What was shotoku legacy

Recognized as a great intellectual in period of reform, Shotoku was a devout Buddhist but was also well read in Chinese literature and influenced by Chinese philisophy and political thought. Shotoku Taishi Prince Shotoku is one of the best-know figures of Japanese history.

Sometimes called the founder of the Japanese nation, he has appeared on Japanese banknotes more than any other person — three times before World War II and four times after for a total of seven times. Prince Shotoku was the nephew of Empress Suiko and served as regent and trusted advisor on matters of civil administration during her reign. He is recorded in the Kojiki Record of Ancient Matters, and the Nihon shoki Chronicles of Japan, as having been a great Buddhist scholar and statesman who lived in early Japan He dispatched an official diplomatic delegation to China, established the Seventeen Article Constitution in A.

A famous 8th century hanging scroll painting n the collection of Horyuji Temple shows Prince Shotoku as a bureaucrat dressed in Chinese-style court clothes in official headgear and aristocratic shoes, holding a wooden paddle-like object that is a crib sheet required for court rituals. He is shown carrying a jeweled sword, the imperial symbol of political and military authority. Another surviving depiction dates to later times, shows Shotoku the scholar and dedicated sponsor of Buddhism.

He is depicted wearing ceremonial court dress and lecturing on the sacred texts, the sutras. Under Shotoku Buddhism became the state religion, scriptures, art and craftsmen were brought in from Korea and Japanese monks were sent abroad to study. Temples were founded, monks were ordained and ceremonies were held publically. Aileen Kawagoe wrote in Heritage of Japan: Prince Shotoku is renowned for his patronage of Buddhist temples that brought about a flowering of Buddhist arts and culture.

When Empress Suiko declared her acceptance of Buddhism in , in the same year, Prince Shotoku ordered the construction of Shitennoji Temple in present-day Osaka.

Thought of as a dedicated Buddhist scholar who composed commentaries on the Lotus Sutra, the Vimalakirti Sutra, and the Sutra of Queen Srimala, he is also credited with having founded the Horyuji Temple in the Yamato province.

Documentation at Horyuji temple substantiate Prince Shotoku along with Empress Suiko as founders of the temple during the year The earliest sources indicate that the promotion of Shotoku worship was initiated by the imperial family, particularly through two significant historical books, the Kojiki Record of Ancient Matters, and the Nihon shoki Chronicles of Japan, , and was sanctioned by imperial command.

Through the prevalent Shinto mythology linking the imperial descent from the goddess Amaterasu and by elevating the Prince Shotoku as charismatic sage, benevolent and humanistic patron, ideal regent, and giving him kami status, the imperial court successfully promoted Shotoku as imperial ancestor and national hero.

Shotoku was influenced by Confucian principles, including the Mandate of Heaven, which suggested that the sovereign ruled at the will of a supreme force. In addition, Shotoku adopted the Chinese calendar, developed a system of highways, built numerous Buddhist temples, had court chronicles compiled, sent students to China to study Buddhism and Confucianism, and established formal diplomatic relations with China.

This was the first concept of world negation in Japan. Prince Shotoku issued a document known as Article of the Constitution. Confucianism stresses the importance of education for moral development of the individual so that the state can be governed by moral virtue rather than by the use of coercive laws.

Lead the people with administrative injunctions and put them in their place with penal law, and they will avoid punishments but will be without a sense of shame.

Lead them with excellence and put them in their place through roles and ritual practices, and in addition to developing a sense of shame, they will order themselves harmoniously. The Prince Imperial Shotoku in person prepared laws for the first time. There were seventeen clauses, as follows: 1 Harmony should be valued and quarrels should be avoided.

Everyone has his biases, and few men are far. Therefore some disobey their lords and fathers and keep up feuds with their neighbors. But when the superiors are in harmony with each other and the inferiors are friendly, then affairs are discussed quietly and the right view of matters prevails.

