Jobosei is the rule of capital system stated by Kao Gong Ji (Records of technology, architecture, city planning etc.) in "Rites of Zhou," a classic of Confucianism, which defines Tojo as follows: (1) its shape is a square, nine li (li is an old Chinese unit of distance) on each side; (2) it has nine north-south streets and nine east-west streets, which are nine carriage tracks in width; and (3) the palace is located in the middle, with the alter of imperial ancestors on the east, the altar of soil and grain on the west, the imperial court on the south, and the market on the north.
条坊制は儒教の古典である『周礼』（しゅらい）考工記による都制の基準で、都城は9里の方形であること、南北9条、東西9坊の街路が走りその幅が車のわだちの9倍であること、中央に宮室を置きその左右に宗廟と社稷を配置すること、宮室の南には朝廷、北には市場を配すること、などが記されている。