Flashcards on Introduction of Buddhism to Early Japan
Introduction of Buddhism to Early Japan: A Student's Guide
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Yamato polity
12 cards
Card 1
Question: What administrative change occurred in 624 that began regulation of religious practitioners in the Yamato polity?
Answer: A saṅgha prefect (sōjō) and a saṅgha administrator (sōzu) were appointed, and the lay office of Dharma Master (hōzu) was established, beginning state
Card 2
Question: Who intervened in 624 to prevent severe punishment of all priests and was then appointed saṅgha prefect?
Answer: Kwallūk (觀勅), who had arrived from Paekche in 602, intervened and was made saṅgha prefect (sōjō).
Card 3
Question: What institution developed from the triumvirate of saṅgha prefect, saṅgha administrator, and Dharma Master, and what was its role?
Answer: They developed into the Saṅgha Office (sōgō), which became the chief instrument of state control over Buddhist institutions for centuries.
Card 4
Question: What did the 624 census of Buddhist institutions in the Yamato polity record?
Answer: It recorded reasons for temple construction and for entering Buddhism, with dates, and listed 46 temples, 816 men, and 569 women—a total of 1,385 peop
Card 5
Question: How did the Yamato state’s relationship with Buddhist institutions change after the Taika Reforms (645)?
Answer: Patronage shifted from private Soga control to the monarchy and the emerging bureaucratic state, increasing central control over Buddhist institutions
Card 6
Question: What was proclaimed at the Great Paekche Temple in 645 concerning Buddhist administration?
Answer: A long edict asserted central control and appointed ten ‘learned masters’ (jisshi) to run Buddhist affairs along early Tang lines.
Card 7
Question: Why is there skepticism about administrative changes attributed to the Taika Reforms in the Nihon shoki?
Answer: Because many sections may be unreliable, and it is probable that some administrative changes were instituted later, with a real new system implemented
Card 8
Question: Which military defeats and continental events influenced Yamato politics during Prince Naka no Ōe’s rise?
Answer: Japanese forces sent to save Paekche were crushed by a Tang naval force at the Battle off the mouth of the Paekch’on River (白村江) in 663, and Tang forc
Card 9
Question: Who destroyed the Soga clan in 645 and what political reforms did this action lead to?
Answer: Nakatomi no Kamatari and Prince Naka no Ōe destroyed the Soga, leading to the Taika Reforms which shifted power toward the monarchy and state bureaucr
Card 10
Question: During whose rule did the ruling family of Yamato finally stake its claim to divine status?
Answer: Under Tenmu Tennō (ruler from 673 after the Jinshin no ran), the ruling family finally staked its claim to divine status.