Taika Reform

The nihongo|Taika Reforms|大化の改新|Taika no Kaishin were a set of doctrines established by Emperor Kōtoku in the year 646. They were written shortly after the death of Prince Shōtoku, and the defeat of the Soga clan, which united Japan. Crown Prince Naka no Ōe (who would later reign as Emperor Tenji), Nakatomi no Kamatari, and Emperor Kōtoku jointly embarked on the details of the Reforms. Emperor Kōtoku then took the name "Taika" (大化), or "Great Reform".

The Reform began with land reform, based on Confucian ideas and philosophies from China, but the true aim of the reforms was to bring about greater centralization and to enhance the power of the imperial court, which was also based on the governmental structure of China. Envoys and students were dispatched to China to learn seemingly everything from the Chinese writing system, literature, religion, and architecture, to even dietary habits at this time. Even today, the impact of the reforms can still be seen in Japanese cultural life.

Background

After the regency of Shōtoku Taishi ended, the Soga clan, from which Shōtoku's ancestry was derived, took hegemony of the Yamato court. The clan was opposed to Shotōku's son Yamashiro Ōe and killed him in 643. Under the reign of Empress Kōgyoku, the Soga clan head, Soga no Iruka, was virtually an almighty leader of the court. Those who were against Soga's dictatorship included the emperor's brother Karu, the emperor's son, Naka no Ōe-shinno, along with his friend Nakatomi no Kamatari, and his son-in-law Soga no Ishikawamaro (Iruka's cousin). They ended Iruka's regime by a coup d'état in 645 ("Isshi Incident"). As Kōgyoku renounced her throne, Karu ascended to be Emperor Kōtoku. The new emperor, together with the Imperial Prince Naka no Ōe, issued a series of reform measures that culminated in the Taika Reform Edicts in 646. At this time, two scholars, Takamuko no Kuromaro and priest Min (who had both accompanied Ono no Imoko in travels to Sui Dynasty China, where they stayed for more than a decade), were assigned to the position of "kuni no hakushi" (国博士; National doctor). They were likely to take a major part in compiling these edicts which in essence founded the Japanese imperial system and government. The ruler, according to these edicts, was no longer a clan leader, but Emperor (in Japanese, "Tennō"), who ruled by the Decree of Heaven and exercised absolute authority.

Prior to the accession of Emperor Kōtoku, Japan was divided among many clans and warlords. These reforms were needed to bring all of these recently conquered and united people and lands under the control of the Emperor. In essence, they established the basics of the feudal system, whereby lords could hold power within their lands and could still exercise hereditary rights to land and titles, but all land ultimately belonged to the Emperor, and all loyalties were to the Emperor above all other lords and masters. To set an example to other nobles, the Crown Prince surrendered his own private estates to the public domain (the Emperor's control).

From today's vantage point, the Taika Reform is seen as a coherent system in which a great many inherently dissonant factors have been harmonized, but the changes unfolded in a series of successive steps over the course of many years. [Asakawa, K. (1963. "The Early Institutional Life of Japan: A Study in Reform of 645," p.267.]

The Reform Edicts severely curtailed the independence of regional officials and constituted the imperial court as a place of appeal and complaint for the people. In addition, the last edicts attempted to end certain social practices, in order to bring Japanese society more in line with Chinese social practices. Nonetheless, it would take centuries for the conceptual ideal of the Chinese-style emperor to take root in Japan. [Batten, Bruce. "Foreign Threat and Domestic Reform: The Emergence of the Ritsuryo State," "Monumenta Nipponica", Vol. 41, No. 2 (Summer, 1986), pp. 199-219.]

References

Notes

* Sansom, George .(1958). "A History of Japan to 1334." Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Further reading

* Asakawa, Kan'ichi. (1963, reprinting 1903 text). "The Early Institutional Life of Japan: A Study in the Reform of 645." New York: Paragon Press.

ee also

* Shoen -- the form of Japanese fiefdom that developed after the Taika Reforms.
* Japanese era names -- Taika era
* Man'yōshū -- Taika era literature