Editing Emperor Tenmu (section)

===Politics===
{{unreferenced section|date=March 2014}}
[[File:Nihon Shoki 15 April 683.jpg|thumb|The [[Nihon Shoki]] entry of April 15, 683 CE (Tenmu 12th year), mandates the use of copper coins instead of silver, suggesting that [[Japanese currency]] predates his reign. Excerpt of the 11th century edition.]]
[[File:Fuhonsen Asukaike end of 7th century copper and antimony.jpg|thumb|Early [[Japanese currency]]: ''Fuhonsen'' coins (富本銭), found in Asukaike (飛鳥池), thought to have been minted during the reign of Emperor Tenmu, end of 7th century, [[copper]] and [[antimony]]. [[Currency Museum of the Bank of Japan]].]]
In the ''Nihon Shoki'', Tenmu is described as a great innovator, but the neutrality of this description is doubtful, since the work was written under the control of his descendants. It seems clear, however, that Tenmu strengthened the power of the emperor and appointed his sons to the highest offices of his government, reducing the traditional influence of powerful clans such as the [[Ōtomo clan|Ōtomo]] and [[Soga clan]]s. He renewed the system of ''[[kabane]]'', the hereditary titles of duty and rank, but with alterations, including the abolition of some titles. [[Omi (title)|Omi]] and [[Muraji]], the highest kabane in the earlier period, were reduced in value in the new hierarchy, which consisted of eight kinds of kabane. Each clan received a new kabane according to its closeness to the imperial bloodline and its loyalty to Tenmu.

Tenmu attempted to keep a balance of power among his sons. Once he traveled to Yoshino together with his sons, and there had them swear to cooperate and not to make war on each other. This turned out to be ineffective: one of his sons, Prince Ōtsu, was later executed for treason after the death of Tenmu.

Tenmu's foreign policy favored the Korean kingdom [[Silla]], which took over the entire Korean peninsula in 676. After the unification of Korea by Silla, Tenmu decided to break diplomatic relations with the [[Tang dynasty]] of China, evidently in order to keep on good terms with Silla.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QBGGBAAAQBAJ&q=Tenmu+silla+policy&pg=PT112|title=A History of Japan|last=Totman|first=Conrad|date=2014-09-11|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=9781119022350|language=en}}</ref>

Tenmu used religious structures to increase the authority of the imperial throne. During his reign there was increased emphasis on the tie between the imperial household and [[Ise Grand Shrine]] (dedicated to the ancestor goddess of the emperors, [[Amaterasu]]) by sending his daughter [[Princess Ōku]] as the newly established [[Saiō]] of the shrine, and several festivals were financed from the national budget. He also showed favor to [[Buddhism]], and built several large temples and monasteries. It is said that Tenmu asked that each household was encouraged to build an altar with a dais where a Buddha-image and a sutra could be placed so that family worshiping could be held, thus inventing the [[butsudan]]. On the other hand, all Buddhist priests, monks and nuns were controlled by the state, and no one was allowed to become a monk without the state's permission. This was aimed at preventing cults and stopping farmers from turning into priests.

====''Kugyō''====
''[[Kugyō]]'' ({{lang|ja|公卿}}) is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the [[Emperor of Japan]] in pre-[[Meiji period|Meiji]] eras.

In general, this elite group included only three to four men at a time. These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background would have brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career. During Tenmu's reign, this apex of the ''[[Daijō-kan]]'' included:
* ''[[Sadaijin]]'', Soga no Akae no Omi <ref name="b269">Brown, p. 269.</ref>
* ''[[Udaijin]]'', Nakatomi no Kane no Muraji <ref name="b269"/>
* ''[[Naidaijin]]''