9781422283547

In the Shadow of China

An Age of Reform

P rince Shotoku (574-622 ce ) was interested in more than Buddhism. He also wanted to make the Japanese emperor as powerful in Japan as the Chinese emperor was in China. He introduced the Chinese idea of ruling through appointed officials rather than large landowners who could rebel against the emperor. Shotoku’s plans were opposed by powerful courtiers who thought they would lose their positions. A determined effort to put the plans into practice was made in 646 in a series of reforms known as Taika (“great change”). All land was declared to belong to the emperor. Peasants were to pay taxes in rice or cloth or by working on building projects or serving as soldiers. To help the emperor extend his rule over the whole country new roads were to be built and a postal service was established. A census of population was carried out in 670, so that the government could see how many taxpayers there were. A Fixed Capital Until the 7th century the Japanese usually moved their capital every time an emperor died, because they thought it would be unlucky to stay in the same place. But gradually the emperors came to accept the Chinese idea of a fixed capital. One reason for a fixed capital was that it was very inconvenient to keep moving all the government records. In 710 the Japanese laid out a capital at Nara. It had a grid plan, like the Chinese capital Chang’an (Xian), the largest city in the world at that time with a population of more than a million. By the middle of the century Nara had a population of 200,000.

S hotoku was a scholar who ruled as regent for Empress Suiko. His picture was used on Japanese banknotes until the late 1990s.

Horyuji The Horyuji Buddhist temple and monastery, near the ancient city of Nara, was first built in 607 by Prince Shotoku, a great patron of Buddhist learning. It burned down in 670, but was rebuilt immediately on an even larger scale and is now the oldest group of wooden buildings in the world. After his death, Shotoku was himself worshiped. Horyuji now has a great collection of 319 Buddhist art treasures and attracts thousands of visitors each year.

H oryuji’s pagoda is the oldest in Japan. Pagodas were originally built over sacred relics associated with the Buddha. Horyuji became a famous center for the study of Buddhism.

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