Soga power weakened after the death of Shotoku in 622, and in 645
A map of the modern-day nations of Japan and North and South Korea. Illustration by XNR Productions. Reproduced by permission of the Gale Croup.
Two men conspired to murder the ruler. These two were Crown Prince Nakano Oe (OH-ee; 626-671) and Nakatomi Kamatari (614-669), but after they gained power, they both took on new names. The prince became Emperor Tenchi, and Kamatari's family became known as Fujiwara, a clan that would later dominate the imperial family.
A particularly strong Chinese influence characterized the Hakuh period, and this was evident in the new idea of the Tenno, or emperor, as a god who descended directly from the Shinto sun-goddess. Unlike their Chinese counterparts, however, most Japanese emperors were figureheads, rulers who held power in name only while others exerted the real influence. In this regard, Tenchi was something of an exception, though even he had to rule alongside the Fujiwara clan. Other measures adopted by Tenchi from the Chinese included the Chinese calendar, a bureaucracy modeled on the Confucian system, and a land-redistribution effort based on the reforms of the early T'ang dynasty.
Rooted in Confucian principles of equality, the Taika land reJapan
A Shinto temple in Nikko, Japan. The native religion of Japan, Shinto exalts nature, believing that everything has a spirit. Reproduced by permission of the Corbis Corporation.
Forms abolished hereditary ownership of lands, created a taxation system, and established a census to provide the government with a means of monitoring taxpayers. This did little to end inequalities, however: the aristocracy found ways to use the reforms to their advantage, and within a century much of the land was back in their hands.
World History