Few men are so bad that they cannot be taught their truth. He is like Heaven, which is above the Earth, and the vassal is like the Earth, which bears up Heaven. When Heaven and Earth are properly in place, the four seasons follow their course and all is well in Nature. But if the Earth attempts to take the place of Heaven, Heaven would simply fall in ruin.

That is why the vassal listens when the lord speaks, and the inferior obeys when the superior acts. Consequently when you receive the commands of your Sovereign, do not fail to carry them out or ruin will be the natural result. Therefore when lord and vassal behave with propriety, the distinctions of rank are not confused: when the people behave properly the Government will be in good order.

If the man who is to decide suits at law makes gain his motive, and hears cases with a view to receiving bribes, then the suits of the rich man will be like a stone flung into water, meeting no resistance, while the complaints of the poor will be like water thrown upon a stone. In these circumstances the poor man will not know where to go, nor will he behave as he should.

This was the excellent rule of antiquity. Therefore do not hide the good qualities of others or fail to correct what is wrong when you see it. Flatterers and deceivers are a sharp weapon for the overthrow of the state, and a sharp sword for the destruction of the people. Men of this kind are never loyal to their lord, or to the people.

All this is a source of serious civil disturbances. There is the distant sound of water tumbling down a rocky streambed. A bright green…. Was it worth it? I hopped on the shinkansen to Osaka to…. The ancient capital witnessed a drop of 88 percent in inbound….

Bonsai artisan and horticulturist Yoshinobu Tabata says that his work has no end. Around horse-riding flag-bearing samurai warriors in armor sprinting across the fields is a sight that warps all sense of reality. But it opens a convincing portal to the past for three…. Kansai Travel TW Collabs. Published June 25, Genmaian After Horyuji, take a break at nearby Genmaian. Stay: Gyokuzo-in What better way to spend the night than on a mountain of miracles? Funchana For a bite to eat after visiting Tatsuta-taisha Shrine, stop by Funchana, which is conveniently located close to Sango Station, the nearest hub to the shrine.

Day 3 Naramachi Spend the morning exploring the Naramachi area to get a firsthand feel of how Nara seamlessly mixes the contemporary with the ancient outside of shrine and temple complexes.

Naramachi Shunsai Hiyori Stay in the Naramachi area for lunch. Daianji Temple Daianji Temple has a long and complicated history. Not Enough Nara Yet? Surely wa is a concept that transcends historical eras and appeals to our better nature. It should be pointed out, however, that in many ways the life of Prince Shotoku remains an enigma. Some research indicates that he never really was crown prince or regent or that it was a triumvirate of himself, Empress Suiko and Soga Umako who jointly controlled politics, rather than his doing so alone.

All we can say with absolute certainty is that there are many unsolved puzzles related to Shotoku Taishi. In addition, Prince Shotoku is the subject of numerous legends, such as the episode when he miraculously ascended into the sky above Mt. Fuji on his beloved black steed Kurokoma, or the story that he was the reincarnation of a famous Chinese monk.

And the Imperial Household Agency has officially designated his tomb, as one of the Shinaga no Haka imperial tombs. This burial mound, very different in shape from earlier key-shaped kofun , is known as the Eifukuji Kita Kofun. It is to be found at the Eifukuji temple in the small town of Taishi in Osaka Prefecture. Special Buddhist ceremonies are also being carried out there through May Even with an Advance Timed-Entry Ticket, please be prepared to wait to enter the exhibition should the galleries be crowded.

Please present your disability certificate, membership card, etc. Since only a limited number of tickets are available for each hour-long window, we ask that you be so considerate as to visit the museum on the date and during the window that you reserve.

We are grateful for your understanding and cooperation. Admission is free for persons with disabilities and their caretaker. Admission is free for those with a Nara Hiroshi Premium Card on their first and second visit to the exhibition. Advance Timed-Entry Tickets Free can only be reserved one at a time.

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