, also known as or , was a semi-legendary

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

and a politician of the

Asuka period The was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 (or 592 to 645), although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

who served under

Empress Suiko (554 – 15 April 628) was the 33rd monarch of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 推古天皇 (33)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Suiko reigned from 593 until her death in 628. In the history of Japa ...

. He was the son of Emperor Yōmei and his consort, Princess Anahobe no Hashihito, who was also Yōmei's younger half-sister. But later, he was adopted by Prince Shōtoken. His parents were relatives of the ruling Soga clan and also he was involved in the defeat of the rival

Mononobe clan The was a Japanese aristocratic kin group (''uji'') of the Kofun period, known for its military opposition to the Soga clan. The Mononobe were opposed to the spread of Buddhism, partly on religious grounds, claiming that the local deities w ...

. The primary source of the life and accomplishments of Prince Shōtoku comes from the '' Nihon Shoki''. The Prince is renowned for modernizing the government administration and for promoting

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

in Japan. Over successive generations, a devotional cult arose around the figure of Prince Shōtoku for the protection of Japan, the Imperial Family, and for

. Key religious figures such as

Saichō was a Japanese Buddhist monk credited with founding the Tendai school of Buddhism based on the Chinese Tiantai school he was exposed to during his trip to Tang China beginning in 804. He founded the temple and headquarters of Tendai at Enryak ...

Shinran ''Popular Buddhism in Japan: Shin Buddhist Religion & Culture'' by Esben Andreasen, pp. 13, 14, 15, 17. University of Hawaii Press 1998, was a Japanese Buddhist monk, who was born in Hino (now a part of Fushimi, Kyoto) at the turbulent close o ...

and others claimed inspiration or visions attributed to Prince Shōtoku.

Genealogy

Parents *Father: Emperor Yōmei (用明天皇, 517 – 21 May 587) *Mother: (Empress) Princess Anahobe no Hashihito (穴穂部間人皇女, d 622) Wives *Princess Uji no Kaitako (菟道貝蛸皇女, b.570), daughter of

Emperor Bidatsu was the 30th Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')敏達天皇 (30) retrieved 2013-1-31. according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession. The years of reign of Bidatsu start in 572 and end in 58 ...

and

*Tachibana-no-Oiratsume, daughter of Prince Owari (橘大郎女) **Son: Prince Shiragabe (白髪部王; d.30 December 643), **Daughter: Princess Tejima (手島女王;30 December 643) *Tojiko no Iratsume, daughter of

Soga no Umako was the son of Soga no Iname and a member of the powerful Soga clan of Japan. Umako conducted political reforms with Prince Shōtoku during the rules of Emperor Bidatsu and Empress Suiko and established the Soga clan's stronghold in the g ...

and Lady Mononobe (刀自古郎女) ** Son: Prince Yamashiro (山背大兄王; 30 December 643) ** Daughter: Princess Zai (財王; 30 December 643) ** Son: Prince Hioki (日置王; 30 December 643) ** Daughter: Princess Kataoka (片岡女王; 30 December 643) *Lady Kawashide no Iratsume (膳大郎女) **Son: Prince Hatsuse no Okimi (泊瀬王; 30 December 643) ** Son: Prince Saegusa (三枝王;30 December 643) ** Son: Prince Tomoshiko (伊止志古王; 30 December 643) ** Son: Prince Asaryoko (麻呂古王; 30 December 643) ** Daughter: Queen Tsukishine (舂米女王; 30 December 643) married to Prince Yamashiro ** Daughter: Princess Kunami (久波太女王; 30 December 643) ** Daughter: Princess Torybushi (波止利女王; 30 December 643) ** Daughter: Princess Umayako (馬屋古女王; 30 December 643)

Biography

Prince Shotoku at Age 14 as Buddhist Pilgrim, 14th century

According to tradition, Shōtoku was appointed regent (''Sesshō'') in 593 by

(554–628), his aunt. Shōtoku, inspired by the Buddha's teachings, succeeded in establishing a centralized government during his reign. In 603, he established the

Twelve Level Cap and Rank System , established in 603, was the first of what would be several similar cap and rank systems established during the Asuka period of Japanese history. It was adapted from similar systems that were already in place in Sui dynasty China, Paekche and Ko ...

at the court. He is credited with promulgating the

seventeen-article constitution The is, according to the '' Nihon Shoki'' of 720, a document authored by Prince Shōtoku in 604. It was adopted in the reign of Empress Suiko. The emphasis of the document is not so much on the basic laws by which the state was to be governed, suc ...

. Shōtoku was an ardent Buddhist and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the ''

Sangyō Gisho The is the title of three annotated commentaries on important Buddhist sutras: , , and . ''Hokke Gisho'' An annotated commentary on the ''Lotus Sutra''; four volumes in length. It is based on the annotated text ''Fa Hua Yi Ji'' (法華義記) b ...

