The 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.
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 Buddhist and Confucian document that focused on the morals and virtues that were to be expected of government officials and the emperor's subjects to ensure a smooth running of the state, where the emperor was to be regarded as the highest authority.
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".
[6] 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.
[citation needed] The Seventeen-Article Constitution did not prevent nobles and civil officials from colluding and often having more administrative power than the emperor.