonial era remains limited. Kamiuchi Tsunasaburō, who arrived in Taiwan in 1903 to participate in the investigation of local customary practices, later served as a prosecutor until his departure in 1930. During his long tenure, he authored influential works on Taiwan’s criminal policy. His extended service in Taiwan and the intellectual impact of his writings make him a significant figure for understanding Japanese legal professionals in the colonial era.
This study examines the legal thought and judicial practice of Kamiuchi Tsunasaburōto shed light on the broader role of Japanese colonial legal actors. In terms of legal thought, Kamiuchi regarded law as an extension of Japanese morality and viewed legalization as a means of universalizing that morality. Through his involvement in customary investigations and judicial work in Taiwan, he attempted to construct an ethnic characterization of the Taiwanese people, distinguishing them from the Japanese. However, his ultimate goal was the gradual assimilation of Taiwan within a framework grounded in the universalization of Japanese moral principles.
From the 1920s onward, Kamiuchi embraced Tanaka Chigaku’s Nichirenism and developed a kokutai discourse centered on the Emperor. He advocated coexistence and mutual prosperity while rejecting the Emperor-Organ Theory. His thought thus revealed a slight inclination toward constitutionalism. As for his judicial practice, although Kamiuchi served as a government-affiliated legal professional aligned with state authority, he was highly critical of the misconduct and corruption prevalent among Japanese officials in Taiwan. He was among the colonial legal scholars who demonstrated strong interest in colonial legal issues and used the colony as a subject of legal research. Although his interest in colonial legal studies waned in his later years, his primary intellectual concern remained the Japanese national polity.
Finally, when evaluated through the lens of the Exoteric-Esoteric Duality, Kamiuchi leaned toward exoteric thought. However, unlike other exoteric legal scholars who derived their arguments from Shinto, Kamiuchi grounded his ideological stance in Nichirenism.