The Taika Reforms and Centralization

In 645, Prince Naka no Ōe and Nakatomi no Kamatari overthrew the Soga clan and began a political reform known as the “Taika Reforms.” This revolutionary event greatly changed Japanese history.

Basic Knowledge

After Prince Shōtoku’s death, the Soga clan came to monopolize power in the Yamato government. Soga no Emishi and his son Soga no Iruka exercised power beyond that of the emperor, treating their residences as if they were “the emperor’s palace” and making people call them “imperial ancestors.”
Concerned about this crisis, Prince Naka no Ōe (later Emperor Tenji) and Nakatomi no Kamatari (later Fujiwara no Kamatari) assassinated Soga no Iruka in the imperial palace on June 12, 645 (the Isshi Incident). The next day, Soga no Emishi committed suicide, and the main branch of the Soga clan was destroyed.
Afterward, under Emperor Kōtoku, the era name “Taika”, Japan’s first era name, was established, and a new government began. This was the Taika Reforms. The “Reform Edict” issued in 646 presented the following four pillars.

Further Study (Background・Impact)

The historical significance of the Taika Reforms is that they became the starting point for Japan’s transition from a society of alliances among powerful clans to a centralized state centered on the emperor. Previously, powerful clans with uji and kabane privately owned land and people under the uji-kabane system, but through the reforms, all land and people became the property of the emperor (the state) (public lands and public people).
The model for this great reform was the system of Tang China at the time. Specifically, it included the ritsuryō system (ritsu = criminal law, ryō = administrative law) and the equal-field system (a land-distribution system).
However, scholars debate the actual nature of the Taika Reforms. Not everything in the Reform Edict was implemented immediately, and the full establishment of the ritsuryō system had to wait until the Taihō Code (701). Even so, there is no doubt that the Isshi Incident of 645 was a turning point in Japanese history.
In 667, Prince Naka no Ōe moved the capital to Ōmi Ōtsu Palace, and in 668 he officially ascended the throne and became Emperor Tenji. In 670, he created the “Kōgo Year Register,” Japan’s first nationwide household register, laying the foundation for the Handen system. Shortly before his death, Nakatomi no Kamatari was granted the surname “Fujiwara,” becoming the ancestor of the later Fujiwara clan.

Points to Note (Easy to Confuse)

① The Isshi Incident (645) and the Taika Reforms are technically different. The Isshi Incident was the political change that overthrew the Soga clan, while the Taika Reforms refer to the entire series of political reforms that followed. ② The Reform Edict was issued in 646, the year after the Isshi Incident. ③ Prince Naka no Ōe later became Emperor Tenji, and Nakatomi no Kamatari later became Fujiwara no Kamatari. Remember both their original and later names. ④ “Taika” is an era name, while “Taika Reforms” is the name of an event. ⑤ Be sure to memorize the four pillars of the reforms (public lands and public people・Province-District-Village System・Handen System・Sō-Yō-Chō). ⑥ The Soga clan contributed to the acceptance of Buddhism, but became the target of the overthrow because of its authoritarian rule.

Practice

1. What was the name of the incident in 645 in which Soga no Iruka was assassinated?
2. Which two of the four pillars in the Reform Edict concerned land and people?
3. What did Prince Naka no Ōe and Nakatomi no Kamatari later become known as?