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The Yamato (大和) were the dominant peoples of ancient Japan, and the ancestors of most modern Japanese people. By the Nara period, they had for the most part subdued all non-Yamato peoples of the 3 main islands Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu (the Ainu of northern Honshu and Hokkaido were not subdued until much later). Most of the non-Yamato peoples of the 3 main islands were fully integrated by the Kamakura period, though some people believe small populations remained until even the early 20th century in the Japanese Alps and rural Kyushu.

The Yamato Regime

The Yamato were known for grandeur at the time, departing from the previous Yayoi regime by building immense tomb mounds for their aristocracy. One such tomb mound built in Nintoku and still extant is over five football fields long, and has more mass than the Egyptian Pyramid of Cheops. This tradition was inherited from the previous Kofun people.

Chinese influence during the early periods of Japanese development was quite extensive, and the first Japanese state of Yamato was an inheritor to many overseas traditions. One of it was a political system. And Japan also imported from China Chinese writing in order to record Japanese names.

TheBaekje the kingdom in south korean peninsula presented two gifts to the Yamato emperor Kimmei: a Buddhist statue and a Confucian scholar, beginning the extensive Japanese adaptation of the two philosophies.

Most importantly in this period however, is the reign of Empress Suiko (592-628). Relations with Baekje broke down in the later 6th century. By extension of traditions they had already imported, China remained an influential model.

China, the Constitution, and Prince Shotoku

Following the death of the Emperor Yomei, who was a practitioner and supporter of Buddhist ideals in Japan, his sister the Empress Suiko came to power. Empress Suiko's nephew, the regent Prince Shotoku, is perhaps the most important figure of his time. The Yamato government was suffering from three major problems. First, the Yamato aristocracy itself was feuding. Secondly, an incredible number of Korea refugees were fleeing to Japan seeking sanctuary from troubles at home. Thirdly, because the Korean-Japanese treaties had been broken, Japan was suddenly without a stable ally, which placed a great amount of weight on the government's shoulders.

To stabilise matters, the Yamato government sent envoys to the Chinese court, from which they obtained a great wealth of philosophical and social structure. In addition to ethics of government, they also adopted the Chinese calendar and many of its religious practices, including Chinese Buddhism and Taoism (Jp: Onmyo). All these changes were instituted by Prince Shotoku, who also proscribed a new constitution for Japan based on the Chinese model. This came to be known as the Kenpo Jushichijo and is the earliest piece of formal Japanese writing known today.

The constitution removed power from the clans (Jp: Uji) and gave it directly to the Emperor, whose power was then stated to come from Heaven itself. In addition, prince Shotoku also built up the Buddhist Tenno-ji, an institutional complex which included libraries, hospitals, schools, colleges, and dispensaries. Throughout this entire period then, Shotoku, despite being called Prince, was in fact the de-facto ruler of Japan, and continued to be so for three decades.

The Constitution Shotoku had drafted was deeply Confucian, stating that harmony and moral integrity were necessary to running the state. It additionally included that the Emperor must place great value on the Three Treasures of Buddhism - Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha - and that it was the responsibility of the Emperor, given Heavenly appointment, to look after the welfare of his people. The Constitution in fact was not written in the spirit of applying the law, but rather became a treatise on moral and spiritual conduct.

After prince Shotoku's death in 662, the Soga clan's ambitious nature eventually lead to a coup against their stewardship of Imperial affairs. Following the Soga's execution of Shotoku's heir, the Yamato court had the Soga leadership executed, followed by the succession of Emperor Kotoku. Emperor Kotoku was, like Shotoku, a devout Buddhist, and removed the exclusive control of sponsorship from the Soga clan, placing it then under government sponsorship directly. This and other such reformations came to be known as the Taika Reform Edicts of 645 AD. It was during this period that the Emperor's power and ideals of Heavenly Appointment became wholly consolidated, and ensured Japan's imperial heritage.

See also

• Gokishichido

External links

• Prince Shotoku
• Prince Shotoku
• Yamato Period
• Asuka Period
• Kofun Period
• Horyu-ji Temple
• Kenpo Jushichijo

• Ethnic groups of Japan
• History of Japan