Prince Osakabe (刑部(忍壁)親王, Osakabe Shinnō) (died June 2, 705) was a Japanese imperial prince who helped write the Taihō Code (681 A.D.),[1] alongside Fujiwara no Fuhito. The Code was essentially an administrative reorganization, which would serve as the basis for Japan's governmental structure for centuries afterwards.
Along with Prince Kawashima, Osakabe was appointed to lead the emperor's 681 initiative, which was tasked with compiling the Imperial Chronicles and Fundamental Dicta.[5]
The Nihon Shoki or The Chronicles of Japan, are a historiographical collection of writing composed into thirteen books covering the Japanese history from its beginning until Empress Jitō was forced to relinquish her throne in 697. Prince Osakabe was a contributor to the project since its inception in the 680's.[6] Osakabe, like many other courtiers of the time, was also a poet, and one of his poems is included in the Man'yōshū. The Volume III of this collection opens with a poem - written by Kakinomoto no Asomi Hitomaro - dedicated to Osakabe.[7]
Osakabe's contribution to the reforms undertaken by Emperor Monmu included the draft of several laws and decrees based on the Chinese model.[8] With small modifications, many of these are still valid today.[8]
^Sakamoto, Taro (2011). The Six National Histories of Japan. UBC Press. p. 34. ISBN978-0774842969.
^Singer, Kurt (2002). The Life of Ancient Japan : Selected Contemporary Texts Illustrating Social Life and Ideals before the Era of Seclusion. Taylor and Francis. p. 66. ISBN9781903350010.
^Torquil., Duthie (2014). Man'yo{u00AF}shu{u00AF} and the Imperial Imagination in Early Japan. Leiden: Brill. ISBN978-9004264540. OCLC872642540.
^Sakamoto, TarÅ (1991). The Six National Histories of Japan. UBC Press. p. 35. ISBN0774842962.
^Sakamoto, Taro (1991). The Six National Histories of Japan. Vancouver: UBC Press. p. 35. ISBN0774803797.
^Brown, Delmer M (1993). Asuka and Nara Culture: Literacy, literature, and music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 468. ISBN9780521223522.
^Duthie, Torquil (2014). Man'yōshū and the Imperial Imagination in Early Japan. Leiden: BRILL. p. 281. ISBN9789004251717.
^ abSaito, Hisho (2010). A History of Japan. Oxon: Routledge. p. 25. ISBN9781136924637.
Frederic, Louis (2002). "Japan Encyclopedia." Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Brown, Delmer M (1993). "Asuka and Nara Culture: Literacy, literature, and music." Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
