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Giant tomb-mounds, the coming of Buddhism, Prince Shōtoku and the birth of the Yamato state.

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Kofun & Asuka Period · 300–710 AD
古墳・飛鳥 · Yamato Japan

The Kofun & Asuka Period

From the giant keyhole tomb-mounds of the Yamato kings and their clay haniwa guardians, through the coming of Buddhism from Korea and the reforms of Prince Shōtoku, to the Taika revolution that remade Japan on the Chinese model and the first true emperors. Slide across the age when scattered chiefdoms became a state, and the islands took the name Nihon — the source of the sun.

300 AD
The Kofun Period
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300 AD

The Kofun Period
  • Cultural

    The age of the great tombs

    Aerial view of the giant keyhole tomb-mounds of the Mozu kofun group
    Via Wikimedia Commons

    Powerful chiefs raise enormous keyhole-shaped burial mounds, the kofun that give the age its name.

7 milestones

Meanwhile

Around 300 AD

Full Chronicle

The Kofun & Asuka Period

From the giant keyhole tomb-mounds of the Yamato kings and their clay haniwa guardians, through the coming of Buddhism from Korea and the reforms of Prince Shōtoku, to the Taika revolution that remade Japan on the Chinese model and the first true emperors. Slide across the age when scattered chiefdoms became a state, and the islands took the name Nihon — the source of the sun.

  1. The Kofun Period

    • The age of the great tombs

      Powerful chiefs raise enormous keyhole-shaped burial mounds, the kofun that give the age its name.

  2. The Yamato Court

    • The rise of Yamato

      The kings of the Yamato plain extend their overlordship across central Japan, tied by trade and war to the kingdoms of Korea.

  3. The Coming of Buddhism

    • Buddhism reaches Japan

      A mission from the Korean kingdom of Baekje brings Buddhist images and scriptures to the Yamato court.

  4. Prince Shōtoku

    • Prince Shōtoku's constitution

      Regent Prince Shōtoku issues the Seventeen-Article Constitution, urging harmony, Buddhist virtue and obedience to the throne.

  5. The Taika Reform

    • The Taika Reform

      After the fall of the overmighty Soga, sweeping reforms remake Japan as a centralized, Chinese-style empire.

  6. Emperor Tenmu

    • The Jinshin War and Emperor Tenmu

      A war of succession brings Emperor Tenmu to the throne, who exalts the imperial house and its divine descent.

  7. The Ritsuryō State

    • The Taihō Code

      The Taihō Code lays down a complete legal system, completing Japan's transformation into a bureaucratic empire.