'' or "Annotated Commentaries on the Three Sutras" (the ''

Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' ( zh, 妙法蓮華經; sa, सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्रम्, translit=Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram, lit=Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma, italic=) is one of the most influ ...

'', the ''

Vimalakirti Sutra The ''Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa'' (Devanagari: विमलकीर्तिनिर्देश) (sometimes referred to as the ''Vimalakīrti Sūtra'' or ''Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra'') is a Buddhist text which centers on a lay Buddhist meditat ...

'', and the ''

Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra The ''Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra'' (, '' of Queen Śrīmālā'') is one of the main early Mahāyāna Buddhist texts belonging to the Tathāgatagarbha sūtras that teaches the doctrines of Buddha-nature and "One Vehicle" through the w ...

''). The first of these commentaries, '' Hokke Gisho'', is traditionally dated to 615 and thus regarded as "the first Japanese text", in turn making Shōtoku the first known Japanese writer. In the late 6th century, Shōtoku led an enormous national project to promote

and he commissioned the construction of Shitennō-ji. The Buddhist temple was built in

Settsu Province was a province of Japan, which today comprises the southeastern part of Hyōgo Prefecture and the northern part of Osaka Prefecture. It was also referred to as or . Osaka and Osaka Castle were the main center of the province. Most of Set ...

(present-day

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

) after his military victory against the powerful

, for he is said to have summoned them to crush his enemies. Shōtoku's name has been linked with Hōryū-ji, a temple in

Yamato Province was a province of Japan, located in Kinai, corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2005). "Yamato" in . It was also called . Yamato consists of two characters, 大 "great", and 和 " Wa". At first, th ...

, and numerous other temples in the Kansai region. Documentation at Hōryū-ji claims that Suiko and Shōtoku founded the temple in the year 607. Archaeological excavations in 1939 have confirmed that Prince Shōtoku's palace, the ''Ikaruga no miya'' (斑鳩宮), stood in the eastern part of the current temple complex, where the ''Tō-in'' (東院) sits today. Despite being credited as the founder of Japanese

, it is also said that the Prince respected

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shint ...

and never visited Buddhist temples without visiting Shinto shrines. In his correspondence with

Emperor Yang of Sui Emperor Yang of Sui (隋煬帝, 569 – 11 April 618), personal name Yang Guang (), alternative name Ying (), Xianbei name Amo (), also known as Emperor Ming of Sui () during the brief reign of his grandson Yang Tong, was the second emperor ...

, Shōtoku's letter contains the earliest known written instance in which the Japanese archipelago is referred to by a term meaning "land of the rising sun." The Sui Emperor had dispatched a message in 605 that said, "the sovereign of Sui respectfully inquires about the sovereign of Wa," and Shōtoku responded by sponsoring a mission led by

Ono no Imoko was a Japanese politician and diplomat in the late 6th and early 7th century, during the Asuka period. Ono was appointed by Empress Suiko as an official envoy ( Kenzuishi) to the Sui court in 607 (Imperial embassies to China), and he delivere ...

in 607, who brought along a note reading: "From the sovereign of the

land of the rising sun The word ''Japan'' is an exonym, and is used (in one form or another) by many languages. The Japanese names for Japan are Nippon () and Nihon (). They are both written in Japanese using the kanji . During the third-century CE Three Kingdoms peri ...

(''hi izuru tokoro'') to the sovereign of the land of the setting sun." He is said to have been buried at Shinaga in

Kawachi Province was a province of Japan in the eastern part of modern Osaka Prefecture. It originally held the southwestern area that was split off into Izumi Province. It was also known as . Geography The area was radically different in the past, with Kawac ...

(modern

Osaka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Nar ...

Legends

A legend claims that when

Bodhidharma Bodhidharma was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. According to a 17th century apo ...

came to Japan, he met with Prince Shōtoku whilst under the guise of a starving beggar. The Prince asked the beggar to identify himself, but the man did not reply. Instead of going ahead, Shōtoku gave him food, drink, and covered him with his purple garment, telling him to "lie in peace". Shōtoku then sang for the starving man. ''Alas! For ''The wayfarer lying ''And hungered for rice ''On the hill of Kataoka (The sunshiny) ''Art thou become ''Parentless? ''Hast thou no lord ''Flourishing as a bamboo? ''Alas! For ''The wayfarer lying ''And hungered for rice!'' The second day, Shōtoku sent a messenger to the starving man, but he was already dead. Hereupon, he was greatly grieved and ordered his burial. Shōtoku later thought the man was no ordinary man for sure, and sending another messenger, discovered the earth had not been disturbed. On opening the tomb there was no body inside, and the Prince's purple garment lay folded on the coffin. The Prince then sent another messenger to claim the garment, and he continued to wear it just as before. Struck by awe, the people praised the Prince: "How true it is that a sage knoweth a sage." This legend is linked with the temple of Daruma-dera in

Ōji, Nara is a town located in Kitakatsuragi District, Nara Prefecture, Japan. As of April 1, 2015, the town has an estimated population of 22,791 and 9,771 households, and a density of around 3,000 people per km². The total area is 7.00 km². Cu ...

