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Emperor Kanmu - Wikipedia
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Emperor Kanmu

Emperor Kanmu (桓武かんむ天皇てんのう, Kammu-tennō, 735 – 9 April 806), or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan,[1] according to the traditional order of succession.[2] Kammu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the scope of the emperor's powers reached its peak.[3] His reign saw the transition from the Nara period to the Heian period.

Emperor Kanmu
桓武かんむ天皇てんのう
Portrait of Emperor Kanmu, 16th century
Emperor of Japan
Reign30 April 781 – 9 April 806
Enthronement10 May 781
PredecessorKōnin
SuccessorHeizei
BornYamabe (山部やまべ)
4 February 736
Died9 April 806(806-04-09) (aged 70)
Burial
Kashiwabara no misasagi (柏原かしわばら陵りょう) (Kyoto)
SpouseFujiwara no Otomuro
Issue
among others...
Posthumous name
Chinese-style shigō:
Emperor Kanmu (桓武かんむ天皇てんのう)

Japanese-style shigō:
Yamatonekoamatsuhitsugiiyateri no Sumeramikoto (日本にっぽん根子ねっこ皇統こうとう弥わたる照あきら天皇てんのう)
HouseImperial House of Japan
FatherEmperor Kōnin
MotherTakano no Niigasa

Traditional narrative

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Emperor Kammu

Kammu's personal name (imina) was Yamabe (山部やまべ).[4] He was the eldest son of Prince Shirakabe (later known as Emperor Kōnin), and was born prior to Shirakabe's ascension to the throne.[5] According to the Shoku Nihongi (続ぞく日本にっぽん紀き), Yamabe's mother, Yamato no Niigasa (later called Takano no Niigasa), was a 10th generation descendant of Muryeong of Baekje (462–523).[6]

After his father became emperor, Kammu's half-brother, Prince Osabe was appointed to the rank of crown prince. His mother was Princess Inoe, a daughter of Emperor Shōmu; but instead of Osabe, it was Kammu who was later named to succeed their father. After Inoe and Prince Osabe were confined and then died in 775, Osabe's sister – Kammu's half-sister Princess Sakahito – became Kammu's wife.[7] Later, when he ascended to the throne in 781, Kammu appointed his young brother, Prince Sawara, whose mother was Takano no Niigasa, as crown prince. Hikami no Kawatsugu, a son of Emperor Tenmu's grandson Prince Shioyaki and Shōmu's daughter Fuwa, attempted to carry out a coup d'état in 782, but it failed and Kawatsugu and his mother were sent into exile. In 785 Sawara was expelled and died in exile.

The Nara period saw the appointment of the first shōgun, Ōtomo no Otomaro by Emperor Kammu in 794 CE. The shōgun was the military dictator of Japan with near absolute power over territories via the military. Otomaro was declared "Sei-i Taishōgun" which means "Barbarian-subduing Great General".[8] Emperor Kammu granted the second title of shōgun to Sakanoue no Tamuramaro for subduing the Emishi in northern Honshu.[9]

Kammu had 16 empresses and consorts, and 32 imperial sons and daughters.[4] Among them, three sons would eventually ascend to the imperial throne: Emperor Heizei, Emperor Saga and Emperor Junna. Some of his descendants (known as the Kammu Taira or Kammu Heishi) took the Taira hereditary clan title, and in later generations became prominent warriors. Examples include Taira no Masakado, Taira no Kiyomori, and (with a further surname expansion) the Hōjō clan. The waka poet Ariwara no Narihira was one of his grandsons.

Kammu is traditionally venerated at his tomb; the Imperial Household Agency designates Kashiwabara no Misasagi (柏原かしわばら陵りょう, Kashiwabara Imperial Mausoleum), in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, as the location of Kammu's mausoleum.[1]

Events of Kammu's life

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Kammu was an active emperor who attempted to consolidate government hierarchies and functions. Kammu appointed Sakanoue no Tamuramaro (758–811) to lead a military expedition against the Emishi.[10]

