한국의 법률 문화에서 ‘日帝殘滓 淸算’은 늘 現在形의 의미를 갖는다. 한국민법전이 제정된지 어언 50년, ‘일제잔재의 청산도 중요하지만, 일본민법전을 그 자처|로 바라보는 안목도 필요하고, 일본민법전의 이해는 일본민법의 극복과 한국민법의 보다 나은 이해에 도움이 되리라는 생각에서, 일본민법전의 편찬과정을 정리하면서 한국 민법전의 원형을 이해하기 위한 도움거리를 찾자는 것이 본고의 목적이다. 일본에서의 근대민법전의 편찬은 1870년부터 ‘治外法權’의 澈廢와 ‘關稅自主權’의 回復이라는 국가적 과제로 추진되었다. 일본인들이 여러 차례 시도하던 法典編纂은 결국 외국인 고문 보아소나드의 과제로 주어진다. 모범으로 삼은 프랑스민법전괴는 편벌과 내용에서 상당한 차이를 보이는 보아소나드 草案에 기한 民法典이 1890년에 공포되었으나 격렬한 法典論爭 끝에 그 시행이 연기되고 만다. 그 후 호즈미 노부시게(穗積陳重), 토미이 마사아키라(富井政章), 우메 켄지로(梅 謙次郞)가 기초하여 法典調査會에서의 심의를 거친 日本民法典이 1896년과 1898년 두 차례에 나누어 공포되었다. 일본민법전은 보아소나드 민법전의 ‘근본적인 수정’ 결과라지만, 양자간의 내용상의 관련에도 불구하고, 편별과 내용면에서 실질적으로 새로 제정된 민법이다. 일본 慣習法의 민법전 재산편에의 반영은 미미하다 家族法은 家父長制와 夫婦不平等을 기반으로 하였다. 프랑스민법과 독일민법이 각기 獨自性을 가지면서 로마법 이래 2천년이 넘는 법전통속에 성립했다는 데서 일본민법전의 대부분의 재산편 규정은 西歐法 傳統의 具體化이다. 필자는 논의의 시발점에서 편찬 공포에 이르기까지의 30년에 걸친 일본민법전 편찬 과정을 고찰하였다. 이어서 일본민법전은 체제와 내용면에서 보아소나드 민법전과 어떻게 다르며, 1958년에 제정된 韓國民法典과는 어떤 면에서 다른지를 간단히 정리하였다.
The Japanese Civil Code was the meas of suppression in Korean Peninsula on property relationsand family relations which had taken place from 1912 to 1945. Its bad influence continues to remain. The Japanese Civil code was, in principle, applied to Korean law under some restrictions until the Korean Civil Code went into effect 15 years later after the liberation from Japan. Because of this, the Japanese Civil Code has indelibly made impressions on Korean Civil Code and Korean legal culture. Therefore, "the liquidation of Japanese Imperialism" in Korean legal culture always has a meaning of such "a present form". Now, almost 50 years since the establishment of Korean Civil Code, this article is written for the purpose of the following: while it is important to liquidate Japanese Imperialism, it will be required to look at the Japanese Civil Code itself we need to know the Japanese Civil Code in order to overcome it; and also we need to understand the Japanese Civil Code in order to help understand the Korean Civil Code better. The main points of this article are to arrange, in Korean, the codification process of the Japanese Civil Code, and, at the same time, find something helpful for understanding the origin of the Korean Civil Code. From 1870 in Japan, the codification of modem civil code was promoted as urgent and laborious national policies such as abolition of "extraterritoriality" and restoration of "Administrative Autonomy". Although some Japanese had tried to codify a civil code several times, it ended in delegating the invited foreign adviser Gustave E. Boissonade with the job of codification. A civil code based on Boissonade"s draft bill, which was modeled after the French Civil Code but was distinguished from parts classification and text of the French Civil Code, was promulgated. However, there was a harsh controversy on enforcement and postponement of the code ("Code Controversy-Hoten Ronso") which resulted in postponing its enforcement. In its vortex, while also referring to the German Civil Code draft bill and using the base of Boissonade Civil Code, Code Investigation Commission("Hotentyosakai"), including Nobushige Hozumi, Masaakira Tomii, and Kenjiro Ume, promulgated prior 3 parts of property law in 1896 and posterior 2 parts of family law in 1898 through drafting and discussion. This led to completion of the codification of Japanese civil code. Japanese Civil Code was justifiably the result of fundamental correction of the Boissonade civil code. However, in terms of parks classification and contents, it was substantially a newly established civil law. Of course, both of them have dose relationship in terms of next beyond the discrepancy of systems. Although investigations on custom also took place for codifying the Civil Code, it was scarcely reflected on property part. Family law was based on patriarchism and matrimonial inequality. In that France and Germany have established their civil laws sui generis in legal tradition over 2000 years since the Roman law, most parts of property law of Japanese Civil Code can be said to have put the tradition of western laws into concrete. Family law was different from western laws in many ways. However, since its main provisions are derived from western law, problems of contents such as patriarchism and matrimonial inequality should have soon been revised. Its drastic revision took place after the Second World War. This article investigated the codification process over the 30years from the outset of discussion for codifying Civil Code to the announcement of the codification in Japan. Subsequently, this article arranged in sum shows how different Japanese Civil Code is from the Boissonade Civil Code in terms of system and contents and also in which ways it is different from Korean Civil Code of 1958. I wish that from now on this article will be a basic work for in-depth analysis of the Japanese Civil Code from the viewpoint of Korean Civil Code.