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The decline of the Ritsuryo state of medieval Japan was the result of the weak organization created through the Taika reforms. Though the Taika reforms were intended to increase the authority of the emperor, they were unable to give him adequate financial strength.
In order to obtain the assistance of the Uji clan in running the bureaucracy, the emperor awarded concessions of rice to them in return for their labor. These rewards reduced his own tax base, making him poorer. Furthermore, the bureaucratic posts assumed by the Uji clan members became hereditary-allowing the Uji to maintain their respective political position. This entrenchment made them separate from the emperor, as they no longer had to earn their positions through loyalty. Instead, the bureaucrats were loyal only to their friends and family. This became increasingly important in the eighth century.
Because they were losing tax revenue through their concessions to the Uji, the emperors taxed the cultivators heavily. This resulted in a significant exodus to unpopular areas, where the people were allowed to farm untaxed. In losing its cultivators, the imperial government saw its tax-base further decline; and along with that decline, a loss of revenue and power.
In order to increase the tax-base, the emperors decided to encourage land reclamation. They figured that if more land was being farmed, they would bring in more taxes. No one wanted, however, to go to the effort of reclamation. So, in 723 A.D., the emperor signed an edict stating that any land reclaimed (called a Shoen) would belong the reclaimer (not the laborer, but rather the employer of the laborer) for three generations. This was a change from the previous state in which individuals only received a lifetime-long proprietorship of a given area of land.
Not enough reclamation occurred and so a new edict was signed in 743 A.D. From then on, the reclaimer was to receive permanent hereditary ownership of the land, thought it would be lawfully taxable. The government quickly perceived its error, though, when these Shoen became tax-immune-either due to religious status or help in the official bureaucracy. Here, the hereditary bureaucracy established in the Ritsuryo state became very useful to the Uji. In 765, the edict of 743 was rescinded, but too late.
Since the Uji were often lying to get out of taxes or outright refusing to pay them, the government started sending census takers who insisted upon admittance to Shoen. In order to deny these officials entrance, the Shoen proprietors started hiring warrior bands to guard their property. This led to district run militias whose job it was to counter Shoen fighters. These professional warriors came to be known as bushi; they were not only employed by the Shoen nobles and by the government, they were also employed by monasteries and also roved the countryside as mercenaries. Bushi with common economic and political interests joined together, creating a vassalage system, in order to better further their goals. Bushi protected the pseudo-sovereignty of Shoen by guarding admittance and fighting territorial disputes. As the wealthy (nobles, monks and even the emperor) came to see their value at enforcing political and economic objectives, the Bushi became a widespread part of society.
Because the follow-up to the Taika reforms only strengthened the Uji at the expense of the emperors, the Ritsuryo state was bound to fall. The emergence of Shoen and Bushi as political forces marked the coming of a new societal order. This new order would be marked by Bushi reinforcement of kuge (noble) factions. Through this system, the Taira clan would eventually emerge from the oncoming Fujiwara hegemony to lead the Gempei War.
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