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The two most important political innovations in ancient Japan were the Seventeen Article Constitution of Prince Shotoku (c. 604) and the Taika Reform Edicts of Emperor Kotoku. The regency of Shotoku was followed by a coup against the ruling Soga clan, from which Shotoku was derived. The new emperor Kotoku, together with the Imperial Prince Naka no Ohoye, issued a series of reform measures that culminated in the Taika Reform Edicts in 645. These edicts were written and sponsored by Confucian scholars in the Yamato court and 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, Tenno) that ruled by the Decree of Heaven and exercised absolute authority. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The Taika Reforms (大化改新 Taika no Kaishin) were a set of doctrines established by the Emperor Kōtoku in the year 646. ... Seventeen-article constitution (十七条憲法 JÅ«shichijō kenpō). Established in 604 and said to be authored by Prince Shōtoku, the emphasis of the document was not so much on the basic laws by which the state was to be governed, such as we might expect from a modern constitution. ... Sculpture of Prince Shotoku in Asuka Dera, Asuka, Nara Prince Shōtoku (聖徳太子 574-622) was a regent and a politician of the Imperial Court in Japan. ... Events Saint Laurence becomes Archbishop of Canterbury. ... Emperor Kōtoku (孝徳天皇 Kōtoku Tennō) (596?- October 10, 654)1 was the 36th imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. ... A coup détat, or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ... The Soga clan was one of the most powerful clans in Yamato Japan. ... Reform can refer to: Reform (think tank) Reform, Alabama Reform Judaism Reform movement Reform Party (disambiguation page) See also: Reformation, Reformed This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Events End of the reign of Empress Kogyoku of Japan Emperor Kotoku ascends to the throne of Japan Byzantines recapture Alexandria from the Arabs Births Empress Jito of Japan Categories: 645 ... Confucianism (儒家 Pinyin: rújiā The School of the Scholars), sometimes translated as the School of Literati, is an East Asian ethical, religious and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of Confucius. ... His Majesty Emperor Akihito of Japan The Emperor of Japan (天皇 tennō) is the symbol of Japan, the unity of its people and the head of the Japanese Imperial Family. ...

After the edicts, Japan would no longer be composed of separate states, but provinces of the Emperor that would be ruled by a centralized bureaucracy. The Reform Edicts demanded that all government officials undergo a Chinese style civil service examination. It also 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 stop certain social practices to bring Japanese society in line with Chinese social practices. Japan, however, was still largely a Neolithic culture; it would take centuries for the ideal of the Chinese style emperor to take root. Wikinews has news related to: China The Great Wall of China, stretching over 6,700 km, was erected beginning in the 3rd century BC to protect the north from raiders on horseback. ... The Neolithic, (Greek neos=new, lithos=stone, or New Stone Age) was a period in the development of human technology that is traditionally the last part of the Stone Age. ...

External Links

• Taika Reform Edicts