Chapter 42 Reforms that started with a palace coup

On June 12, 645 AD (the fourth year of Emperor Kogoku of Japan), a coup took place in the Japanese court.The reformist party led by Prince Nakadai and Minister Nakamitsu Kamazu wiped out the aristocratic forces of the Soga family, abolished Emperor Kogoku, and supported Emperor Kotoku as the throne.This is not a simple struggle for power, but a battle between progressives and conservatives. Japan is located in the northeast of Asia. It is a country composed of 4 large islands, Kyushu, Shikoku, Honshu, and Hokkaido, and more than 3,000 small islands.From the 1st century BC to the 2nd century AD, more than 100 small countries emerged on the archipelago and fought with each other endlessly.After the 3rd century AD, a relatively powerful country, Yamato, emerged in Nara, central Honshu today.Relying on fertile land, absorbing advanced techniques from the mainland and immigrating in large numbers, Yamato continued to expand.By the 4th century, the Yamato state not only ruled most of the Japanese archipelago to the west of the Kanto, but also invaded the Korean Peninsula, occupying the Renna (Gaya) area at the southeastern tip of the peninsula, and controlled an important channel for importing mainland culture.By the beginning of the 5th century, Japan was largely unified.The monarch was called "King" and later renamed "Emperor".Slave-owner nobles are called surname nobles, because each slave-owner group not only retains the original clan name, but also has a surname that indicates high rank.The Japanese residents gradually formed the Yamato nation centered on the Yamato nobles.

In the process of expansion, the Yamato country continued to occupy the surrounding land and people, and distributed them to members of the royal family and great nobles.The Yamato country divided the land into two parts, the warehouse and the farm. The former belonged to the royal family and the latter belonged to the nobles.At the same time, the working people are also divided into two parts, a small part is slaves, mainly used for domestic labor, and the other part is tribal people, mainly used for productive labor.In the process of conquest by Yamato, the tribal organization (called "bu") in the conquered area is generally retained, and the residents are called "bumin".Departments specialize in a certain kind of production according to the division of labour.Those engaged in agricultural production are called the Field Department and the Rice Department, and those engaged in production in the handicraft industry or other industries are collectively called the Works Department.The tribesmen have their own families, production tools and a small amount of property, but they have no personal freedom. Under the leadership of the clan chief, they serve and pay tribute to their masters, and all the remaining products belong to the masters.The master is not allowed to kill or buy and sell the tribesmen at will, but they can be given to others as gifts, which has the characteristics of racial slaves.The tribesmen lived a miserable life under cruel exploitation, so many people fled into the mountains or armed riots.Between the nobles and the tribesmen are a large number of commoners, whose status is also changing due to changes in property, and they are always in danger of becoming tribesmen.

From the second half of the 5th century AD, Japan’s power in the Korean Peninsula declined. In addition, after the national reunification, the imperial family continued to occupy the territories of local nobles, expand their own warehouses, and impose the military burden of invading Korea on them. The contradiction between the royal family and local nobles became increasingly acute.The common people in the lower classes were destitute, and even starved to death in the face of famine. By the end of the 6th century, the tribunal system had tended to collapse. In 592 AD, the great aristocrat Soga, who controlled the central government, supported his niece, Emperor Tuiko, to the throne, and his nephew, Prince Shotoku, as regent.Prince Shotoku abolished the hereditary system of official positions and formulated 12 levels of crowns; promulgated 17 constitutions, proclaiming the supremacy of the emperor, improving the status of the royal family, strengthening centralization and the legal system, and continuing to send overseas students to China to strengthen ties with China.However, what Prince Shotoku did did not touch the Bumin system, and did not greatly promote the elimination of various social abuses at that time. In 622, Prince Shotoku died of illness. The limited achievements of "Pushing the Ancient Reform" are also on the verge of abortion, and the Yamato regime has become increasingly unstable.

Under such circumstances, a group of young and promising people in the Japanese royal family and the central nobles, led by Prince Nakadai and Nakaomi Kamazu, made close friends with the returned students from China, determined to use the Tang Empire with a complete legal system as a model, Innovate politics and make fundamental changes to Japanese society.After careful planning and preparation, a coup was launched in 645. First, Suga was killed in front of the palace, and then Eizo and his family were forced to set themselves on fire, eliminating the core group of conservative aristocrats in one fell swoop.The reformers who had mastered the power of the court elected a young prince who had read Chinese classics to inherit the throne, called Emperor Kotoku, and his reign was Taika; Waiting for a doctorate in the country, participating in political leaders, thus forming a strong leadership core with the mission of promoting reform and establishing a centralized state.

In 646 AD, Emperor Kotoku promulgated a new imperial edict, imitating the Chinese Sui and Tang Dynasties and carrying out reforms.Emperor Kotoku's reign was Dahua, so this reform was called "Dahua Reform" in history. The main contents of the Dahua reform are as follows: First, abolish the tribunal system and implement the so-called common land citizenship system, which means abolishing the royal family’s warehouses, noble farms and tribunals, and nationalizing the land and people of the whole country, turning them into "Commons, Citizens".Second, establish the method of accepting and teaching in Bantian and modulation of Zuyong.The government fabricates the household registration every 6 years, and grants 2 sections of Koufen (1 section is about 9.918 acres) to men over 6 years old, women are two-thirds of men, and slaves are one-third of good people (granted to the head of the household) .The land is used by the recipient for life, but it cannot be bought or sold, and it will be returned to the state after death.Farmers receiving land should be responsible for the rent adjustment.Rent, that is, land rent in kind, and 2 bundles of rented rice and 2 bundles of rented rice are paid for each section of the field.Yong is forced labor and its substitutes, 10 days per person per year, which can be replaced by silk cloth; tune is a local specialty that is collected, usually silk, silk, cotton, cloth, etc.Third, establish a centralized system of power.The central government has god officials in charge of sacrificial ceremonies and political officials in charge of the prime minister's government affairs. Eight provinces (departments) are set up to deal with specific affairs respectively.Officials are appointed by the central government, and the hereditary system of official positions is abolished.There are countries, counties, and lis in the local area, and they are governed by the state secretary, county secretary, and li chief respectively.In this way, the large and small countries that were originally ruled by nobles with surnames were placed under the direct control of the central government.