Japan: Prince Shotoku flanked by younger brother (left: Prince Eguri) and first son (right: Prince Yamashiro), c.8th century.

Prince Shōtoku (Shōtoku Taishi, 574–622), also known as Prince Umayado, was a regent and a politician of the Asuka period in Japan. He was a member of the ruling Soga clan. Shōtoku was appointed as regent (Sesshō) in 593 by Empress Suiko.

Shōtoku, inspired by Buddha's teachings, succeeded in establishing a centralized government during his reign. In 603, he established the 12 official ranks at court. He is credited with promulgating a Seventeen-article constitution. The Prince was an ardent Buddhist and composed commentaries on the Lotus Sutra, the Vimalakirti Sutra, and the Sutra of Queen Srimala. He commissioned the Shitennō-ji Temple in Settsu province (present-day Osaka). Shōtoku's name has been linked with Hōryū-ji, a temple in Yamato province. Documentation at Hōryū-ji claims that Suiko and Shōtoku founded the temple in the year 607. Archaeological excavations in 1939 have confirmed that Prince Shōtoku's palace, the Ikaruga-no-miya, stood in the eastern part of the current temple complex, where the Tō-in sits today.

China's Sui Emperor, Yangdi, dispatched a message in 605 that stated: 'The sovereign of Sui respectfully inquires about the sovereign of Wa'. Shōtoku responded by sponsoring a mission led by Ono no Imoko in 607. The Prince's own message contains the earliest written instance in which the Japanese archipelago is named 'Nihon', literally, sun-origin (country). The salutation stated: 'From the sovereign of the land of the rising sun (nihon/hi izuru) to the sovereign of the land of the setting sun'. He is said to be buried at Shinaga, in the former Kawachi province (today Osaka prefecture).

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