The Formation and Development of Ruling Ideology in Ancient Japan

This study comprehensively examines the formation and transformation of ancient Japanese governing ideologies from various perspectives, including politics, diplomacy, society, and thought. In its early stages, royal authority secured its legitimacy through a ritual-based political order rooted in shamanism, while simultaneously striving for internal cohesion by utilizing the Chinese tributary system. As institutional foundations for social control were later established through the Uji-Kabane system and Bumin system, a centralized power structure gradually developed around the monarchy. Amid these political and institutional transformations, Japan’s unique conception of ‘All Under Heaven’ emerged, functioning as a core ideology that supported both the ruling principles and social order. Ancient Japan’s political order underwent a significant transformation through contact with foreign ideologies. In particular, Confucian political thought and ritual systems, introduced via the Five Classics Scholars dispatched from Baekje, laid the foundation for the development of Japan’s bureaucratic structure, social hierarchy, and system of written administration. Confucianism functioned as an ideological framework that provided rationality and normative order to governance, enabling a degree of organization and integration throughout state affairs. In addition, Buddhism was actively embraced as a religious foundation to legitimize the sacred nature of royal authority. By promoting the identification of the king’s rule with Buddhist law, Buddhism facilitated the integration of politics and religion, eventually establishing itself as a new governing ideology. These changes and the establishment of governing ideologies ultimately culminated in the formation of a uniquely Japanese ruling ideology centered on the Tenno system. The compilation of the 『Kojiki』 and 『Nihonshoki』 record a myth as a historical fact and deified the Tenno, constructing a Japan-centric worldview that resembled a localized version of Sinocentrism and shaped Japan’s perception of its place in the world. Moreover, the introduction of the Ritsuryo legal code and the compilation of the 『Sinsenshojiroku』 further institutionalized the political order and articulated a coherent political ideology centered on the Tenno. In conclusion, ancient Japan’s ruling ideology was the product of a gradual process involving clan-based social control, the selective adoption of foreign thought systems, institutional reform, and historical compilation. It ideologically codified the Tenno’s sacred authority and Japan’s external prestige. Far from being a mere set of political ideas, this ideology was a complex product of Japan’s interaction with the East Asian world, and offers critical insights into the formation of Japan’s political institutions and its external strategies in the ancient period.