TheTaika Reforms (大化の改新,"Taika no Kaishin, Reformation of Taika") were a set of doctrines established byEmperor Kōtoku (孝徳天皇Kōtokutennō) in the year 645. They were written shortly after the death ofPrince Shōtoku and the defeat of theSoga clan (蘇我氏Soga no uji), unitingJapan. The reforms also artistically marked the end of theAsuka period and the beginning of theHakuhō period.[1][2] Crown Prince Naka no Ōe (the futureEmperor Tenji),Nakatomi no Kamatari, and Emperor Kōtoku jointly embarked on the details of the Reforms. Emperor Kōtoku then announced the era of "Taika" (大化), or "Great Reform".
The Reform began withland reform, based onConfucian ideas andphilosophies fromTang 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 theChinese writing system,literature,religion, andarchitecture, to even dietary habits at this time. Even today, the impact of the reforms can still be seen in contemporaryJapanese cultural life.
Background
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After the regency ofShōtoku Taishi ended, theSoga clan, from which Shōtoku's ancestry was derived, took hegemony of theYamato court. The clan was opposed to Shōtoku's sonYamashiro Ōe and killed him in 643. Under the reign ofEmpress 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 brotherKaru, the emperor's son,Prince Naka no Ōe, along with his friendNakatomi no Kamatari, and his son-in-lawSoga 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 beEmperor Kōtoku.
The new emperor, together with the Imperial PrinceNaka 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 accompaniedOno no Imoko in travels toSui China, where they stayed for more than a decade), were assigned to the position ofKuni no Hakase (国博士; National doctorate). 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 butEmperor (in Japanese,Tennō), who exercised absolute authority. The reform was much inspired by theJapanese missions to China in the Sui and Tang dynasties, and sought toemulate China's system of centralized imperial control andConfucianism.[3]
Reform
editFrom 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.[4] The major objective was to reassert imperial authority through reorganizing the government, including abolishing thekabane hereditary title system previously in place.[3] A major reform on thelaw include theTaihō (Great Law) Code written in 702, consisting of criminal and administrative laws modeled after Tang China, leading to theritsuryō system.[3] New offices created include that of theDaijō daijin (chancellor), who presided over theDajōkan (Grand Council of State), which included theMinister of the Left, theMinister of the Right, eight central government ministries, and a prestigiousMinistry of Deities.[3]
Locally, the country was reorganized into 66imperial provinces and 592 counties, withappointed governors.[3] Subjects were to be surveyed, land was to be nationalized and redistributed, and private weapons were to be stored in government armories.[3] A land tax, military service and labor obligations were instituted on subjects.[3] A permanent capital was also established inNara, emulating the grid system ofTang China's capitalXi'an.[3] An exam system was also established, although unlike in China, it was open only to those from noble families.[3] The role of women became much more restricted in Japan, especially in official domains, in emulation of China.[3]
The Reform Edicts severely curtailed the independence of regional officials and constituted the imperial court as a place of appeal and complaint about 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. A legal code was enacted, with a reformed bureaucracy and law.[3] Nonetheless, powerful clans continue to exercise power in the imperial court and in regional governments.[3] It would take centuries for the conceptual idea of the Chinese-style emperor to take root in Japan.[5] Chinese civilization, including its art, philosophy, literature and architecture, would become much more entrenched in Japan compared to China's system of government.[3]
See also
edit- Shōen—the form of Japanese fiefdom that developed after the Taika Reforms.
References
edit- ^Fred S. Kleiner, Christin J. Mamiya (2005).Gardner's art through the ages. Belmont, CA:Thomson/Wadsworth. p. 222.ISBN 0-534-64095-8.
- ^Rowthorne, Chris (2003).Lonely Planet Japan. Hawthorn:Lonely Planet Publications. pp. 34.ISBN 1-74059-162-3.
- ^abcdefghijklmHane, Mikiso; Perez, Louis G. (2014). Premodern Japan: a Historical Survey. (Second edition ed.). Boulder, CO.ISBN 978-0-8133-4970-1.
- ^Asakawa, K. (1963).The Early Institutional Life of Japan: A Study in Reform of 645, p. 267.
- ^Batten, Bruce. "Foreign Threat and Domestic Reform: The Emergence of the Ritsuryo State," Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 41, No. 2 (Summer, 1986), pp. 199-219.