Soga no Umako

Soga no Umako (?-626) was a prominent member of the powerful Soga clan. He worked together with Prince Shōtoku to promote Buddhism in Japan, but his intentions were more practical than religious. The powerful rival clan Mononobe was against the addoption of Buddhism, so Umako supported the new religion with the intention of weakening the rival family.

In 587, Umako succeeded in destroying the Mononobe clan by defeating its leader, Mononobe no Moriya. He then worked with the imperial court, but grew up disatissfied with the Sushun emperor, whom he had assassinated and replaced with empress Suiko. He then supported  Shōtoku Taishin in the adoption of Buddhism and Chinese culture in Japan.

It is believed that his tomb is located in the Ishibutai Kofun in Nara.

Empress Suiko

Empress Suiko (554-7 March 628) was the first reigning empress of the Yamato kingdom. She had Prince Shoutoku act as regent and encouraged the spread of Buddhism in Japan. She resisted the pressures of the powerful families, including Soga no Umako, who made demands of her, and maintained her independence. Part of her reasoning in country-wide adoption of Buddhism was that it would turn Yamato in a peaceful country. To help achieve that, she issued the Flourishing Three Treasures Edict in 594, and due to her support, important temples were erected, such as Shitennō-ji (present day Osaka, oldest officially administered temple in Japan), Asukadera (Nara), and Hōryū-ji (Nara, the pagoda of the temple is one of the oldest wooden buildings in the world.

The Seventeen Article Constitution of Prince Shōtoku

Translation by W.G. Aston

1.  Harmony is to be valued, and an avoidance of wanton opposition to be honoured. All men are influenced by class-feelings, and there are few who are intelligent. Hence there are some who disobey their lords and fathers, or who maintain feuds with the neighbouring villages. But when those above are harmonious and those below are friendly, and there is concord in the discussion of business, right views of things spontaneously gain acceptance. Then what is there which cannot be accomplished!
2. Sincerely reverence the three treasures. The three treasures, Buddha, the Law and the Priesthood, are the final refuge of the four generated beings, and are the supreme objects of faith in all countries. What man in what age can fail to reverence this law? Few men are utterly bad. They may be taught to follow it. But if they do not betake them to the three treasures, how shall their crookedness be made straight ?
3. When you receive the Imperial commands, fail not to obey them scrupulously. The lord is Heaven, the vassal is Earth. Heaven overspreads, and Earth upbears. When this is so, the four seasons follow their due course, and the powers of Nature obtain their efficacy. If the Earth attempted to overspread, Heaven would simply fall in ruin. Therefore when the lord speaks, the vassal listens; when the superior acts, the inferior complies. Consequently when you receive the Imperial commands, fail not to carry them out scrupulously. Let there be a want of care in this matter and ruin is the natural consequence.
4. The Ministers and functionaries should make decorous behaviour their leading principle, for the leading principle of the government of the people consists in decorous behaviour. If the superiors do not behave with decorum, the inferiors are disorderly: if inferiors are wanting in proper behaviour, there must necessarily be offences. Therefore it is that when lord and vassal behave with propriety, the distinctions of rank are not confused: when the people behave with propriety, the Government of the Commonwealth proceeds of itself.
5. Ceasing from gluttony and abandoning covetous desires, deal impartially with the suits which are submitted to you. Of complaints brought by the people there are a thousand in one day. If in one day there are so many, how many will there be in a series of years? If the man who is to decide suits at law makes gain his ordinary motive, and hears causes with a view to receiving bribes, then will the suits of the rich man be like a stone flung into water while the complaints of the poor will resemble water cast upon a stone. Under these circumstances the poor man will not know where to take their complaints. Here too there is a deficiency in the duty of the Minister.
6. Chastise that which is evil and encourage that which is good. This was the excellent rule of antiquity. Conceal not, therefore, the good qualities of others, and fail not to correct that which is wrong when you see it. Flatterers and deceivers are a sharp weapon for the overthrow of the State, and a pointed sword for the destruction of the people. Sycophants are also fond, when they meet, of dilating to their superiors on the errors of their inferiors; to their inferiors, they censure the faults of their superiors. Men of this kind are all wanting in fidelity to their lord and in benevolence towards the people. From such an origin great civil disturbances arise.
7. Let every man have his own charge and let not the spheres of duty be confused. When wise men are entrusted with office, the sound of praise arises. If unprincipled men hold office, disasters and tumults are multiplied. In this world, few are born with knowledge: wisdom is the product of earnest meditation. In all things, whether great or small, find the right man, and they will surely be well managed. On all occasions, be they urgent or the reverse, meet but with a wise man, and they will of themselves be amenable. In this way will the State be lasting and the Temples of the Earth and of Grain will be free from danger. Therefore did the wise sovereigns of antiquity seek the man to fill the office, and not the office for the sake of the man.
8.  Let the Ministers and functionaries attend the Court early in the morning and retire late. The business of the state does not admit of remissness and the whole day is hardly enough for its accomplishment. If, therefore, the attendance at Court is late, emergencies cannot be met. If officials retire soon, the work cannot be completed.
9. Good faith is the foundation of right. In everything let there be good faith, for in it there surely consists the good and the bad, success and failure. If the lord and the vassal observe good faith one with another, what is there which cannot be accomplished? If the lord and the vassal do not observe good faith tovvards one another, everything without exception ends in failure.
10. Let us cease from wrath and refrain from angry looks. Nor let us be resentful when others differ from us. For all men have hearts, and each heart has its own leanings. Their right is our wrong, and our right is their wrong. We are not unquestionably sages, nor are they unquestionably fools. Both of us are simply ordinary men. How can any one lay down a rule by which to distinguish right from wrong? For we are all, one with another, wise and foolish, like a ring which has no end. Therefore, although others give way to anger, let us on the contrary dread our own faults, and though we alone may be in the right, let us follow the multitude and act like them.
11. Give clear appreciation to merit and demerit and deal out to each its sure reward or punishment. In these days, reward does not attend upon merit nor punishment upon crime. All you high functionaries who have charge of public affairs, let it be your task to make clear rewards and punishments.
12. Let not the provincial authorities or the Kuni no Miyakko levy exactions on the people. In a country there are not two lords; the people cannot have two masters. The sovereign is the master of the people of the whole country. The officials to whom he gives charge are all his vassals. How can they, as well as the Government, presume to levy taxes on the people?
13. Let all persons entrusted with office attend equally to their functions. Owing to their illness or to their being sent on missions, their work may sometimes be neglected. But whenever they become able to attend to business, let them be as accommodating as if they had had cognizance of it from before, and not hinder public affairs on the score of their not having had to do with them.
14. All you ministers and functionaries! Be not envious. For if we envy others, they in turn will envy us. The evils of envy know no limit. If others excel us in intelligence, it gives us no pleasure; if they surpass us in ability, we are envious. Therefore it is not until after a lapse of five hundred years that we at last meet with a wise man, and even in a thousand years we hardly obtain one sage. But if we do not find wise men and sages, how shall the country be governed?
15. To turn away from that which is private, and to set our faces towards that which is public—this is the path of a Minister. Now if a man is influenced by private motives, he will surely feel resentments, and if he is influenced by resentful feelings, he will surely fail to act harmoniously with others. If he fails to act harmoniously with others, he will surely sacrifice the public interests to his private feelings. When resentment arises, it interferes with order, and is subversive of law. Therefore in the first clause it was said that superiors and inferiors should agree together. The purporse of that first clause is the same as this.
16. Let the people be employed (in forced labour) at seasonable times. This is an ancient and excellent rule. Let them be employed, therefore, in the winter months, when they are at leisure. But from Spring to Autumn, when they are engaged in agriculture or with the mulberry trees, the people should not be so employed. For if they do not attend to agriculture, what will they have to eat? If they do not attend to the mulberry trees, what will they do for clothing?
17. Decisions on important matters should not be made by one person alone. They should be discussed with many. But small matters are of less consequence. It is unnecessary to consult a number of people. It is only in the case of the discussion of weighty affairs, when there is a suspicion that they may miscarry, that one should arrange matters in concert with others, so as to arrive at the right conclusion.

