[paragraph continues] Trinities--the Trinity of the Hosso, namely, Roshana, Maitreya, and Manjus'ri; that of the Kegon, Vairoc'ana, Samantabhadra (Fugen), and Manjus'ri; that of the Pure Land, Amitabha, Kwannon, and Seishi--all claiming to come from the beginnings of the Mahayana, all supposed to have appeared simultaneously in China, just at the time when Christian missions first made their way to that empire, and all three brought over to Japan during the early years of the Nara period. At bottom the three sets meant pretty much the same thing, and the ethics of Buddhism were much the same whoever preached them; but the three represented sectarian differences, and there speedily appeared rivalries between jealous monks competing with one another for the favour of the court and nobility. This was one of the characteristics of the Nara age.

The student who has the time, inclination, and opportunity to prosecute further the study of this period, will find it full of very valuable historical material which throws a flood of light on the present life and thought of the Japanese people. Such a research lies far beyond the scope of the present work. We may, however, refer to one or two points of importance.

Amongst a number of sovereigns of no special importance Kotoku Tenno (645-654) is distinguished for the zeal with which he worked along the lines of political and civil reform laid down by Shotoku. The Taikwa reforms (so called from the Nengo or year-period in which they were issued--an institution then first borrowed from China) brought the institutions of Japan very near to the Chinese models. The old offices of the Omi and Omuraji were abolished, and three new officers, with Chinese titles, Sadaijin, Udaijin, Naidaijin, appointed to take their place. Exact reports were demanded from the governors of the provinces as to the conditions and needs of the people, a simple but (for the time) sufficient Court of Appeal was instituted, in the shape of a box placed at the palace gates to receive the complaints of the people, provincial boundaries were fixed, and the Handen shuja-ho whilst providing that each peasant family should have a minimum allotment of rice land (two tan for a man, and a little more than one tan for a woman), also provided for the revenues of the State by taking one-twentieth of the produce for State purposes. Thus the State became the universal landlord, and the people paid a single tax inclusive of rent. The reforms were not carried out without opposition. Soga Ishikawamaro, who held the office of Udaijin, was falsely accused