SH?TOKU, PRINCE (TAISHI)

Prince Sh?toku (taishi, 574–622) was a semilegendary prince who from the earliest stages of Japanese history has been revered as a cultural hero, as a Buddhist patron, as a civilizing ruler, and as a Japanese incarnation either of the Chinese Tiantai school monk Huisi (Japanese, Eshi; 515–577) or of the bodhisattva Avalokite?vara. The earliest written accounts (dating from the eighth century) credit Sh?toku with mastering Buddhism and Confucianism under the tutorage of the Korean teachers Hyeja (Japanese, Eji) and Kakka (Japanese, Kakuka); serving as regent for his aunt, Suiko (r. 593–628); establishing a system of twelve court ranks to replace ranks based on familial status; composing a Seventeen Article Constitution that expresses basic governmental ideals along with pious Buddhist and Confucian sentiments; constructing statues of the Four Heavenly Kings (shi tenn?, gods of the four directions who protect Buddhist kingdoms); as well as lecturing on or authoring commentaries on three Mah?y?na Buddhist scriptures: the Lotus S?tra (Saddharmapu??ar?kas?tra; Japanese, Hokeky?), the Vimalak?rtinirde?a (Yuimagy?), and Queen ?r?m?l? S?tra (Sh?mangy?). Significantly, the central figure of the Vimalak?rti S?tra is a wise layman (like Sh?toku), and the central figure of the Queen ?r?m?l? S?tra is a female ruler (like Suiko). In addition, many Buddhist temples important in early Japanese history traditionally have claimed Sh?toku as their founding patron. These temples include Shitenn?ji, Gang?ji (also known as H?k?ji or Asukadera), H?ry?ji, Ch?g?ji, and countless others. These claims helped to legitimate the strong relationship between the royal court and institutional Buddhism throughout most of premodern Japanese history. Moreover, reverence for Sh?toku played a significant role in the lives of many subsequent Japanese Buddhist leaders, such as Saich? (767–822) and Shinran (1173–1263).

In modern times Sh?toku has been promoted as a paradigm of ideal Japanese virtues, especially those of harmony (wa), nationalism, and a strong imperial rule. The prominence afforded him by many modern textbook accounts of ancient Japan can sometimes foster a one-dimensional view of the complex process by which the early Japanese state emerged.

See also:H?ry?ji and T?daiji; Japanese Royal Family and Buddhism; Kingship; Nationalism and Buddhism

Bibliography

Deal, William E. "Hagiography and History: The Image of Prince Sh?toku." In Religions of Japan in Practice, ed. George J. Tanabe, Jr. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999.

Ito, Kimio. "The Invention of Wa and the Transformation of the Image of Prince Sh?toku in Modern Japan." In Mirror of Modernity: Invented Traditions of Modern Japan, ed. Stephen Vlastos. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.

Kanaji, Isamu. "Three Stages in Sh?toku Taishi's Acceptance of Buddhism." Acta Asiatica (Tokyo), no. 47 (1985): 31–47.

Kusunoki, Masazumi. "The Seventeen Article Constitution of Prince Sh?toku: Its Contemporary Significance," tr. Larry L. Hanson. Ex Oriente (Tokyo), no. 6 (1993): 1–34.

Nishimura, Sey. "The Prince and the Pauper: The Dynamics of a Sh?toku Legend." Monumenta Nipponica (Tokyo) 40, no. 3 (1985): 299–310.

?yama, Seiichi. Sh?toku taishi to Nihonjin (Prince Sh?toku and Japanese identity). Nagoya, Japan: F?baisha, 2001.

William M. Bodiford