Shotoku

Shotoku

 in full Shotoku Taishi English Crown Prince Shotoku

(born 574, Yamato, Japan—died April 8, 622, Yamato) Important Japanese regent and scholar of the Asuka period who promoted Buddhism and Confucianism, reinstituted embassies to China, and adopted the Chinese calendar and court ranks. He built the Horyu Temple and is sometimes credited with writing the Seventeen-Article Constitution, which describes Confucian ethical concepts and the Chinese bureaucratic system. Since his death he has been regarded as a Buddhist saint.