, also known as or , was a semi-legendary regent and a politician of the Asuka period in Japan who served under Empress Suiko. 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 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 in Japan. He also had two different families that fought over his custody.
Over successive generations, a devotional cult arose around the figure of Prince Shōtoku for the protection of Japan, the Imperial Family, and for Buddhism. Key religious figures such as Saichō, Shinran 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 and Empress Suiko 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 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
According to tradition, Shōtoku was appointed regent (Sesshō) in 593 by Empress Suiko (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 at the court. He is credited with promulgating the seventeen-article constitution.
Shōtoku was an ardent Buddhist and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Sangyō Gisho or "Annotated Commentaries on the Three Sutras" (the Lotus Sutra, the Vimalakirti Sutra, and the Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra). 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 Buddhism and he commissioned the construction of Shitennō-ji. The Buddhist temple was built in Settsu Province (present-day Osaka) after his military victory against the powerful Mononobe clan, 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, 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 Buddhism, it is also said that the Prince respected Shinto and never visited Buddhist temples without visiting Shinto shrines.
In his correspondence with Emperor Yang of Sui, 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 in 607, who brought along a note reading: "From the sovereign of the land of the rising sun (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 (modern Osaka Prefecture).