Hello, and welcome to the History of Japan podcast. Episode 3, the first capital.

Last week, we discussed the tumulus or kofun period,

which saw the rapid rise to power of the Yamato state,

ruled by the ancestors of the modern Japanese emperors.

Now, the date for the end of the Kofun period is usually given as 538 AD,

and by this point, the Yamato State has expanded to control most of Japan, from the southern

island of Kyushu up to the area around modern Tokyo. This new period of history is referred

to as the Asuka period. What makes this period different from the Kofun period, you ask?

Well, that's a good question.

Historians generally like to begin new eras of history based on the occurrence of some sort of significant event.

This case is no different. 538, in this case, is the earliest year given for the introduction of Buddhism.

We're not sure it's the correct one. There are a couple of other dates that get floated, but that's the earliest one, which is why it's used in this case.

Of course, this is all with the caveat that historical periods are an invention we use to make our jobs easier as historians. It's not like people at the time would have seen this as some kind of epoch-defining event

that had changed everything and I ushered in a new age of history.

The imperial family by this period is ruling at the apex of a growing aristocracy composed of local powerholders.

The loyalty of these powerholders is assured through a combination of bribery,

using both money and court positions, violence, and religious and cultural customs.

For example, we talked last week about how the emperors encouraged people to think of them as having divine ancestry. this meant any ill-treatment of the emperor

involved ill-treatment of the gods themselves, which is, of course, a bad choice to make

if you're planning on not being smote.

This is also the point in history where Shinto, the Japanese native religion of ancestor worship,

begins to take on its extremely complex and multi-layered pantheon.

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