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Prince Shotoku

Prince Shotoku

574 CE622 CE · Asuka

Prince Shotoku (574-622) was a semi-legendary regent and statesman of Japan's Asuka period who governed on behalf of his aunt, the Empress Suiko. He is traditionally credited with promoting Buddhism as a state religion, sponsoring temples such as Horyu-ji, and drafting the Seventeen-Article Constitution, a set of moral and administrative principles for officials modeled partly on Confucian and Buddhist ideas. He also fostered diplomatic and cultural exchange with China; while modern scholars debate how much of the traditional account is historical, he remains a revered figure in Japanese history.

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Stop 1 of 1Seat Of Power

Asuka

We know they were here, but the specifics of what they did at this stop aren’t recorded yet in our corpus.

In Asuka at the same time

Empress Suiko

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The world in their lifetime

Thinkers, teachers, and rulers whose lives overlapped with Prince Shotoku’s — a glimpse of the wider world they lived in. Drawn purely from recorded birth and death years.

Works

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