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영어

To define the essence of the emperor (Tenno, 天皇)'s royal authority during ancient Japanese history, I have investigated the meaning and the effect of the“Sinbuts(信物)”received from different countries. The paper examines the nature of the Sinbuts through the relationship between the emperor and daizokan(太政官). In addition, we looked at the characteristic of the emperor's diplomatic power criteria in Sinbuts in diplomatic relations. One criteria in Sinbuts is given as a diplomatic symbol to the other country. The other criteria of Sinbuts are given as a gift with the country's unique products. The first factor is important because of its symbolic meaning, where as the second one is important for its rareness. After the establishment of the Taiho-Ritsuryo legal codes(大寶律令), there was a change in Sinbuts. It was here that they began to call this exchange“Sinbuts”or“Kong-Chou Mul(貢調物)”which emphasizes its symbolic meaning. At the turn of the 8th century, Sinbuts that had been used in international diplomacy has now changed to more of a tribute to the emperor special favors. This change is a direct result of Japanese government having an emperor-centered policy. This policy was greatly influenced by China.
The emperor, who holds the ultimate power in foreign affairs, has the full right to receive all the goods in totality as well. Kura-ryo(內藏寮), an organization that manages the emperor's finance, enabled him to control and distribute all the goods. In other word, the emperor has the full power to keep or redistribute all the goods he has received. In the process, daizokan too favored this method and used it himself for his profit.
The ancient Japanese emperors retained their power through generations managing to keep the law in his favor and control people under him. He became the ultimate beneficiary as a head of all foreign and domestic affairs giving him maximum power. By managing this system, the ancient Japanese emperors kept their power in tact.