Prince Shōtoku (聖徳太子 c. 574-622) was a regent and a politician of the Imperial Court in Japan. This picture was drawn by
Kikuchi Yosai（菊池容斎） who was a painter in Japan.
Prince Shōtoku (聖徳太子, Shōtoku Taishi?, 573–621), also known as Prince Umayado (厩戸皇子, Umayado no ōji?), was a
regent and a politician of the Asuka period in
Japan.
According to the Nihon Shoki, Shōtoku succeeded in establishing a centralized
government during his reign. In 603, he established the twelve official ranks at court. The
Seventeen-article constitution was promulgated, and is often attributed
to Prince Shōtoku, though some scholars today doubt if he wrote this constitution, because of style. In 607, he sent a mission led by Ono no Imoko to the Sui Dynasty.
He was a proponent of Buddhism, and commissioned the Shitennō-ji Temple in Settsu province (present-day Osaka). He was interested in mainland Asian cultures, particularly the Chinese culture.
His name has long been linked with Hōryū-ji in Yamato
province. Documents at Hōryū-ji claim it was founded by Suiko and Shōtoku in 607; moreover,
excavations done in 1939 confirmed that Prince Shotoku's palace, the Ikaruga-no-miya (斑鳩宮), occupied the eastern part of the
current temple complex, where the Tō-in (東院) sits today.[1]
In these years, China took the first steps toward to opening relations with Japan. the Sui Emperor of China, Yangdi (kensui taishi) is said to have dispatched a message in 605 which said:
- "The sovereign of Sui respectfully inquires about the sovereign of Wa."[2]
In response, Prince Shōtoku is considered to have authored the earliest written instance in which the Japanese archipelago is
named "Nihon," which what the Japanese call their island nation today. In 607, he is said to have
caused this salutation to be written:
- "From the sovereign of the land of the rising sun (nihon/hi izuru) to the sovereign of the land of the setting
sun."[3]
He is known by several titles and his real name is Prince Umayado (厩戸皇子, Umayado no ōji?, literally the
prince of the stable door) since he was born in front of a stable. He is also known as Toyosatomimi (豊聡耳, Toyosatomimi?) or
Kamitsumiyaō (上宮王, Kamitsumiyaō?). In the
Kojiki, his name appears as Kamitsumiya no Umayado no Toyosatomimi no Mikoto
(上宮之厩戸豊聡耳命, Kamitsumiya no
Umayado no Toyosatomimi no Mikoto?). In the
Nihon Shoki, in addition to Umayado no ōji, he is referred as 豊耳聡聖徳, 豊聡耳法大王, and 法主王.
The popular name Prince Shōtoku first appeared in Kaifūsō written in
751, more than a hundred years after his death.
References
- Varley, H. Paul. (1973). Japanese Culture: A Short History. New York: Praeger Publishers.
- Varley, H. Paul , ed. (1980). [ Kitabatake Chikafusa (1359)],
Jinnō Shōtōki ("A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki of Kitabatake
Chikafusa" translated by H. Paul Varley). New York: Columbia University
Press. ISBN 0-231-04940-4
See also
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