  • 737:[4] Kammu was born.
  • 773:[11] Received the title of crown prince.
  • April 30, 781[12](Ten'ō 1, 3rd day of the 4th month[13]): In the 11th year of Kōnin's reign, he abdicated; and the succession was received by his son Kammu.[14] Shortly thereafter, Emperor Kammu is said to have ascended to the throne.[15] During his reign, the capital of Japan was moved from Nara (Heijō-kyō) to Nagaoka-kyō in 784.[16] Shortly thereafter, the capital would be moved again in 794.[17]
  • July 28, 782 (Enryaku 1, 14th day of the 6th month[18]): The sadaijin Fujiwara no Uona was involved in an incident that resulted in his removal from office and exile to Kyushi.[16] Claiming illness, Uona was permitted to return to the capital where he died; posthumously, the order of banishment was burned and his office restored.[16] In the same general time frame, Fujiwara no Tamaro was named Udaijin. During these days in which the offices of sadaijin and udaijin were vacant, the major counselors (the dainagon) and the emperor assumed responsibilities and powers which would have been otherwise delegated.[19]
  • 783 (Enryaku 2, 3rd month[20]): The udaijin Tamaro died at the age of 62 years.[19]
  • 783 (Enryaku 2, 7th month[21]): Fujiwara no Korekimi became the new udaijin to replace the late Fujiwara no Tamaro.[19]
  • 793 (Enryaku 12[22]): Under the leadership of Dengyō, construction began on the Enryaku Temple.[17]
  • 794:[17] The capital was relocated again, this time to Heian-kyō, where the palace was named Heian no Miya (平安へいあん宮みや, "palace of peace/tranquility").[4]
  • November 17, 794 (Enryaku 13, 21st day of the 10th month[23]): The emperor traveled by carriage from Nara to the new capital of Heian-kyō in a grand procession.[17] This marks the beginning of the Heian period.
  • 794 appointed Ōtomo no Otomaro as the first Shōgun "Sei-i Taishōgun—"Barbarian-subduing Great General", together with Sakanoue no Tamuramaro subdues the Emishi in Northern Honshu.[8]
  • 806:[4] Kammu died at the age of 70.[24] Kammu's reign lasted for 25 years.

Eras of Kammu's reign

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The years of Kammu's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name (nengō).[19]

Politics

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Earlier Imperial sponsorship of Buddhism, beginning with Prince Shōtoku (574–622), had led to a general politicization of the clergy, along with an increase in intrigue and corruption. In 784 Kammu shifted his capital from Nara to Nagaoka-kyō in a move that was said to be designed to encumber the powerful Nara Buddhist establishments out of state politics—while the capital moved, the major Buddhist temples, and their officials, stayed put.[25] Indeed, there was a steady stream of edicts issued from 771 right through the period of Kūkai's studies which, for instance, sought to limit the number of Buddhist priests, and the building of temples. However, the move was to prove disastrous and was followed by a series of natural disasters including the flooding of half the city. In 785 the principal architect of the new capital, and royal favourite, Fujiwara no Tanetsugu, was assassinated.[citation needed]

Meanwhile, Kammu's armies were pushing back the boundaries of his empire. This led to an uprising, and in 789 a substantial defeat for Kammu's troops. Also in 789 there was a severe drought and famine—the streets of the capital were clogged with the sick, and people avoiding being drafted into the military, or into forced labour. Many disguised themselves as Buddhist priests for the same reason. Consequently, in 792 Kammu abolished national conscription, replacing it with a system wherein each province formed a militia from the local gentry, however this system vitiated the authority of the Emperor and led to proliferation of private armies. Then in 794 Kammu suddenly shifted the capital again, this time to Heian-kyō, which is modern day Kyoto. The new capital was started early the previous year, but the change was abrupt and led to even more confusion amongst the populace.[citation needed] Kammu's rule witnessed the frontiers of Japan expanding into Izawa and Shiba, under the command of a preeminent commander, Tamura Maro.[26]

Politically Kammu shored up his rule by changing the syllabus of the university. Confucian ideology still provided the raison d'être for the Imperial government. In 784 Kammu authorised the teaching of a new course based on the Spring and Autumn Annals based on two newly imported commentaries: Kung-yang and Ku-liang. These commentaries used political rhetoric to promote a state in which the Emperor, as "Son of Heaven," should extend his sphere of influence to barbarous lands, thereby gladdening the people. In 798 the two commentaries became required reading at the government university.[citation needed]

Kammu also sponsored the travels of the monks Saichō and Kūkai to China, from where they returned to found the Japanese branches of, respectively, Tendai and Shingon Buddhism.[citation needed]

Kugyō

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Kugyō (公卿くぎょう) is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre-Meiji eras.[27]

In general, this elite group included only three to four men at a time. These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background would have brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career. During Kammu's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:

