ABSTRACT
The triumph of the Buddhist party was strengthened by the accession of Prince Shōtoku to the regency under his pious aunt, in 593.1 He was born in 574, thirty-six years after the public introduction of Buddhism, and he was only nineteen years old when he became the actual ruler, with the title of regent, supported by the progressive party. The envoys to China took with them monks and students, who there studied religion and science, and later worked for reform and civilization. Besides these Japanese students, more Chinese and Koreans were induced to come and work in Japan, and all of them were instrumental in the further progress of religion and civilization. The constitution laid special stress upon moral and spiritual harmony between sovereign and subjects, between the superior and his subordinates, which was propounded to be the essential basis of national life and government.
