Prince Shōtoku: Difference between revisions
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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Japanese medieval period began more that 500 years after his death! |
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==Cultural and political role== |
==Cultural and political role== |
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[[File:Shotoku Taishi by Kogan Zenji.jpg|thumb|100px|Shotoku Taishi by Kogan Zenji]] |
[[File:Shotoku Taishi by Kogan Zenji.jpg|thumb|100px|Shotoku Taishi by Kogan Zenji]] |
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Shōtoku was appointed as regent (''Sesshō'') in 593 by [[Empress Suiko]], his aunt. Shōtoku, inspired by 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 a [[Seventeen-article constitution]]. |
Shōtoku was appointed as regent (''Sesshō'') in 593 by [[Empress Suiko]], his aunt.{{fact|date=May 2014}} Shōtoku, inspired by 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 a [[Seventeen-article constitution]]. |
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The Prince was an ardent Buddhist and composed commentaries on the [[Lotus Sutra]], the [[Vimalakirti Sutra]], and the Sutra of [[Queen Srimala]]. He commissioned the [[Shitennō-ji]] (temple) in [[Settsu province]] (present-day [[Osaka, Osaka|Osaka]]). Shōtoku's name has been linked with [[Hōryū-ji]], a temple in [[Yamato province]]. 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.<ref name="ISBN0521223520">{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=x5mwgfPXK1kC&pg=PA175&lpg=PA175&dq=horyu+ji |chapter=The Asuka Enlightenment |title=The Cambridge History of Japan |page=175 |accessdate=2007-04-03 |publisher=Cambridge University |year=1988 |author=John Whitney Hall}}</ref> |
The Prince was an ardent Buddhist and composed commentaries on the [[Lotus Sutra]], the [[Vimalakirti Sutra]], and the Sutra of [[Queen Srimala]]. He commissioned the [[Shitennō-ji]] (temple) in [[Settsu province]] (present-day [[Osaka, Osaka|Osaka]]). Shōtoku's name has been linked with [[Hōryū-ji]], a temple in [[Yamato province]]. 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.<ref name="ISBN0521223520">{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=x5mwgfPXK1kC&pg=PA175&lpg=PA175&dq=horyu+ji |chapter=The Asuka Enlightenment |title=The Cambridge History of Japan |page=175 |accessdate=2007-04-03 |publisher=Cambridge University |year=1988 |author=John Whitney Hall}}</ref> |
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[[Category:Japanese princes]] |
[[Category:Japanese princes]] |
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[[Category:Sesshō and Kampaku]] |
[[Category:Sesshō and Kampaku]] |
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[[Category:Medieval legislators]] |
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[[Category:Regents of Japan]] |
[[Category:Regents of Japan]] |
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[[Category:People of Asuka-period Japan]] |
[[Category:People of Asuka-period Japan]] |
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Revision as of 15:45, 9 May 2014
| Prince Shōtoku | |
|---|---|
 Prince Shotoku flanked by younger brother (left: Prince Eguri) and first son (right: Prince Yamashiro), drawn by unknown author.[1] | |
| Born | 7 February 572 |
| Died | 8 April 622 (aged 50) |
| Father | Emperor Yōmei |
| Mother | Princess Anahobe no Hashihito |
Prince Shōtoku (聖徳太子, Shōtoku Taishi, February 7, 572 – April 8, 622[2]), also known as Prince Umayado (厩戸皇子, Umayado no ōji) or Prince Kamitsumiya (上宮皇子, Kamitsumiya no ōji), was a semi-legendary regent and a politician of the Asuka period in Japan who served under Empress Suiko. He was a son of Emperor Yōmei and his younger half-sister Princess Anahobe no Hashihito. His parents were relatives of the ruling Soga clan,[3] and was involved in the defeat of the rival Mononobe Clan.[4] The primary source of the life and accomplishments of Prince Shōtoku comes from the Nihon Shoki.
