Similarly to its mother law, the basic thought of ritsuryo law was Confucianist and legalist, and Confucianism in particular was significant as a leading strand of thought in Japanese ritsuryo law as well.
律令法の基本思想は、母法と同じく、儒家と法家の思想であったが、ことに儒家の思想は、日本の律令法でも指導的な意義をもっていた。