13 The Taika Reform At this time, there a man by the name Nakatomi no Kamatari (614-669). He was the descendant of Ama no Taneko no Mikoto, who descended from the God Ama no Koyane no Mokoto (Heavenly Small-House Deity), who accompanied the Heaven Grandchild Ninigi no Mikoto when he descended to earth. The subsequent generations of this family served the court in the capacity op managing Shinto ceremonial affairs. Nakatomi no Kamatari became the head of the Nakatomi clan when the tyranny of Soga no Iruka was rampant. It was Nakatomi no Kamatari's judgement that unless the Soga clan were destroyed, the nation was in danger. To carry out this extraordinary act, he searched for a member the imperial family who endowed with courage and character. Prince Naka no Oh-e, the son of Emperor Jomei, was his choice. However, there was no chance to make contact with the Prince. Having heard of a kickball game to be held at the garden of Houkouji-Temple, Nakatomi no Kamatari attended, as the Prince would be presnt. An unexpected event occurred there. When the Prince kicked the ball high, his shoe became undone and flew up. Nakatomi no Kamatari quickly retrived the shoe, and kneeling low, handed it to the Prince. The Prince also knelt down to receive it. This started their relationship, and Kamatari won the trust of the Prince. Kamatari started telling the Prince all his concerns. Minamibuchi no Shouan, a cntemporary leaned scholar who was first discovered by Prince Shoutoku, had studied abroad in Sui for thirty-two years, and had returend four or five years previous. Prince Naka no Oh-e and Nakatomi no Kamatari became his students to study Confucianism. On the way to and from classes, they secretly discussed their plans. They carefully selected several men with the same conviction, and waited for the chance. In the 6th month of the 4th year of the reign of Empress Kougyoku (r. 642-645), an envoy brought gifts from the Three Korean Kingdoms. These were to be displayed in the imperial presence. The plan was: when the Prince called on Kurayamada no Ishikawamaro to read aloud the memorials from the Three Korean Kingdoms, men led by Saeki no Komaro would attack Soga no Iruka and kill him. Now Kurayamada no Ishikawamaro read the memorials, but Saeki no Komaro was suddenly seized with fright and would not appear. Sensing this, the reader Kurayamada no Ishikawamaro started perspiring, and his voice trembled. Soga no Ikura was puzzled and asked: "Why are you trembling ?" The answer: "I am awe-struck to be so near to the Empress." Watching this, Prince Naka no Oh-e cried out: "There !" and slashed at Iruka. Urget on, Saeki no Komaro proceeded to slash Iruka's foot. The Empress was shocked and asked: "What happened ?" Prince Naka no Oh-e knelt down and answered: "Soga no Iruka is trying to usurp the imperial throne by annihilating the imperial family. I cannot allow the evil plan to materialize." The Empress retired to the inner palace, and Saeki no Komaro and the men finally executed Soga no Iruka (the verb used here means to kill an evil person for his crimes). Prince Naka no Oh-e promply secured Houkouji-Temple as the main camp. All the imperial family members and the loyal subjects gathered here. Opposing, the immigrants united and armed themselves at Soga no Emishi's house, to assist him in the decisive battle against the Prince. The Prince sent a general Kose no Tokuda, to have him preach the principle that from the beginning of heaven and earth, the relationship between lord and the subjects was determined, so violation was not permitted. Persuaded by this speech, the men who protected the Soga house laid down their arms and fled, and the clan was destroyed. Conceit is a dire inclination. The clan of Soga was of a noble houseline desceding from the imperial family. They had made many meritorious contributions. But as they were valued in court generation after generation, they acquired power, and they became boastful enough to conspire to supercede the imperial house. They also befriended the immigrants, and through them became exposed to foreign thought. As a consequence they had forgotten the traditional Japanese national character. They thought they could usurp the imperial throne; they restroyed the family of Prince Shoutoku, and assassinated others nsing the immigrants. This was how the Soga came to be destroyed in the end. The uncle of Prince Naka no Oh-e ascended as Emperor Koutoku (r. 645-654), while the Prince was invested as Crown Prince. Abe no Uchimaro became Minister of the Left, and Soga no Kurayamada no Ishikawamaro, Minister of the Right. Nakatomi no Kamatari became the Minister of the Interior. With this team, a major political reform was carried out. First, the Emperor gathered all members of the court a tall zelkova tree and had them vow to the Gods: "Heaven covers us, Earth upbears us: the Imperial way is but one. But in this last degenerate age, the order of Lord and Vassal was destroyed, until Supreme Heaven by Our hands put to death the traitors. Now, from this time forward, both parties shedding their heart's blood, the Lord will eschew double methods of government, and the Vassal will avoid duplicity in his service of the sovereign !" All made the pledge. Then the new era name was decided upon, which made this year the first year of Taika (meaning "great reform") era. It was the imperial year 1305, 645 A.D. The political reforms carried out in the following several years came to be called the Taika Reform. Following is the ourline of the Taika Reform: 1. Prohibition of private ownership of the land; all land belonged directly to the Emperor, to be controlled by the court; measures were carried out to sustain the control. 2. In the capital, officials such as aldermen and chief aldermen in the wards, and chief aldermen in the township were assigned; in the provinces, provincial governors and district governors were placed for integrated rule; the provinces close to the capital were called the Home Provinces, and were regarded as more important, because of their population and productivity. 3. Household registration was started in order to clarify the population numbers; a set area of land was distributed to each person, and taxes were collected according to uniform rates. The above had been already stipulated by Prince Shoutoku's constitution. However, even though the ideals of the constitution were clear, it was difficult to bring them into effect. At the time of the constitution, the major clans still owned the land privately and controlled the retainers, remaining outside the control of the court. Concrete directives came now with this Taika Reform. People, land, and officials were placed in a direct relationship with the Emperor, and were to be controlled by the court. This was an extremely difficult measure to institute, but it was carried out right after the annihilation of the incomparably powerful and aristocratic Soga clan. That may be why all the self-seeking clan members obeyed. Furthermore, the seemingly simple teachings of Prince Shoutoku had permeated unnoticed into the hearts of the people. This can be observed in the men who gathered at the Soga house: they laid down their arms and left after hearing General Kose no Tokuda. Prince Shoutoku first clarified the moral principles, and invited reflection on the part of the people. Then Prince Naka no Oh-e determinedly destroyed the rebels. At this point, the authority of the court cast its rays throughout the country, covering all the people. The regulations set at his time ordered the officials to report to the court at the hour of the tiger (rourhly 4 a.m.). They were to line up to the right and to the left outside the south gate of the imperial palace, to wait for sunrise. At sunrise, they were to enter the gate, greet and bow to the Emperor in the garden, and report to their respective offices. Late-comers were not enter the gate. They worked till the hour of the horse (twelve noon). At the sound of the bell telling the hour, they could go home. The officials had to leave home before 4 a.m., line up outside the gate, and enter the gate at sunrise. This was indeed an early hour for reporting to work. Was it demanding ? It might have been hard for the late-sleepers, but since they could go home at twelve noon, it was a humane rule. We sense here the healthy lifestyle of the ancient period. Hundreds of officials reporting to work at dawn, entering the gate at the first ray of sunlight, humbly greeting the Emperor, and then setting to work: the temperament of a rising nation abounds in this, does it not ?

■ next

■ next(ja)