Prince Shōtoku

Timeline

1. 574–593Yamato Province (present-day Nara Prefecture) · Yamato ProvinceBorn a son of Emperor Yōmei, he was clever from childhood; according to tradition he could listen to ten people speaking at once, earning the epithet 'Toyotsumimi'. As a youth he studied Buddhism under the Goguryeo monk Hyeja and Confucianism with the scholar Kakuga, laying a deep foundation in Chinese culture.
2. 593–604Ikaruga Palace (present-day Ikaruga Town, Nara Prefecture) · Yamato ProvinceAfter Empress Suiko acceded in 593 he became regent and effectively directed court affairs. In 600 he sent an embassy to Sui, in 603 promulgated the Twelve-Level Cap and Rank system, granting official ranks by personal ability and breaking the hereditary nobility's monopoly on office; the same year he began drafting the Seventeen-Article Constitution.
3. 604–622Ikaruga Palace (present-day Ikaruga Town, Nara Prefecture) · Yamato ProvinceIn 604 he promulgated the Seventeen-Article Constitution, regulating the conduct of officials in the spirit of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, emphasizing loyalty and harmony. In 607 he sent Ono no Imoko to lead an embassy to Sui, with a letter styling him 'the Son of Heaven where the sun rises' asserting Japan's independent diplomatic standing. He oversaw the construction of Hōryū-ji, Shitennō-ji and other Buddhist temples and personally annotated three Buddhist sutras, making Buddhism officially the state religion. He died in 622, leaving a far-reaching historical influence.