, where a stone stupa was found underground, which is exceedingly rare.

Titles and name

Shōtoku is known by several titles, although his real name is since he was born in front of a stable. He is also known as or . In the ''

Kojiki The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...

'', his name appears as . In the '' Nihon Shoki'', in addition to ''Umayado no ōji'', he is referred to as ''Toyosamimi Shōtoku'' (豊聡耳聖徳), ''Toyosatomimi no Nori no Ōkami'' (豊聡耳法大王), and simply ''Nori no Ushi no Ōkami'' (法主王). The name by which he is best known today, ''Prince Shōtoku'', first appeared in '' Kaifūsō'', written more than 100 years after his death in 622 AD.

Legacy

A number of institutes are named after Shōtoku, such as Shotoku Gakuen University and its associated junior college (both in

Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku p ...

). The first syllable of his name (聖), can be read ''shō'' in

Go-on are one of the several possible ways of reading Japanese kanji. They are based on the classical pronunciations of Chinese characters of the then- prestigious eastern Jiankang (now Nanjing) dialect. ''Go-on'' preceded the readings. Both ''go-on ...

and can also be read ''sei'' in

Kan-on is one of the sources of pronunciation of Japanese kanji. They were borrowed during the Tang dynasty (7th to 9th century), introduced by, among others, envoys from Japanese missions to Tang China. This period corresponds with the Japanese Nara ...

. The later reading is found in Seitoku University and its associated junior college (both in

Matsudo, Chiba 260px, Matsudo City Hall is a city in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 498,575 in 242,981 households and a population density of 8100 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Matsudo is locat ...

) as well as Tokyo's defunct Seitoku Junior College of Nutrition (and indirectly its replacement Seiei College).

Currency

The portrait of Prince Shōtoku has appeared on 100, 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 yen bills. Two bills made with different types of materials and special inks with a face value of 100,000,000 (one hundred million yen) were also issued. The characteristic of these bills is that they have a border around it to prevent its alteration. As characteristics, it has a seal and figures in different positions starting from the middle outwards. The measurements of these 2 issues of bills are 35.3 cm x 16 cm and the other with a small variation of 34.3 by 16.5 cm. These cloth tickets were used for the exchange of important values.

Gallery

Painting

File:Shotoku Taishi k.jpg, Painting of Shōtoku and two attendants, from Kakurin-ji temple in Kakogawa.

Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, an ...

File:MET 29 100 508.jpg, Silk painting of Shōtoku at age sixteen. Nanboku-chō Period, 14th century File:Shotoku Taishi Aged 16 (Toyama).jpg, Silk painting of Shōtoku at age sixteen File:Tenjyukoku embroidery.jpg, The '' Tenjukoku Shūchō Mandala'', created to commemorate Shōtoku's death (622 CE) File:Prince Shotoku with Two Princes by Kano Osanobu 1842.png, Shōtoku with younger brother (left: Prince Eguri) and first son (right: Prince Yamashiro) File:Umayado Miko.jpg, Drawing of Shōtoku by Kikuchi Yōsai (1781–1878) File:Shotoku Taishi by Kogan Zenji.jpg, Painting of Shōtoku by Kogan Zenji, 1800.

Sculpture

File:Shotoku Taishi-Rijksmuseum AK-BR-JAN-1.jpeg, Statue of Shōtoku as a child, with hands pressed together in worship. Circa 1200-1350 CE File:Shotoku Taishi.jpg, Wooden statue of Prince Shōtoku in the

Guimet Museum The Guimet Museum (full name in french: Musée national des arts asiatiques-Guimet; MNAAG; ) is an art museum located at 6, place d'Iéna in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. Literally translated into English, its full name is the Nation ...

File:Asuka dera Prince Shotoku.jpg, Shōtoku as a

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

at Asuka-dera temple File:Horyuji Monastery Shotoku Taishi of Shoryoin (331).jpg, Sculpture of Shōtoku from Hōryū-ji temple

Notes

References

* Como, Michael A. (2008). ''Shotoku: Ethnicity, Ritual and Violence in the Japanese Buddhist Tradition''. New York: Oxford University Press. * Varley, H. Paul (1973). ''Japanese Culture: A Short History.'' New York: Praeger Publishers. * Varley, Paul (1980). ''Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns.'' New York: Columbia University Press.
OCLC 59145842

Bibliography

* Pradel, Chari (2008). Shoko Mandara and the Cult of Prince Shotoku in the Kamakura Period, Artibus Asiae 68 (2), 215–46

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shotoku Taishi 574 births 622 deaths Japanese princes Sesshō and Kampaku Regents of Japan People of Asuka-period Japan Shinran Deified Japanese people Buddhism in the Asuka period Japanese Buddhist monarchs Sons of emperors