  • Sadaijin, Fujiwara no Uona (藤原ふじわら魚さかな名めい), 781–82.[16]
  • Sadaijin, Fujiwara no Tamaro (藤原田ふじわらだ麿まろ), 783.
  • Udaijin, Ōnakatomi no Kiyomaro (大中おおなか臣しん清せい麿まろ), 771–81
  • Udaijin, Fujiwara no Tamaro (藤原田ふじわらだ麿まろ), 782–83.[16]
  • Udaijin, Fujiwara no Korekimi (藤原ふじわら是ただし公おおやけ), 783–89.[16]
  • Udaijin, Fujiwara no Tsuginawa (藤原ふじわら継つぎ縄なわ), 790–96.[16]
  • Udaijin, Miwa ōkimi or Miwa oh (神かみ王おう), 798–806
  • Udaijin, Fujiwara no Uchimaro (藤原ふじわら内ない麻呂まろ) 756–812, 806–12.[16]
  • Dainagon

When the daughter of a chūnagon became the favored consort of the Crown Prince Ate (later known as Heizei-tennō), her father's power and position in court was affected. Kammu disapproved of Fujiwara no Kusuko, daughter of Fujiwara no Tanetsugu; and Kammu had her removed from his son's household.[28]

Consorts and children

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Further information on terms related to imperial consorts: Kōkyū § consorts

Emperor Kammu's Imperial family included 36 children.[29]

