Asuka Period

Buddhism, introduced to Japan from the late Kofun Period into the early Asuka Period, became a flashpoint in power struggles.
Powerful clans split over whether to accept Buddhism, forming rival factions.
These disputes grew into political conflict within the imperial court.

Amid this struggle, Soga no Umako, a pro-Buddhist leader, rose to power.
The Asuka Period begins with the enthronement of Empress Suiko, backed by Soga no Umako, who became the court’s most influential figure.

To avoid becoming a figurehead, Empress Suiko created the post of regent and appointed Prince Shotoku as her advisor.
Reforms to strengthen the state began, driven by the authority of Soga no Umako and Empress Suiko, and Prince Shotoku’s political skill.

To gather capable officials under the emperor, they established systems such as the Seventeen-Article Constitution, a set of principles for serving the emperor, and the Twelve Level Cap and Rank System, which assigned court rank across twelve levels based on ability.
Prince Shotoku also dispatched envoys to Sui China to build relations with a highly advanced state in politics and culture.
These missions, known as the Kentoshi (envoys to Sui), included students and Buddhist monks who traveled to Sui as well.

After Prince Shotoku died, Soga no Emishi, who succeeded Soga no Umako, and his son Soga no Iruka seized political control.
As their actions increasingly disregarded the emperor, dissatisfaction with the Soga clan grew within the court.

When resentment peaked, anti-Soga forces led by Nakatomi no Kamatari and Prince Naka no Oe launched the Isshi Incident.
They assassinated Soga no Iruka within the imperial palace, forced Soga no Emishi to take his own life, and destroyed the Soga clan.

Led by Nakatomi no Kamatari and Prince Naka no Oe, reforms were then carried out with returnees who had studied politics and culture in China (Sui and Tang), aiming to build a centralized state centered on the emperor.
These reforms created systems for the emperor to directly control land and people and to centralize revenue under the throne.

The reforms that began with the Isshi Incident are known as the Taika Reform, marking the starting point of the ritsuryo state.

While Japan was advancing centralization, shifting international conditions led to its first overseas military expedition.
Tang China, allied with Silla (southeastern Korean Peninsula), invaded Baekje (southwestern Korean Peninsula).
After its defeat, Baekje appealed to Japan, with which it had close ties.
But helping Baekje meant making enemies of Tang and Silla.

Tang was a major power with strong influence in East Asia, and defeat could have put not only Baekje but Japan itself at risk.
On the other hand, victory could have made Baekje a subordinate state of Japan.

Empress Saimei ultimately decided to aid Baekje and set out, personally leading troops from the capital, but she died just before the campaign.
Her son, Prince Naka no Oe, carried on her will and led the Japanese forces, and Japan’s first war with a foreign power, the Battle of Baekgang, began.

Japan sent reinforcements by sea, but suffered a crushing defeat as Tang-Silla strategy and natural conditions worked against them.

After Prince Naka no Oe became Emperor Tenji, he implemented defensive measures to protect Japan from a potential Tang invasion.
To secure manpower and funding, he compiled a nationwide census register known as the Kogo Nenjaku.
He built fortifications such as Mizuki along the Kyushu coast and stationed troops there.
He also moved the capital to Omi Otsu-no-miya, a naturally defensible area surrounded by Lake Biwa and mountains.

However, as Tang’s ambitions to control the Korean Peninsula became clear, relations with Silla deteriorated.
When war broke out between Tang and Silla, Japan was not invaded by Tang.

Emperor Tenji wanted his son, Prince Otomo, to inherit the throne.
But by the rules of the time, his younger brother, Prince Oama, was the rightful successor.
When Emperor Tenji pressed him about succession, Prince Oama sensed danger, declined the position, and moved quietly to Yoshino in Nara to live out of the spotlight.

After Emperor Tenji died, moves to eliminate Prince Oama surfaced at court.
To protect himself, he raised an army with the support of regional clans and launched the Jinshin War.
It grew into such a major conflict that it is often called the largest civil war in ancient Japan.

