The Prince who Created the Framework of Japan

SHOUTOKU Taishi

Prince SHOUTOKU (574 - 622) has appeared on most of the Japanese bank notes. His portrait was used for the 100 yen, 1,000 yen, 5,000 yen and 10,000 yen notes. Shoutoku Taishi, who is very familiar among Japanese, became the Regent who at the age of 19 became deputy for Empress Suiko, the first Japanese empress that assumed the role. Legend has it that he was clever and able to listen to ten people at a time.

At that time Nara was the center of Japan. Prince Shoutoku began to carry out various
reforms with cooperation from influential politician Soga no Umako, and Empress Suiko. The Prince thought that Japan needed to learn for its modernization from the advanced country of the time, the Sui Dynasty (present-day China). Therefore, he sent a delegation to Sui in the year 600, but they ignored the Japanese delegation because they did not consider Japan as a mature country. Rousing himself to action, the Prince started the reforming of institutions.

At first, Shoutoku set "Twelve-level positions" for the government officials in reference to the position system on the Korean Peninsula. This was an epoch-making system that enabled anyone to be adopted regardless of clan or sex. He divided his bureaucrats into twelve classes by color so that people could distinguish clearly their authority and responsibility by their hats. He also set up the "17 Article Constitution," the first Japanese constitution. Furthermore, he carried out several modernizing reforms including the construction of Horyuji Temple to teach Buddhism.

In the year 607, Shoutoku again sent a delegation to Sui to try to start diplomatic relations. The rulers of the nearby countries at that time could maintain their positions as kings through approval by Sui; these de facto tribute states used to establish humbly diplomatic relations with Sui.

When Emperor Sui YANG-ti read the official letter from Shoutoku handed to him by the delegation, he became enraged. The letter read: "From the Tenshi (son of Heaven) of the Rising Sun Nation to the Tenshi of the Setting Sun Nation, we request …" Yang-ti was angered due to the fact Shoutoku not only used the crown title "Tenshi," which is used only for the emperor of Sui, but also because he referred to Japan as the "Rising Sun Nation" and the Chinese superpower as the "Setting Sun Nation." However, Ono no Imoko, the leader of the delegation, strongly stressed that Japan had accomplished modernization, and was thus entitled to be equal to China.

At that time Sui was confronting opposition from Koukuri (on the northern part of the Korean Peninsular), Shoutoku thought that Sui might have wanted to establish a cooperative relationship with Japan, situated in the backyard of Koukuri. He was right. Sui accepted Shoutoku’s offer and agreed to establish equal diplomatic relations with Japan.

While Shoutoku was positively adopting Buddhist culture, he also permitted the traditional Japanese religion of Shinto, and let both faiths co-exist. His idea of accepting anything good, even religions, and also of preserving traditional Japanese culture, has become the root of present-day Japanese culture. He died at the age of 48.

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