page_title: Asuka period
section_title: Soga clan and Shōtoku Taishi
hierarchical_section_title: Asuka period / Soga clan and Shōtoku Taishi
context_page_description: The Asuka period was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710, although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after the Asuka region, about 25 km south of the modern city of Nara.
  The Asuka period is characterized by its significant artistic, social, and political transformations, having their origins in the late Kofun period but largely affected by the arrival of Buddhism from China. The introduction of Buddhism marked a change in Japanese society. The Asuka period is also distinguished by the change in the name of the country from Wa to Nihon.
context_section_description: The Soga clan intermarried with the imperial family, and by 587 Soga no Umako, the Soga chieftain, was powerful enough to install his nephew as emperor and later to assassinate him and replace him with the Empress Suiko (r. 593–628). Suiko, the first of eight sovereign empresses, is sometimes considered a mere figurehead for Umako and Prince Regent Shōtoku Taishi (574–622).  However she wielded power in her own right, and the role of Shōtoku Taishi is often exaggerated to the point of legend.
  Shōtoku, recognized as a great intellectual of this period of reform, was a devout Buddhist and was well-read in Chinese literature. He was influenced by Confucian principles, including the Mandate of Heaven, which suggested that the sovereign ruled at the will of a supreme force. Under Shōtoku's direction, Confucian models of rank and etiquette were adopted, and his Seventeen-article constitution prescribed ways to bring harmony to a chaotic society in Confucian terms.
  In addition, Shōtoku adopted the Chinese calendar, developed a system of trade roads (the aforementioned Gokishichidō), built numerous Buddhist temples, had court chronicles compiled, sent students to China to study Buddhism and Confucianism, and sent Ono no Imoko to China as an emissary (遣隋使, Kenzuishi).
  Six official missions of envoys, priests, and students were sent to China in the seventh century. Some remained twenty years or more; many of those who returned became prominent reformers. The sending of such scholars to learn Chinese political systems showed significant change from envoys in the Kofun period, in which the five kings of Wa sent envoys for the approval of their domains.
  In a move greatly resented by the Chinese, Shōtoku sought equality with the Chinese emperor by sending official correspondence that was addressed, "From the Son of Heaven in the Land of the Rising Sun to the Son of Heaven of the Land of the Setting Sun."
  Some would argue that Shōtoku's bold step set a precedent: Japan never again accepted a "subordinate" status in its relations with China, except for Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, who accepted such a relationship with China in the 15th century.
  As a result, Japan in this period received no title from Chinese dynasties, while they did send tribute (有貢無封, yūkō mufū). From the Chinese point of view, the class or position of Japan was demoted from previous centuries in which the kings received titles. On the other hand, Japan loosened its political relationships with China and consequently established extraordinary cultural and intellectual relationships.
caption: The Daibutsu at the Asuka-dera in Asuka, the oldest known statue of Buddha in Japan with an exact known date of manufacture, 609 AD; the statue was made by Kuratsukuri-no-Tori, son of a Korean immigrant.
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