The Asuka period (飛鳥時代, Asuka jidai?), was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 (or 592-645), although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after the Asuka region, about 25 km south of the modern city of Nara.
The Asuka period is also known for its significant artistic, social, and political transformations, having their origins in the late Kofun period, but largely affected by the arrival of Buddhism from China. The introduction of Buddhism marked a change in Japanese society. The Asuka period is also distinguished by the change in the name of the country from Wa (倭?) to Nihon (日本?).
Artistically, the period can be further divided into two periods: the Asuka period (up to the Taika Reforms), where early Buddhist cultural imports and influences are seen from Northern Wei and the Hakuhō period (after the Taika Reform), in which more Sui and Tang influences appear.
Read more about Asuka Period: Naming, The Yamato Polity, The Soga Clan and Shōtoku Taishi, Foreign Relations, Introduction of Buddhism, Influence of Taoism, Events
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“After all, the practical reason why, when the power is once in the hands of the people, a majority are permitted, and for a long period continue, to rule is not because they are most likely to be in the right, nor because this seems fairest to the minority, but because they are physically the strongest. But a government in which the majority rule in all cases cannot be based on justice, even as far as men understand it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)