Shotoku Taishi

"Seventeen-Article Constitution"

Published in Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from Earliest Times to a. d. 697, 1896

“Sincerely reverence the three treasures. The three treasures: the Buddha, the Law, and the Priesthood, are the... supreme objects of faith in all countries. What man in what age can fail to reverence this law?"

Though Japan had been inhabited for thousands of years, it first emerged as a unified nation under the leadership of the Yamato (yuh-MAH-toh; "imperial") family in the Kofun period (koh-FUN; 250-552). It is likely that these early Japanese were heavily influenced by visitors from China, and from the 300s onward, the country welcomed a steady stream of Chinese and Korean immigrants.

During the Asuka period (552-645), the royal court in Korea introduced the leaders of Japan to a new religion, Buddhism (BUD-izm). This sparked a conflict among the Japanese ruling classes, many of whom still embraced Japan's traditional religion, Shinto ("way of the gods"). Leading the movement for the acceptance of Buddhism was the Soga clan, whose most powerful member was Prince Shotoku Taishi (shoh-TOH-koo ty-EE-shee; 573-621).

Prince Shotoku

Shotoku Taishi was among the most important figures in early Japanese history. In fact, it was he who gave the country its name; and his "Seventeen-Article Constitution," adopted in 604, gave a formal structure to the Japanese imperial government. Shotoku also helped establish the principles of Buddhism and Confucianism in Japan, and along with Japan's native Shinto religion, these continued to govern Japanese society through the twentieth century.

Because of his legendary status, it is hard to separate fact from myth concerning Shotoku's early life. Apparently he was born in the city of Asuka, then Japan's capital, but little else is known about his career until his early twenties. Shotoku belonged to the highly influential Soga family, who were the real power behind the Japanese emperors, and in 593 his aunt assumed the throne as the empress Suiko (soo-EE-koh; ruled 592-628). Shotoku became her regent, meaning that he ruled the country on her behalf.

During the next three decades, Shotoku engaged in a number of significant undertakings. Not only did he help to solidify the influence of Buddhism in Japanese society, he built a number of temples around the country, along with an extensive system of highways. In addition to his constitution, he introduced a new system of twelve court ranks based on another belief system which, like Buddhism, had been imported from China: Confucianism. He also instituted reforms in areas such as social welfare (caring for the poor) and land reclamation, the raising of land formerly covered by water. After his death, Japanese Buddhists began to view him as a Buddhist saint.

In 604, Shotoku issued his "Seventeen-Article Constitution." The document gave the central government enormous powers, and encouraged citizens to know their place in society. In addition to a number of clearly expressed Buddhist principles, the constitution also reflected the influence of Confucianism (kun-FYOO-shun-izm), another way of thought that had been introduced from mainland Asia.