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Born in 574 as the second son of Emperor Yomei, his personal name was Umayado no Miko (Prince of the Stable Gate), from the legend that his mother was passing a palace stable when he was born. From childhood he was said to be brilliant, deeply versed in Buddhist and Confucian texts. In the 587 conflict between the Soga and Mononobe clans, he supported Soga no Umako, contributing to the victory of the pro-Buddhist faction. When Empress Suiko ascended in 593 he was appointed Crown Prince and regent, leading political reform in cooperation with Soga no Umako. In 603 he established the Twelve-Level Cap and Rank System to base appointments on ability and achievement rather than birth. In 604 he promulgated the Seventeen-Article Constitution, articulating norms of governance grounded in Buddhist and Confucian thought. Its opening article — "harmony is to be valued" — remains widely known today. In 607 he dispatched Ono no Imoko as envoy to Sui China bearing a letter opening "the Son of Heaven in the land where the sun rises writes to the Son of Heaven in the land where the sun sets" — an attempt at equal-footing diplomacy that surprised the Sui court. He founded Horyuji, Shitennoji, Chuguji, and many other temples, firmly establishing Buddhism as the spiritual foundation of the state. He died at Ikaruga Palace in 622 at age 49.

An idealistic statesman with deep Buddhist compassion and Confucian virtue-based governance. As embodied in his maxim "harmony is to be valued," he prized concord and cooperation. He had a keen scholarly bent and is credited with composing the Sangyo Gisho, commentaries on three Buddhist sutras. His brilliance gave rise to the legend that he could hear ten people speaking at once.

The Seventeen-Article Constitution is regarded as Japan's earliest written legal norm, and the spirit of "harmony" (wa) endures as a foundational ideal of Japanese culture. The cap-and-rank system laid the groundwork for a bureaucratic order, opening the path to the ritsuryo system. Horyuji, the world's oldest surviving wooden structure, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and conveys Japan's Buddhist culture to the world. Prince Shotoku's portrait on the old ten-thousand-yen note reflects his status as one of the most beloved historical figures in Japan.