Prince Shotoku (Shotoku 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. Shotoku was appointed as regent (Sessho) in 593 by Empress Suiko.

Shotoku; 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 Shitenno-ji Temple in Settsu province (present-day Osaka). Shotoku's name has been linked with Horyu-ji; a temple in Yamato province. Documentation at Horyu-ji claims that Suiko and Shotoku founded the temple in the year 607. Archaeological excavations in 1939 have confirmed that Prince Shotoku's palace; the Ikaruga-no-miya; stood in the eastern part of the current temple complex; where the To-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'. Shotoku 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).