From then on till the latter half of the seventh century, the name designating the country was still Wakoku or Wa, but in the process of remodeling its state and administrative apparatus on the ritsuryo system (a system of centralized government based on the ritsuryo code) by the Emperor Tenmu, there was growing national awareness about the avoidance of using Wa or Wakoku, so that before and after 701, a pair of Chinese characters, 日本, (meaning of 'the land from the sun-rise) came to be used.
その後、7世紀後半に至るまで国号の表記は倭国・倭のままであったが、天武天皇に始まる律令制建設の過程で、倭国・倭という表記を忌避する意識が再び高まり、701年前後に日本という表記が採用されることとなったと考えられている。