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.[4]
Cultural and political role
Shōtoku was appointed as regent (Sesshō) in 593 by Empress Suiko, his aunt.[citation needed] Shōtoku, inspired by 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 a Seventeen-article constitution.
The Prince was an ardent Buddhist and composed commentaries on the Lotus Sutra, the Vimalakirti Sutra, and the Sutra of Queen Srimala. He commissioned the Shitennō-ji (temple) in Settsu province (present-day Osaka). Shōtoku's name has been linked with Hōryū-ji, a temple in Yamato province. 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.[5]
In his correspondence with the Chinese Sui Emperor, Yangdi, the Prince's letter contains the earliest written instance in which the Japanese archipelago is named Nihon. The Sui Emperor dispatched a message in 605 that said, "the sovereign of Sui respectfully inquires about the sovereign of Wa."[6] Shōtoku responded by sponsoring a mission led by Ono no Imoko in 607: "From the sovereign of the land of the rising sun (nihon/hi izuru) to the sovereign of the land of the setting sun."[7]
He is said to be buried at Shinaga, in the former Kawachi province (today Osaka prefecture).[8]
A number of institutes are named after him, such as Shotoku Gakuen University and its associated junior college (both in Gifu). The first syllable of his name (聖), can be read shō in Go'on and can also be read sei in Kan’on. The later reading is found in Seitoku University and its associated junior college (both in Matsudo, Chiba) as well as Tokyo's defunct Seitoku Junior College of Nutrition (and indirectly its replacement Seiei College).
Titles and name
Shōtoku is known by several titles, although his real name is Prince Umayado (厩戸皇子, Umayado no ōji, literally ‘the prince of the stable door’) since he was born in front of a stable.[9] He is also known as Toyotomimi (豊聡耳) or Kamitsumiyaō (上宮王). In the Kojiki, his name appears as Kamitsumiya no Umayado no Toyotomimi no Mikoto (上宮之厩戸豊聡耳命). In the Nihon Shoki, in addition to Umayado no ōji, he is referred to as Toyomimito Shōtoku (豊耳聡聖徳), Toyotomimi 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 751.
Gallery
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Wood statue of Shōtoku Taishi -
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10,000 yen banknote featuring the prince
See also
- Asuka-dera
- Kokki
- Tennōki
- Sangyō Gisho
- Jōgū Shōtoku Hōō Teisetsu, biography of Shōtoku Taishi
Notes
- ^ Binyon, Laurence (2006). Painting in the Far East: An Introduction to the History of Pictorial Art in Asia, Especially China and Japan. Elibron.com. p. 85. ISBN 0-543-94830-7.
The author of this portrait is unknown; it is generally held to be the work of Korean artist, but is quite probably the work of native hand.
- ^ A History of Japan, R.H.P. Mason and J.G. Caiger, Charles E.Tuttle Company, Inc., Tokyo 1977, 0221-000349-4615
- ^ http://www.khyentsefoundation.org/patronkingsVIII.html
- ^ a b Como, Michael I. (2006). Shōtoku : ethnicity, ritual, and violence in the Japanese Buddhist tradition. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-518861-6.
- ^ John Whitney Hall (1988). "The Asuka Enlightenment". The Cambridge History of Japan. Cambridge University. p. 175. Retrieved 2007-04-03.
- ^ Varley, Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, p. 128.
- ^ Varley, Paul. (1973). Japanese Culture: A Short History. p. 15
- ^ Guth, Christine. "The Divine Boy in Japanese Art." Monumenta Nipponica 42:1 (1987). p12.
- ^ http://www.answers.com/topic/shotoku-taishi
References
- Como, Michael A. Shotoku: Ethnicity, Ritual and Violence in the Japanese Buddhist Tradition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-19-518861-5
- 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. 10-ISBN 0-231-04940-4; 13-ISBN 978-0-231-04940-5; OCLC 59145842
External links
Media related to Prince Shōtoku at Wikimedia Commons