  • Empress (Kōgō): Fujiwara no Otomuro (藤原ふじわら乙おつ牟漏), Fujiwara no Yoshitsugu’s daughter
    • First Son: Imperial Prince Ate (安あん殿どの親王しんのう) later Emperor Heizei
    • Fourth Son:[30] Imperial Prince Kamino (賀が美能みのう親王しんのう/神野かみの親王しんのう) later Emperor Saga
    • Imperial Princess Koshi (高志こうし内親王ないしんのう; 789–809), married to Emperor Junna
  • Madame (Bunin later Kōtaigō): Fujiwara no Tabiko (藤原ふじわら旅たび子こ), Fujiwara no Momokawa’s daughter
    • Fifth Son: Imperial Prince Ōtomo (大伴おおとも親王しんのう) later Emperor Junna
  • Consort (Hi): Imperial Princess Sakahito (酒人さこうど内親王ないしんのう), Emperor Kōnin’s daughter
    • First Daughter: Imperial Princess Asahara (朝原あさはら内親王ないしんのう; 779–817), 12th Saiō in Ise Grand Shrine (782–before 796), and married to Emperor Heizei
  • Madame (Bunin): Fujiwara no Yoshiko (藤原ふじわら吉子よしこ; d.807), Fujiwara no Korekimi’s daughter
    • Second Son: Imperial Prince Iyo (伊予いよ親王しんのう; 783–807)
  • Madame (Bunin) : Tajihi no Mamune (多治比たじひ真宗しんしゅう; 769–823), Tajihi no Nagano's daughter
    • Sixth Son: Imperial Prince Kazurahara (葛原くずはら親王しんのう; 786–853)
    • Ninth Son: Imperial Prince Sami (佐味さみ親王しんのう; 793–825)
    • Tenth Son: Imperial Prince Kaya (賀陽かよう親王しんのう; 794–871)
    • Imperial Prince Ōno (大野おおの親王しんのう/大徳だいとく親王しんのう; 798–803)
    • Imperial Princess Inaba (因幡いなば内親王ないしんのう; d.824)
    • Imperial Princess Anou (安濃あのう内親王ないしんのう; d.841)
  • Madame (Bunin): Fujiwara no Oguso (藤原ふじわら小しょう屎), Fujiwara no Washitori's daughter
    • Third Son: Imperial Prince Manta (万まん多た親王しんのう; 788–830)
  • Court Lady (Nyōgo) : Ki no Otoio (紀きの乙おつ魚ぎょ; d.840), Ki no Kotsuo's daughter
  • Court Lady (Nyōgo) : Kudarao no Kyōhō (百済くだら王おう教法きょうほう; d.840), Kudara no Shuntetsu's daughter
  • Court Lady (Nyōgo) : Tachibana no Miiko (橘たちばな御ご井子いこ), daughter of Tachibana no Irii (橘たちばな入居にゅうきょ)
    • Imperial Princess Sugawara (菅原すがわら内親王ないしんのう; d.825)
    • Sixteenth Daughter: Imperial Princess Kara (賀が楽らく内親王ないしんのう; d.874)
  • Court Lady (Nyōgo) : Fujiwara no Nakako (藤原ふじわら仲子なかこ), Fujiwara no Ieyori's daughter
  • Court Lady (Nyōgo) : Tachibana no Tsuneko (橘たちばな常子つねこ; 788–817), Tachibana no Shimadamaro's daughter
    • Ninth Daughter: Imperial Princess Ōyake (大宅おおたく内親王ないしんのう; d.849), married to Emperor Heizei
  • Court Lady (Nyōgo): Fujiwara no Shōshi (藤原ふじわら正子まさこ), Fujiwara no Kiyonari's daughter
  • Court Lady (Nyōgo): Sakanoue no Matako (坂上さかがみ全子まさこ, d.790), Sakanoue no Karitamaro's daughter
    • Twelfth Daughter: Imperial Princess Takatsu (高津たかつ内親王ないしんのう; d.841), married to Emperor Saga
  • Court Lady (Nyōgo): Sakanoue no Haruko (坂上さかがみ春子はるこ, d.834), Sakanoue no Tamuramaro's daughter
    • Twelfth Son: Imperial Prince Fujii (葛かずら井い親王しんのう; 800–850)
    • Imperial Princess Kasuga (春日かすが内親王ないしんのう; d.833)
  • Court Lady (Nyōgo): Fujiwara no Kawako (藤原ふじわら河かわ子こ, d.838), Fujiwara no Ōtsugu's daughter
    • Thirteenth Son: Imperial Prince Nakano (仲野なかの親王しんのう; 792–867)
    • Thirteenth Princess: Imperial Princess Ate (安やす勅みことのり内親王ないしんのう; d.855)
    • Imperial Princess Ōi (大井おおい内親王ないしんのう; d.865)
    • Imperial Princess Ki (紀きの内親王ないしんのう; 799–886)
    • Imperial Princess Yoshihara (善ぜん原げん内親王ないしんのう; d.863)
  • Court Lady (Nyōgo): Fujiwara no Azumako (藤原ふじわら東子とうこ, d.816), Fujiwara no Tanetsugu's daughter
    • Imperial Princess Kannabi (甘南備かんなび内親王ないしんのう, 800–817), Married to Emperor Heizei
  • Court Lady (Nyōgo): Fujiwara no Heishi/Nanshi (藤原ふじわら平子ひらこ/南みなみ子こ, d.833), Fujiwara no Takatoshi's daughter
  • Court Lady (Nyōgo): Ki no Wakako (紀きの若子わかこ), Ki no Funamori's daughter
    • Seventh Son: Imperial Prince Asuka (明日香あすか親王しんのう, d.834)
  • Court Lady (Nyōgo): Fujiwara no Kamiko (藤原ふじわら上うえ子こ), Fujiwara no Oguromaro's daughter
    • Imperial Princess Shigeno (滋野しげの内親王ないしんのう, 809–857)
  • Court Lady (Nyōgo): Tachibana no Tamurako (橘田たちばなだ村むら子こ), Tachibana no Irii's daughter
    • Imperial Princess Ikenoe (池上いけがみ内親王ないしんのう, d.868)
  • Court Lady (Nyōgo): Kawakami no Manu (河上かわかみ好よしみ), Nishikibe no Haruhito's daughter
    • Imperial Prince Sakamoto (坂本さかもと親王しんのう, 793–818)
  • Court Lady (Nyōgo): Kudarao no Kyōnin (百済くだら王おう教きょう仁じん), Kudara no Bukyō's daughter
    • Imperial Prince Ōta (大田おおた親王しんのう, d.808)
  • Court Lady (Nyōgo): Kudarao no Jōkyō (百済くだら王おう貞さだ香が), Kudara no Kyōtoku's daughter
    • Imperial Princess Suruga (駿河するが内親王ないしんのう, 801–820)
  • Court Lady (Nyōgo): Nakatomi no Toyoko (中ちゅう臣しん豊子とよこ), Nakatomi no Ōio's daughter
    • Fifth Daughter: Imperial Princess Fuse (布勢ふせ内親王ないしんのう, d.812), 13th Saiō in Ise Shrine, 797–806
  • Court lady (Nyoju): Tajihi no Toyotsugu (多治比たじひ豊ゆたか継つぎ), Tajihi no Hironari's daughter
    • Nagaoka no Okanari (長岡ながおか岡成おかなり, d.848), removed from the Imperial Family by receiving the family name from Emperor (Shisei Kōka, 賜たまもの姓せい降下こうか) in 787
  • Court Lady (Nyoju):: Kudara no Yōkei (百済くだら永なが継つぎ), Asukabe no Natomaro's daughter
    • Yoshimine no Yasuyo (良りょう岑安世よ, 785–830), removed from the Imperial Family by receiving the family name from Emperor (Shisei Kōka, 賜たまもの姓せい降下こうか) in 802