The war ended with Prince Oama’s victory, driving Prince Otomo to take his own life.
Prince Oama ascended the throne as Emperor Tenmu.
By appointing the empress and imperial princes to key posts, he established a centralized political structure centered on the emperor (imperial kin rule).

The Jinshin War also eliminated powerful clans that could threaten Emperor Tenmu.
Local clans that supported him did not hold enough power to challenge the throne, and few could oppose an emperor who had secured his position through force.

Emperor Tenmu carried on the direction of the Taika Reform and continued building a nation centered on the emperor.
To strengthen control over land and people, he adopted Tang governance models and the ritsuryo system.
In modern terms, it set legal rules similar to criminal, civil, commercial, and administrative law, defining how people should live as subjects of the state.

After Emperor Tenmu’s death, the policy was carried on by Empress Jito, who ascended the throne from the position of empress.
The state steadily took shape as a ritsuryo system, and Empress Jito’s daughter later became Empress Genmei.
Empress Genmei moved the capital to Heijo-kyo, a planned city modeled on Tang Chang’an, as the center of government under the ritsuryo system, ushering in the Nara Period.

The culture from the arrival of Buddhism to the Taika Reform is known as Asuka culture.
It was strongly shaped by Buddhism, and is also known for architecture and Buddhist statues influenced by India, Persia, Greece, and countries along the Silk Road.

What arrived through envoys to Sui and through Baekje wasn’t limited to Buddhism: architecture, civil engineering, gardens, sculpture, painting, crafts, and performing arts also reached Japan.
Religions such as Confucianism and Taoism were introduced during this period as well.

The Sai-in Garan at Horyu-ji, centered on the five-story pagoda, is regarded as the world’s oldest surviving wooden architecture.
Its grounds also hold major works of the period, including the Shaka Triad in the Kondo (Golden Hall), the Kudara Kannon at the Kudara Kannon-do, and the Tamamushi Shrine in the Daihozoin.

From the Taika Reform to the move to Heijo-kyo, Hakuhou culture flourished around Fujiwara-kyo.
To strengthen Buddhism as a national faith, many temples were built and Buddhist statues were actively produced.
Among the most famous are the Yakushi Triad in the Kondo at Yakushi-ji and the bronze Buddha head at Kofuku-ji.

With many nobles and scholars fleeing from Baekje, the court from Emperor Tenji onward began composing Chinese poetry and prose.
Traditional orally transmitted songs also evolved under Chinese poetic influence into choka and tanka forms, based on five- and seven-syllable patterns.
From the 7th century, writing Japanese using Chinese characters began, leading to the full development of waka poetry.
As nobles started composing waka, distinctly Japanese literature was born.

Opened in 1895 as Japan’s second national museum. Its collection focuses on Japanese Buddhist art from the Asuka Period through the Kamakura Period, including many National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties such as Buddhist statues and ritual objects.
Located in a corner of Nara Park, surrounded by Todai-ji, Kofuku-ji, and Kasuga Taisha, it’s a relaxed place to learn about Buddhist art and the rich history and culture behind it.

One of Japan’s oldest temples.
Founded by Abe no Kurahashimaro, who became Minister of the Left during the Taika Reform in 645, as the clan temple of the Abe family.
The “West Kofun” is a Special Historic Site of Japan built in the Asuka Period. Said to be Abe no Kurahashimaro’s tomb, its interior remains in the same condition as when it was established in 645, making it extremely rare.
Its construction technique is often considered among the finest in Japan.

Omi Jingu stands on the site of Omi Otsu-no-miya, which served as Japan’s capital for five years from 667.
It enshrines Emperor Tenji (the 38th emperor), who helped lead the Taika Reform as Prince Naka no Oe and moved the capital from Asuka in Nara to Otsu in Omi.
It is one of 16 Chokusaisha shrines nationwide. At its annual festival on April 20, an imperial messenger traditionally attended on behalf of the emperor.