Prince Shotoku

Prince Shotoku

Learning Target

Who was Prince

Shotoku and how

did his policies

influence Japan?

Vocabulary

Regent -

Pagoda -

An appointed person that takes
over for a ruler when the ruler
cant rule for themselves

A tiered building that is sacred
to Hindu or Buddhist

* Japanese Prince Shotoku was regent
of Japan. He was covering for his aunt
Empress Suiko

He sent a group of scholars that traveled in China
and was very impressed with Chinese ways -

Multiple Choice

A person who rules a country for someone who is unable to rule alone.

• King

• Aunt

• Regent

• Prince

Who was he?

• Son of an Emperor Yomei

– Prince

• Regent
• Held power from 593-622

China's Influence on Japanese

Government

● In 607, Prince Shotoku sends his first group of

advisors to China during the Tang dynasty to
learn about their system of government

● One of the take-aways from the Chinese system

was a grouping of official ranks and duties – a
bureaucracy.

Prince Shotoku

Multiple Choice

Prince Shotoku _________ the Chinese civilization

• Hated

• Admired

• wanted to fight

• didn't want anything to do with

China's Influence on Japanese

Government

● Japanese leaders were also influenced by the

famous Chinese thinker (wait for
it!)...Confucius.

● Prince Shotoku hoped his Constitution of 17

Articles, based on Confucian moral principles,
would help unite Japan.

Confucius,
of course!

Multiple Choice

What is Prince Shotoku's constitution called?

• Bill of Rights

• Shotoku's Bill of Rights

• Declaration of Independence

• Seventeenth-Article Constitution

Multiple Choice

How did Prince Shotoku use Chinese government and culture as a model?

• Prince Shotoku didn't want to end up like China so he avoided using their ideas.

• Prince Shotoku created Japan's first constitution and borrowed many ideas from China.

• Prince Shotoku forced all his citizens to study Buddhism and poetry.

• He begged for help

Ideas from China

• He was impressed by Chinese culture

– Spread Chinese ideas

• Confucianism
• Chinese form of writing
• Shipbuilding
• Weaving
• Medicine
• astronomy

• Encouraged spread of Buddhism

Cultural Diffusion

Multiple Choice

What is cultural diffusion?

• The spreading of ideas

• Returning to a country after many years

• Not paying any attention

• Spreading of disease

o Under Prince Shotoku, in 583

Japan took an active
interest in Chinese and
Korean culture and
government.

o Taika Reforms- Land is taken

away from clans in Japan and
given to the emperor.

o Emperor is the supreme

ruler.

o Japan develops a

bureaucracy, and people are
chosen by merit.

Multiple Choice

What is a bureaucracy?

• A type of government with two leaders

• A type of government with one leader

• A type of government with departments

• A type of government started in India

Japan designs their capital city of Nara after the Chinese capital
(Chang’an). Bureaucratic officials meet there.

NARA, Japan

Chang’an, China

oJapan has both Pure Land

Buddhism (seek enlightenment
through chanting, or reciting
Buddha's name). and Zen
Buddhism (focus on meditation
and self discipline for
enlightenment).
* Shotoku had many Buddhist temples built to spread the religion

Shinto (celebrates the beauty and spirit of nature) and
Buddhism are shared beliefs in Japan.

Multiple Choice

Prince Shotoku promoted Buddhism in Japan by...

• building many Buddhist temples

• talking about it all the time

• forcing people to becoming Buddhists

• having people read about it.

• First Japanese scholars

used Kanji “Chinese
writing” to write in
Japanese

• By 900, the Japanese

invented Kana or
“borrowed letters”- each
character represents a
syllable.

Multiple Choice

The Japanese way of writing is called __________________.

• Kanga

• Kangi

• Kana

• Kaza

By using Chinese letters,
Japanese poets created
“Tanka” - a form of
poetry modeled after
the Chinese Style.

When spring comes

The melted ice

leaves no trace

Would that your heart too

Melted thus toward me.

Like Buddhism, new techniques of sculpture also spread from

India to China and then on to Korea and Japan

Chinese

Japanese

oThe Chinese pagoda style

was copied by the
Japanese.

oPagodas typically have

3,5,7 or 9 roofs.

Pagoda in

Nara, Japan

Pagoda in
China

Multiple Choice

How many roofs does a pagoda have?

• 2,4,6

• 3,6,9,10

• 3.4.5

• 3,5,7,9

oGagaku- a form of Chinese court music, was copied

by Japan.

oIt can still be heard today in Japan, 1,500 years later.

Buddhism had spread from India to China and into Korea.
So, In the early 600's AD Prince Shotoku had Buddhist
priests sent to Japan.

Japanese liked Buddhism because it promised rewards if you
were faithful and good.

Prince Shotoku also brought Confucianism from China to Japan
which taught people how to behave and gave rules for families.

Prince Shotoku
wanted Japan’s
emperors to
have great
power too.

The Chinese emperors had
great power.

Drag and Drop

Prince ​

Placeholder

also brought ​

Placeholder

from ​

Placeholder

to ​

Placeholder

which taught people how to ​

Placeholder

and gave rules for families.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

Shotoku

Confucianism

China

Japan

behave

The Japanese did not have a written language. So, they
copied Chinese writing.

Match

Match the following

• Kana

• Prince

• Regent

• Pagoda

• Constitution of 17 Articles

Japanese Writing

Shotoku

A person who rules a country for someone who is unable to rule alone.

Japanese Building

Shotoku's Laws

• Japanese Writing

• Shotoku

• A person who rules a country for someone who is unable to rule alone.

• Japanese Building

• Shotoku's Laws

Word Cloud

Write one word that will tell us about Prince Shotoku.