Ancestry

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[31]

Legacy

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In 2001, Japan's emperor Akihito told reporters "I, on my part, feel a certain kinship with Korea", given the fact that it is recorded in the Chronicles of Japan that the Emperor Kammu's (737-803) mother was one of the descendant of King Muryong of Baekje (462–523). It was the first time that a Japanese emperor publicly referred to any Korean ancestry in the imperial line.[32] According to the Shoku Nihongi, Emperor Kammu's mother, Takano no Niigasa (720–90), is a descendant of Prince Junda, son of Muryeong, who died in Japan in 513 (Nihon Shoki, Chapter 17).

See also

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Notes

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Japanese Imperial kamon — a stylized chrysanthemum blossom
  1. ^ a b Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō): 桓武かんむ天皇てんのう (50); retrieved 2013-8-22.
  2. ^ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Etchū" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 464; Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, pp. 61–62.
  3. ^ Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon, pp. 86–95, p. 86, at Google Books; Brown, Delmer M. Gukanshō, pp. 277–279; Varley, H. Paul. Jinnō Shōtōki, pp. 148–150.
  4. ^ a b c d e Brown, p. 277.
  5. ^ Titsingh, p. 86, p. 86, at Google Books; Varley, p. 149.
  6. ^ Watts, Jonathan. "The emperor's new roots: The Japanese emperor has finally laid to rest rumours that he has Korean blood, by admitting that it is true," The Guardian (London). December 28, 2001.
  7. ^ Van Goethem, Ellen (2008). Bolitho, H.; Radtke, K. (eds.). Nagaoka: Japan's Forgotten Capital. Brill’s Japanese Studies Library. Vol. 29. Leiden; Boston: Brill. p. 229. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004166004.i-370. ISBN 978-90-474-3325-5. ISSN 0925-6512. OCLC 592756297. Kanmu's next consort was his half-sister Sakahito. She had been appointed high priestess of the Ise shrine in 772, but upon the death of her mother in 775, Sakahito returned to the capital and married Kanmu.
  8. ^ a b "Shogun". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  9. ^ Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, p. 272.
  10. ^ Titsingh, pp. 91–2, p. 91, at Google Books; Brown, pp. 278–79; Varley, p. 272.
  11. ^ Brown, p. 34.
  12. ^ Julian dates derived from NengoCalc
  13. ^ 天てん安やす一いち年ねん四よん月がつ三さん日にち
  14. ^ Titsingh, pp. 85–6, p. 85, at Google Books; Brown, p. 277.
  15. ^ Titsingh, p. 86, p. 86, at Google Books; Varley, p. 44; a distinct act of senso is unrecognized prior to Emperor Tenji; and all sovereigns except Jitō, Yōzei, Go-Toba, and Fushimi have senso and sokui in the same year until the reign of Emperor Go-Murakami.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h Brown, 278.
  17. ^ a b c d Brown, 279.
  18. ^ 延のべ暦れき一いち年ねん六ろく月がつ十じゅう四よん日にち
  19. ^ a b c d Titsingh, p. 86, p. 86, at Google Books.
  20. ^ 延のべ暦れき二に年ねん三さん月がつ
  21. ^ 延のべ暦れき二に年ねん七なな月がつ
  22. ^ 延のべ暦れき十じゅう二に年ねん
  23. ^ 延のべ暦れき十じゅう三さん年ねん十じゅう月がつ二に十じゅう一いち日にち
  24. ^ Varley, p. 150.
  25. ^ Adolphson, Mikael S. (July 1, 2000). The Gates of Power: Monks, Courtiers, and Warriors in Premodern Japan. University of Hawaii Press. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-8248-2334-4.
  26. ^ Sansom, Sir George Bailey (1958). A History of Japan to 1334. Stanford University Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-8047-0523-3.
  27. ^ "kugyō of Kanmu-tennō".
  28. ^ a b Ponsonby-Fane, p. 318.
  29. ^ Ponsonby-Fane, p. 62.
  30. ^ "Emperor Saga (嵯峨天皇さがてんのう)".
  31. ^ "Genealogy". Reichsarchiv (in Japanese). April 30, 2010. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  32. ^ Watts, Jonathan (December 28, 2001). "Guardian". TheGuardian.com.

References

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Regnal titles
Preceded by Emperor of Japan:
Kanmu
781–806 		Succeeded by
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