Shōtoku Taishi

Prince Shōtoku (574-22 February 622) is credited with the promulgation of the first constitution-like document in Japan. His real name is said to have been Umayadono. From an early age he displayed an uncanny intelligence, and there are stories claiming that at seven he had read a hundred sutras, or that he was able to listen to ten people at the same time and answer them in an accurate manner.

At 19 years he became regent for Empress Suiko. Being a devoted Buddhist, he worked to further spread Buddhism in Japan and founded the Hōryū-ji temple in 607.

Important political contributions

• in 603 he established the Twelve Level Cap and Rank System that encouraged personal merit and excellence, as opposed to the previous system of hereditary privileges 

Twelve Level Cap and Rank System table (Wikipedia)

•  in 604, he promulgated the Seventeen Article Constitution that laid down the virtues and moral foundation that were expected from government officials
• in 607, he sent an envoy to the Sui emperor of China and maintained diplomatic relations with the Chinese

Queen Himiko

Queen Himiko (or Pimiko) is a legendary figure that ruled the Yamatai kingdom that was formed in the Yayoi era. At that time, the territory of Japan was comprised of multiple, small countries that constantly fought with each other. The Yamatai kingdom was made up of around 30 such smaller states.

Himiko was popular with the people, and acted as a divine oracle, practicing spells and divination in order to ensure the wellfare of the country. She remained in her palace and never showed herself to the people. Only her younger brother was allowed to see her. He looked after her meals and everyday necessities, and transmitted the words she received from the gods to the people.

The existence of Himiko is documented in Chinese records. In 239, Himiko sent envoys to China and was recognized by the Chinese court as the ruler of Japan.

Himiko is featured in the 2013 Tomb Raider game