The basic administrative unit of the Gokishichidō (五畿七道, "five cities, seven roads") system was the county, and society was organized into occupation groups.

[citation needed] Shōtoku, recognized as a great intellectual of this period of reform, was a devout Buddhist and was well-read in Chinese literature.

[2] As a result, Japan in this period received no title from Chinese dynasties, while they did send tribute (有貢無封, yūkō mufū).

From the Chinese point of view, the class or position of Japan was demoted from previous centuries in which the kings received titles.

The revolt was led by Prince Naka no Ōe and Nakatomi no Kamatari, who seized control of the court from the Soga family and introduced the Taika Reform.

[1] The Japanese era corresponding to the years 645–649 was thus named Taika (大化), meaning "great change" in reference to the Reform.

The revolt leading to the Taika Reform is commonly called the Isshi Incident, referring to the Chinese zodiac year in which the coup took place, 645.

Combined, the two terms came to describe a system of patrimonial rule based on an elaborate legal code that emerged from the Taika Reform.

[1] The Taika Reform, influenced by Chinese practices, started with land redistribution aimed at ending the existing landholding system of the great clans and their control over domains and occupational groups.

Another, long-lasting change was the use of the name Nihon (日本), or sometimes Dai Nippon (大日本, "Great Japan") in diplomatic documents and chronicles.

Further codification took place with the promulgation by Empress Jitō in 689 of the Asuka Kiyomihara Code, named for the location of the late Emperor Temmu's court.

The ritsuryō system was further consolidated and codified in 701 under the Taihō Code, which, except for a few modifications and being relegated to primarily ceremonial functions, remained in force until 1868.

Although the Chinese-style civil service examination system was not adopted, the college office (大学寮, Daigaku Ryō) was founded for training future bureaucrats based on the Confucian classics.

Tradition circumvented the system, however, as aristocratic birth continued to be the main qualification for higher position, and titles were soon hereditary again.

Several empresses reigned from the fifth to the eighth centuries, but after 770 succession was restricted to males, usually from father to son, although sometimes from ruler to brother or uncle.

Although the missions continued, the transformation of Japan through Chinese influences declined, despite the close connections that had existed during the early Kofun period.

The Soga clan, a Japanese court family that rose to prominence with the ascension of the Emperor Kinmei about 531, favored the adoption of Buddhism and of governmental and cultural models based on Chinese Confucianism.

But some at the Yamato court—such as the Nakatomi family, which was responsible for performing Shinto rituals at court, and the Mononobe, a military clan—were set on maintaining their prerogatives and resisted the alien religious influence of Buddhism.

The Soga introduced Chinese-modeled fiscal policies, established the first national treasury, and considered the kingdoms of Korea as trade partners rather than as objects of territorial expansion.

[citation needed] The use of elaborate kofun tombs by the imperial family and other elite thus fell out of use amidst the rise of prevailing new Buddhist beliefs, which put greater emphasis on the transience of human life.

[1] In 675 the use of livestock and the consumption of some wild animals (horse, cattle, dogs, monkeys, birds) was banned by Emperor Tenmu due to the influence of Buddhism.

The octagonal shape of monarchs' tombs of this age and the celestial maps drawn in the Kitora and Takamatsuzuka kofun reflect the Taoist cosmology.

During the latter half of the 8th century, a large number of songs and poems were composed and performed by various ranked people from warriors to the Emperor.

This term was coined to distinguish native styles from those imported from China; within the umbrella of waka poetry, one of the more popular forms is known as tanka (短歌, "short song").