in full Shōtoku Taishi English Crown Prince Shōtoku
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 Hōryū 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.