Japan Heritage story
Asuka: the women who shaped the birth of Japan
日本国創成のとき
When Japan first became a state, half of its rulers were women. In Asuka, empresses built capitals and laws, nuns spread Buddhism and women poets wrote some of Japan's earliest verse.
Key facts
- Theme
- Ancient burial mounds, Festivals and rituals
- Era
- Kofun, Nara
- Region
- Kansai
- Official name in Japanese
- 日本国創成のとき
- Official subtitle in Japanese
- ～飛鳥を翔（かけ）た女性たち～
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 奈良県（明日香村・橿原市・高取町）
The story
In the Asuka period, when Japan first took shape as a state, half of the emperors were empresses. Empress Suiko, Japan's first, embraced Buddhism while still honouring the old gods. Empress Kogyoku, who reigned again as Saimei, is said to have prayed for rain in the hills of Asuka and led a great building programme. Empress Jito finished the work of her husband, Emperor Tenmu: she completed the Fujiwara capital and saw the Taiho Code, Japan's first full legal code, enacted.
Women led in faith and art too. Japan's first Buddhist cleric was a girl, the nun Zenshin-ni, who took vows at 11 and went to Baekje in Korea to study. The Man'yoshu, Japan's oldest poetry anthology, holds poems by Jito and by Nukata no Okimi.
Where to go
- Asuka village: palace sites, stone monuments and quiet rice fields, best seen by bicycle.
- Kashihara: site of the Fujiwara capital, completed under Empress Jito.Google Maps 藤原宮跡 (opens in a new tab)
- Takatori: the third town of this story, south of Asuka.
Plan your visit with the Nara prefecture guide and explore more history and heritage.
Good to know
- Rent a bicycle in Asuka: the sites are spread out among the rice fields.
- Read a few Man'yoshu poems by Nukata no Okimi before you go; many describe this landscape.
- Combine Asuka with the Takenouchi Kaido, Japan's oldest road, which ends nearby.
Questions travellers ask
Who was Japan's first empress?
Empress Suiko, who reigned in the Asuka period and supported the spread of Buddhism.
Why is Asuka called the birthplace of Japan?
It was here that the state took shape: capitals were built, the Taiho Code was enacted and, in the words of the story, the country of Japan was born.
Where it comes from
More heritage stories from the same area
- Aizu's 33 Kannon pilgrimage: faith with a day out
- Date Masamune's dazzling culture in Sendai and Matsushima
- Gyoda: the town of tabi storehouses
- Hida no Takumi: 1,300 years of master woodworkers in Takayama
- Iga and Koka: in search of the real ninja
- Izumo: the sacred land where the sun sets
- Kamenose: crossing the landslide heart of the Tatsuta Kodo
- Katsuragi Shugen: where mountain asceticism began
- Michinoku gold: where Japan's gold story began
- Mount Takao and Hachioji, the city of silk
- Nyonin Koya: the temples where women prayed instead of Mount Koya
- Oyama Mairi: the Edo people's pilgrimage and day out
Local foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.