History of Asia

What did the ancient emperors, Emperor Tenji, Emperor Tenmu, Emperor Shomu, and Emperor Kanmu do?

Whenever you study Japanese history, Emperor Tenji, Emperor Tenmu, Emperor Shomu, Emperor Kanmu Will appear.

In class, you will learn how the four emperors made such policies, but it can be difficult to remember who did what in what order.

This time, I have summarized the policies of these four emperors in an easy-to-understand manner, so I hope that they will be helpful in class.

Famous Ancient Four Emperors

These four emperors are so famous that Tenchi ⇒ Tenmu ⇒ Shomu ⇒ Kanmu I feel that the emperor has changed, but in reality ...

Emperor Tenji (38s) ⇒ Emperor Kobun (39) ⇒ Emperor Tenmu (40) ⇒ Empress Jito (41) ……

Emperor Shomu (45) …… Emperor Kanmu (50)

There were several emperors between each.

Looking at the order of the emperor's coronation above,

Emperor Tenji ⇒ Emperor Tenmu ⇒ Emperor Shomu ⇒ Emperor Kanmu

So, Emperor Tenji-Emperor Kanmu About 113 years have passed.

This time, the emperor in the meantime will be omitted, Emperor Tenji-Emperor Kanmu I will briefly introduce to.

Middle and big brother prince =Emperor Tenji familiar with Taika Reform

Nakatomi (Fujiwara) Kamatari With 645 , Taika Reform of political reforms that took place after the destruction of the Soga clan .. Emperor Tenji Is famous for its name, Emperor Tenji =Prince of the Middle Ages To be honest, I can't really imagine that.

Such Emperor Tenji Policy is ...

  • Taika Reform (Public land civil system, Kunita collection law, national county system, establishment of tax system)
  • Establishment of Yang Metal Horse
  • Battle of Baekgang

The main contents of the Taika Reform are public citizens Etc. are written above.

The public land is a system in which the state directly controls the land and people owned by the family . is. Kumada Receiving Method Give people these country-controlled lands and return them when they die .. It is a system called.

Country and county system A system that divides the whole country into countries and counties, and imposes tax payments and labor obligations on people, tax adjustment System was implemented.

Among them, Kumada Receiving Method So, as a basic ledger, Yang Metal Horse Battle of Baekgang sent more than 20,000 troops to the Korean Peninsula to enact or save Baekje And so on.

In this way, Emperor Tenji became the origin of the Ritsuryo nation . I struggled to build a country.

It will take decades for such a policy to get on track, and the policy will be taken over by Emperor Tenmu, the younger brother of Emperor Tenji.

First [ Japan ] Was called Emperor Tenmu! ??

There seem to be various theories, but in this era [ Japan ] Is said to have been used for the first time. Therefore, in order to leave the origin of this country in the book, [ Kojiki ] And [ Nihon Shoki ] Is also famous for editing.

  • Compilation of "Kojiki" and "Nihonshoki"
  • Promotion of imperial politics
  • Enactment of Asuka Kiyomihara Ordinance
  • Determining the eight-colored family name (Yakusa no Kabane)

Emperor Tenmu raises the status of the imperial family by enacting eight surnames and distinguishes between central and local aristocrats.

Eight kabane system
  1. Mahito
  2. Ason
  3. Sukune
  4. Imiki
  5. Michinoshi
  6. Omi
  7. Muraji
  8. Inagi

This is [ eight-colored family name ], And by establishing this system, we raised the status of the imperial family, suppressed the influential tribes, and promoted the politics of the emperor.

The administration manages to establish a system of control by the imperial family centered on the emperor by assigning their own princes to important posts without a minister. As a result, the policies promoted by Emperor Tenji were firmly established, and the formation of a decree nation centered on the emperor was strengthened.

Politics of Emperor Shomu, famous for the Great Buddha of Nara

Todaiji Temple and the Great Buddha in Nara Emperor Shomu famous for making Was a person who incorporated Buddhist teachings into national affairs. He was the great-grandson of Emperor Tenmu. Due to the policies of the predecessor Emperor Tenji and Emperor Tenmu, the basic political system has been established in Japan. However, during the time of Emperor Shomu, politics was disturbed by famine, epidemics, and a series of aristocratic civil wars.

In such an era, Emperor Shomu went ...

  • Construction of the Great Buddha of Todaiji Temple
  • Establishment of Kokubunji Temple and Kokubunnanji Temple
  • Konden Einen Shizai Law Enactment

We will implement the above policies to incorporate Buddhist teachings into nation-building.

He made a huge Buddha statue as a basis for the hearts of the people who live a difficult life at Todaiji Temple in Nara. In addition, Kokubunji Temple and Kokubunnanji Temple were set up in various places in an attempt to alleviate social unrest caused by politics disturbed by the power of Buddhism.

Beside that, we will also revise the public land and civilian system. Under the conventional system, no matter how much the land was cleared, it had to be returned to the country in the end, so the farmers remained unmotivated. To promote this motivation, 743, Konden Einen Shizai Law Enacted and lost the obligation to return land.

Under the policy of Emperor Shomu, Buddhism has spread not only to the privileged class but throughout Japan. Konden Einen It is good that the Private Property Law motivated farmers, but it also led to the birth of aristocrats who own large lands, and as a result, weakened centralized power.

What is Emperor Kanmu who has relocated to the capital twice?

Speaking of Emperor Kanmu, the capital was relocated to Heiankyo in 794 It is also famous for doing it.

Around this time, when the decree system that each emperor had been implementing became unsuitable for the actual situation, Emperor Kanmu decided to carry out various reforms through trial and error.

  • Capital relocation
  • Ezo Conquest
  • Establishment of a healthy child system
  • Establishment of a comprehension messenger
  • Protection of New Buddhism

Emperor Kanmu relocated the capital from Heijokyo to Nagaokakyo in 784 To do. However, due to a series of natural disasters and misfortunes of relatives, 10 years later, Heiankyo in 794. Move the city to.

In addition, a new type of politics that replaces the conventional politics by gathering the children of officials and peasants who excel in martial arts, forming an army corps, and setting up a politician to crack down on the injustice of the Kokushi, called the Kenji system. I did politics.

Other than this, Ezo , which had power mainly in the Tohoku region, was subdued. It was Emperor Kanmu who dispatched troops to do so and protected the longest and new denominations of Buddhism represented by Kukai.

However, due to the two capital relocations and the subjugation of Ezo, the people were exhausted and suffered, and the healthy child system became ineffective over time.

Summary

During the Asuka period, Emperor Tenji renewed Taika Reform and pushed forward with the foundation of nation-building based on the Emperor-centered decree system, which was established by Emperor Tenmu. Then, in the Nara period, Emperor Shomu incorporated Buddhism into Japanese politics, and the Great Buddha of Nara was built at Todaiji Temple.

In addition, the capital that was not determined by the repeated relocation of the capital will continue as the capital of 1000 years due to the relocation of Emperor Kanmu to Heiankyo. Emperor Kanmu worked hard to rebuild the politics of the Ritsuryo, but there were many things that went wrong, which would have a major impact on the rise of aristocrats and the birth of samurai.