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{{short description|Historic constitution of Japan}}
The {{Nihongo|'''seventeen-article constitution'''|'''十七条憲法'''|"jūshichijō kenpō"||}} is, according to the ''[[Nihon Shoki]]'' of 720, a document authored by [[Prince Shōtoku]] in 604.<ref>W.G. Aston, trans., Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697, 2 vols. in 1 (London: Keagan and Co., 1896), vol. 2, pp. 128–133.</ref> It was adopted in the reign of [[Empress Suiko]]. The emphasis of the document is not so much on the basic laws by which the state was to be governed, such as one may expect from a modern [[constitution]], but rather it was a highly [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] and [[Confucianism|Confucian]] document that focused on the morals and virtues that were to be expected of government officials and the [[Emperor of Japan|emperor]]'s subjects to ensure a smooth running of the state, where the emperor was to be regarded as the highest authority.<ref>William Theodore de Bary, ed. ''Sources of Japanese Tradition, Volume One: From Earliest Times to 1600'' Columbia University Press; 2nd edition (2002), vol. 1, pp. 54-55.</ref> It is one of the earliest constitutions in history.

== Contents ==
The first article calls for harmony ([[Wa (Japanese culture)|''wa'']]) to be valued,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yamagami |first=Naoko |date=2021-05-04 |title=Prince Shotoku's 'Spirit of Wa' Remains Alive 1,400 Years After His Death {{!}} JAPAN Forward |url=https://japan-forward.com/prince-shotokus-spirit-of-wa-remains-alive-1400-years-after-his-death/ |access-date=2023-01-19 |website=japan-forward.com |language=en-US}}</ref> a response to the lack of peace in Japan at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Okada |first=Takumi |date=2021-04-04 |title=Memorial held to mark death of Prince Shotoku 1,400 years ago |url=https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14324777 |access-date=2023-01-19 |website=The Asahi Shimbun |language=en}}</ref> 

The second article places the Buddhist faith ahead of the authority of the emperor.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Tono |first=Haruyuki |date=2021-04-02 |title=Man of Legend: Early Japanese Ruler Prince Shōtoku |url=https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g01049/ |access-date=2023-01-19 |website=nippon.com |language=en}}</ref> 

==Validity==
The degree to which the document matches the definition of a "[[constitution]]" is debated. While it introduces principles of governance much like the preamble of modern constitutions such as the [[United States Constitution]], it lacks other elements commonly expected. As William Theodore de Bary writes, “Prince Shotoku's ‘constitution’, placed more emphasis on basic moral and spiritual values than on the detailed codification of laws and their enforcement".<ref>William Theodore de Bary. “The Constitutional Tradition in China,” Journal of Chinese Law. Vol. 9, No. 7 (1995), p. 14.</ref>

The veracity of the constitution is also debated due to the fact that it uses expressions that do not match the time at which Shotoku was active.<ref name=":0" />

This constitution remained valid until [[Ritsuryō]] went into effect in the late seventh century. It is frequently argued that those aspects not contradicted by any subsequent legislation were still considered valid in 1890, and remain so today.<ref>[http://veryasian.weebly.com/prince-shotoku.html Prince Shotoku on Simply Japan]</ref><ref>[http://www.duhaime.org/LawMuseum/LawArticle-1182/604-The-Seventeen-Article-Constitution-of-Japan.aspx The 17 Article Constitution on Duhaime.org ]</ref> Conservative commentator Kase Hideaki also argues that because it has never been explicitly abolished, it is still partially valid.{{Citation needed|date=November 2012}}

The Seventeen-Article Constitution did not prevent [[nobles]] and civil officials from [[Collusion|colluding]] and often having more administrative power than the emperor.<ref>{{Cite book |title=An Illustrated Guide to Samurai History and Culture: From the Age of Musashi to Contemporary Pop Culture |publisher=[[Tuttle Publishing]] |others=Foreword by Alexander Bennett |year=2022 |isbn=978-4-8053-1659-7 |location=North Clarendon, Vermont |pages=15}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Wikisource|Seventeen-article constitution}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:7th century in Japan]]
[[Category:Constitutions of Japan]]
[[Category:Defunct constitutions]]
[[Category:Japanese philosophy]]
[[Category:Legal history of Japan]]
[[Category:Medieval legal texts]]
[[Category:Government documents]]
[[Category:Old Japanese texts]]
[[Category:Prince Shōtoku]]
[[Category:604]]
[[Category:Buddhism in the Asuka period]]
[[Category:7th-century documents]]