The was an administrative reorganisation enacted in 703 in Japan, at the end of the Asuka period. It was historically one of the . It was compiled at the direction of Prince Osakabe, Fujiwara no Fuhito and Awata no Mahito. The work was begun at the request of Emperor Monmu and, like many other developments in the country at the time, it was largely an adaptation of the governmental system of China's Tang dynasty.
The establishment of the Taihà  Code was one of the first events to include Confucianism as a significant element in the Japanese code of ethics and government. The Code was revised during the Nara period to accommodate certain Japanese traditions and practical necessities of administration. The revised edition was named the . Major work on the Yà Ârà  Code was completed in 718.
The Taihà  Code contained only two major departures from the Tang model. First, government positions and class status were based on birth, as had always been the Japanese tradition, not , as was the Chinese way. Second, the Japanese rejected the Chinese concept of the "Mandate of Heaven", asserting that the Emperor's power comes from his imperial descent, not from his righteousness or fairness as a ruler.
This code is said to be based on the Code of Yonghui () implemented in China in 651 by the Emperor Gaozong of Tang.
The Taihà  Code established two branches of government: the and the . The Jingi-kan was the higher branch, taking precedence over the Daijà Â-kan and handled all spiritual, religious, or ritualistic matters. The Daijà Â-kan handled all secular and administrative matters.
The Jingi-kan, or Department of Worship, was responsible for annual festivals and official court ceremonies such as coronations, as well as the upkeep of shrines, the discipline of shrine wardens, and the recording and observation of oracles and divinations. The department, though it governed all the Shintà  shrines in the country, had no connection with Buddhism.
The Daijà Â-kan, or Department of State, handled all secular matters and was headed by the Great Council of State, which was presided over by the Daijà Â-daijin (太æ¿大è£, Chancellor). The Ministers of the Left and Right (Sadaijin 左大è£ and Udaijin å³大è£ respectively), Controllers of the Left and Right (Sadaiben 左大张and Udaiben å³大å¼Â), four Great Councillors (Dainagon 大ç´Âè¨Â) and three Minor Councillors (Shà Ânagon å°Âç´Âè¨Â) made up the Council, and were responsible to the Daijà Â-daijin. The eight government Ministries were, in turn, responsible to the Controllers and Ministers of the Left and Right.
The country was divided into provinces called kuni (å½), and the central government appointed administrative governors, kokushi (å½å¸), divided into four levels (the Shità Âkan), kami, suke, jo and sakan to each province. The provinces were further divided into districts called gun (é¡) or kà Âri, which were administered by locally appointed officials called gunji (é¡å¸). These local officials were primarily responsible for keeping the peace, collecting taxes, recruiting labor for the corvée, and for keeping registers of population and land allotment. Within the districts' further subdivisions, local organization varied greatly, but often resembled the arrangement of a township of fifty or so homes led by a headman.
The number of provinces was not fixed, however. As new land was developed, new provinces came into being. At the time of the Code's enactment, there were sixty-six provinces comprising 592 districts.
The Chinese system known as ritsuryà  in Japan was adopted by both the kingdoms of the Korean peninsula and Japan at the same time.
According to Shoku Nihongi, the participation member of Taihà  Code was the 18 Japanese aristocrats and one Chinese scholar (è©å¼Âæª Satsu Koukaku) Chinese scholar Satsu played an important role. He participated in the edit of Nihon Shoki, and often received the reward from the Japanese emperor.
Current understanding of the conditions which preceded the Taihà  reforms remains replete with unanswerable questions, but there is much which can be inferredâÂÂfor example:
Any examinations of the earliest known texts become exercises in historiographyâÂÂfor example:
Although essential as a starting point, any list of serial events will reveal only part of the unfolding story - for example: