The
Yamato Empire was the
unifying
empire in
Japan from ca. 350-700 AD. It centered on the fertile
Kinai plain, with its
political center in and around the
province of what is now called
Nara. This period is also called the
Kofun period after the large
tombs (
kofun) built for the
political leaders of that era. The
capitol of
Yamato moved frequently, with each new
emperor.
At the time, Shinto was the cheif religion in Japan. However, due to friendly relations to the kingdom of Kudara in the area which is now North Korea and South Korea, influence from mainland Asia increased strongly. Buddhism was introduced to Japan around 550 Confucianism and Taoism, as well as the Chinese writing system were introduced to Japan during the Yamato period.
In 645 a new government and administrative system was AD. It was quickly accepted, and co-existed with the Shinto tradition. Also the philosophies of established based on the Chinese model. Also adopted from China was a large land reform in which land was bought by the state and redistributed equally among the farmers in order to introduce the new tax system.