15 The Fujiwara Capital Prince Oh-ama ascended and became Emperor Tenmu (r. 672-686). He passed away after a reign of fifteen years. His Empress became the successor (Empress Jitou, r. 687-697), and after eleven years she retired to have her grandson succeed to the throne, becoming Emperor Monmu (r. 697-707). During these three reign, a span of more than thirty years, the structure of the nation was progressively organized, reaching its maturity in the subsequent Nara period. One illustration is the compilation of history. In the 10th year of Emperor Tenmu's reign (681), an imperial decree was given to Prince Kawashima, Prince Osakabe and ten others, to organize the imoerial history and the records of antiquity. Separately, Hieda no Are, a young man of twenty-eight with a prodigious memory, was ordered to memorize and recite the orally-transmitted legends of ancient times. The former was completed as Chronicles of Japan (Nihon Shoki), and the latter, when transcribed, became Record of Ancient Matters (Kojiki). (an omission) In the 8th year of Empress Jitou's reign (694), the Fujiwara Capital was built and the court was moved. Previois to this, the imperial capital was simple and frugal in every aspect. The palace change every reign, or even within the same reign. The government offices, where the officials gathered to work, were built surrounding the palace. Some, such as Emperor Nintoku (r. 313-399), moved to Naniwa (Ohsaka Prefecture), or, as was the case with Emperor Tenji, to Ohtsu (Shiga Prefecture). But generally the capitals were located within Yamato Province (Nara Prefecture). In particular, after Empress Suiko (r. 592-628), the palace was located within the area called Asuka (now Asuka village, Takaichi District, Nara Prefecture) as: Toyoura Palace (Empress Suiko), Asuka no Okamoto Palace (Emperor Jomei), Asuka no Itabuki Palace (Empress Kougyoku), Asuka no Kawara Palace (Empress Saimei), and Asuka no Kiyomigahara Palace (Emperor Tenmu). Such frequent change would not permit the construction of permanent buildings, and nothing grand could be expected as a capital. In the 4th year of Empress Jitou's reign (690), the Empress paid a visit to the Fujiwara area, accompainied by the ministers. She ordered a palace to be built there, and her residence was moved in the 12th month of the 8th year (694). This capital was divided by twelve streets, in north-south and east-west directions. One street was divided into four blocks to the right, and four blocks to the left. In the center, to the north, a palace stood in the area equivalent to sixteen square blocks. Within the palace, there was the Great Hall of State, twelve court chambers, and two Halls of Assembly of Officials to the west and to the east. The sudden appearance of such a grand palace and a perfect city must have exci ted the people greatly. (an omission) During the reign of Emperor Monmu (r. 697-707), a code of laws was proclaimed. It consisted of two parts: first the prohibitions, or criminal codes where stipulations start with "you should not," and second, the regulations regarding officials' work, where stipulations start with "you should." Originally this code was conceived during the reign of Emperor Tenji (r. 668-671). It was edited during the reign of Emperor Tenmu (r. 672-686), and re-instituted during the reign of Emperor Monmu, in the first year of Taihou era (701). It consists of six volumes of prohibitive codes, and eleven volumes of regulative codes. Some were dispersed in later years, but most of them are extant; the dispersed parts have been reconstructed from citations in other writings, so we can obtain a generally accurate understanding of this code in its original state. Let us look at the organization of the government. First comes the Commissioners of the Shintou religion, then comes the Council of State. This does not mean that the Commissioners of the Shintou religion were more important than the Council of State, but the thought behind it was that worship of the Gods, and the relevant Shintou ceremonial matters, come before all. In the Council of State there were three offices: Lesser Counsellor's Office, Office of the Controller of the Left, and Office of the Controller of the Right, named after their respective heads. Above the three offices, there were four Major Counsellors. Above them was the Minister of the Right, and above him, the Minister of the Left, who ruled the entire business of the Council of State. Then the rank of Chancellor came on top of all of them. The Chancellor counselled the Emperor, served as a model for the people, and must command the respect of foreign nations. Thus the code states: "If an appropriate person is not available, leave the position vacant." As the position was actually left vacant on occasion, it came to be called "To-Be-Left-Vacant Office." Under the Council of State were eight ministries. These were divided into two sets of four offices each, supervised by the Major Controllers of the Left and the Right. Controller of the Left - Central Affairs (palace governmence), Ceremonial (ceremony, education, inspection), Civil Affairs (music, clergy, foreign affairs), Popular Affairs (registration, tax) Controller of the Right - War (soldiers, military affairs), Punishments (trials, execution), Treasury (minting, tax), Imperial Household (palace command) The above was the structure of the central government. In addition, there were Mayors of the Left and the Right in the capital; the Dazaifu government in Kyuushuu; Provincial Governors in the sixty-six provinces, and District Heads in the Districts. In these offices the officials were ranked in four grades: Director-General, Vice Director, Secretary, and Vice Secretary, to delineate ranks so that authority and responsibilty would not be confused. The Chinese characters for these ranks difdered according to the office, although the pronunciations were the same. For example, Director-General, rendered as "kami," was spelled with the characters, 　卿　頭　督　守 and for Vice Director, rendered as "suke," there were 　輔　亮　佐　介 Thus one could discern the office to which an official belonged by looking at the characters. This system of government was subsequently changed to some degree. For example, Middle Counsellor was instituted, the position of Cousultant was created, and the Metroporitan Police came into existence. However, most of the offices were preserved over a long time, until the 18th year of Meiji era (1885) - a span of 1184 years since the first year of Taihou era (701). Here again we perceive the national character of Japan. Another noteworthy event took place in the first year of Taihou (701), when an Envoy to China was appointed. In the first month of that year, Awata no Mahito was appointed Envoy, and Takahashi no Kasama, Ambassador. Accompanying officials such as Vice Envoy were appointed, and they left in the 6th month of the next year. It took more a year to prepare the ships and supplies. Two years after their departure, in the 7th month of the first year of Keiun era (704), Awata no Mahito returned. His report is interesting. Crossing the sea, they reached Tang Dynasty China. A Chinese person asked Awata no Mahito, "From which country were you sent ?" THe answer: "From Japan." In turn the Japanese asked, "Which country is this ?" The answer: "Yancheng Prefecture, Province of Chu, in the Great Kingdom of Zhou." The Japanese asked, "But it was the Great Kingdom of Tang. When was it changed to Zhou ?" The answer: "After Emperor Gaozong of Great Tang passed away, Empress Wu ascended the throne, and changed it into Great Zhou." Next the Chinese said, "I have always heard that there is a country across the sea to the east, called Japan. The people there are prosperrous, and since they are courteous, it is also called a country of gentlemen. Now I see the Japanese Envoy. Your countenance is honest, you attitude is in accordance with rites. I see that the story is true." And they bade farwell. An intriguing report, indeed. As explained, the power of Tang Dynasty China during the reign of Emperors Taizong and Gaozong was unprecedented. After the death of Emperor Gaozong, the Empress usurped the kingdom, and her revolution was successful for fifteen years, during which the name of the country was changed to Zhou. Further, according to this report, the ships of the Envoy to China saided south-west from Kyuushuu, heading to Yangzi River. A record states that during the reign of Emperor Monmu (r. 687-707), the court conferred ranks upon the people of the southern islands, such as Tanegashima Island and Amami Ohshima Island. In the Province of Satsuma (Kagoshima Prefecture), the court subdued rebels and tightened its defence. Combining this information with the fact that the Envoy to China went south, we understand that the authority of the Japanese court extended to the south-west extremity of the Japanese islands.

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