---
node: taika_reform
type: event
slug: taika_reform
title: "Taika Reform"
lead: "In 645 Prince Naka no Oe and Nakatomi no Kamatari assassinated the dominant courtier Soga no Iruka, then launched reform edicts that rebuilt Japan as a centralized state on the Tang Chinese model."
published: 2026-07-09
updated: 2026-07-09
---

## What happened

In 645 Prince Naka no Oe (the future Emperor Tenji) and Nakatomi no Kamatari (founder of the Fujiwara house) assassinated the dominant courtier Soga no Iruka at court — the Isshi Incident — breaking Soga power.

In 646 the new government proclaimed reform edicts: land and people were to belong to the state (kochi komin), with household registers, taxation and provincial administration. "Taika" was Japan's first era name.

## Background

The reform program took Tang China as its model. Registers, taxes and provincial government all followed the template of the Chinese centralized state.

## Consequences

The reforms unfolded over decades, culminating in the ritsuryo codes (the Taiho Code of 701). The result was the centralized classical state — and the beginning of the Fujiwara clan's thousand-year career at court.