Taihō Code

The Taihō Code or Code of Taihō (大宝律令, Taihō-ritsuryō) was an administrative reorganisation enacted in 703 in Japan, at the end of the Asuka period. It was historically one of the Ritsuryō-sei (律令制, ritsuryō-sei). It was compiled at the direction of Prince Osakabe, Fujiwara no Fuhito and Awata no Mahito. The work was begun at the request of Emperor Monmu and, like many other developments in the country at the time, it was largely an adaptation of the governmental system of China's Tang dynasty.

The establishment of the Taihō Code was one of the first events to include Confucianism as a significant element in the Japanese code of ethics and government. The Code was revised during the Nara period to accommodate certain Japanese traditions and practical necessities of administration. The revised edition was named the Yōrō Code (養老律令, Yōrō-ritsuryō). Major work on the Yōrō Code was completed in 718.

The Taihō Code contained only two major departures from the Tang model. First, government positions and class status were based on birth, as had always been the Japanese tradition, not merit, as was the Chinese way. Second, the Japanese rejected the Chinese concept of the "Mandate of Heaven," asserting that the Emperor's power comes from his imperial descent, not from his righteousness or fairness as a ruler.

This code is said to be based on the Code of Yonghui (永徽律令) implemented in China in 651 by the Emperor Gaozong of Tang.