Emperor Bidatsu
Emperor Bidatsu | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Great King of Yamato | |||||
Emperor of Japan | |||||
Reign | 30 April 572 – 14 September 585 | ||||
Predecessor | Kinmei | ||||
Successor | Yōmei | ||||
Born | 538 | ||||
Died | 14 September 585 | (aged 46–47)||||
Burial | Kawachi no Shinaga no naka no o no misasagi ( | ||||
Spouses | Hirohime Nukatabe (later Empress Suiko) | ||||
Issue | See below | ||||
| |||||
House | Imperial House of Japan | ||||
Father | Emperor Kinmei | ||||
Mother | Ishi-hime | ||||
Religion | Shinto |
Emperor Bidatsu (
The years of reign of Bidatsu start in 572 and end in 585; however, there are no certain dates for this emperor's life or reign.[3] The names and sequence of the early emperors were not confirmed as "traditional" until the reign of Emperor Kanmu, who was the 50th monarch of the imperial dynasty.[4]
Traditional narrative
[edit]Historians consider details about the life of Emperor Bidatsu to be possibly legendary, but probable.[5] The name Bidatsu-tennō was created for him posthumously by later generations.
In the Nihon Shoki, he is called Nunakura no Futotamashiki (渟
His palace in Yamato Province was called Osada no Miya of Iware.[6]
Events of Bidatsu's life
[edit]In the 15th year of Emperor Kinmei’s reign, Bidatsu was named Crown Prince.[6]
In the 32nd year of Kimmei-tennō's reign (欽明
Bidatsu's contemporary title would not have been tennō, as most historians believe this title was not introduced until the reigns of Emperor Tenmu and Empress Jitō. Rather, it was presumably Sumeramikoto or Amenoshita Shiroshimesu Ōkimi (
Bidatsu's reign was marked by power struggles about Buddhism. The two most important men in the court of Bidatsu were Soga no Umako and Mononobe no Moriya.[8] Soga supported the growth of Buddhism, and Moriya wanted to stop it.[9]
Bidatsu sought to re-establish relations with Korean Kingdoms and, according to Nihon Shoki, his court successfully established relations with Baekje and Silla, two of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.[citation needed]
The Emperor died from a disease which afflicted him with sores, apparently the first royal victim of smallpox in Japan.[10]
The actual site of Bidatsu's grave is known.[1] The Emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) at Osaka.
The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Bidatsu's mausoleum. It is formally named Kawachi no Shinaga no naka no o no misasagi.[11]
Genealogy
[edit]He was the second son of Emperor Kinmei. His mother, Ishi-hime, was a daughter of Emperor Senka.[6]
Although he had many children, none of them would ever become Emperor.[12] According to Gukanshō, Bidatsu had four empresses and 16 Imperial children (6 sons and 10 daughters).[6]
Bidatsu's first empress, Hirohime, died in the fifth year of his reign. To replace her, he elevated one of his consorts, Princess Nukatabe, to the rank of empress. Nukatabe was his half-sister by their father Kinmei. Later she ascended to the throne in her own right and is today known as Empress Suiko.
He was succeeded first by one of his brothers, Emperor Yōmei, then by another, Emperor Sushun, and then Empress Suiko, his sister and wife, before his grandson, Emperor Jomei, eventually took the throne.
- Empress: Hirohime (
広 姫 , d.575), Prince Okinaga-no-Mate's daughter- First Son: Prince Oshisako no Hikohito no Ōe (押坂彦人
大兄 皇子 , b.556) - Princess Sakanobori (
逆 登 皇女 ) - Princess Uji (
菟 道 皇女 ), Saiō
- First Son: Prince Oshisako no Hikohito no Ōe (押坂彦人
- Empress: Princess Nukatabe (
額田 部 皇女 ), later Empress Suiko, Emperor Kinmei's daughter- Princess Uji no Kaitako (
菟 道 貝 蛸 皇女 , b.570), married to Prince Shōtoku - Prince Takeda (
竹田 皇子 ) - Princess Oharita (
小 墾田 皇 , b.572), married to Prince Oshisako-no-Hikohito-no-Ōe - Princess Umori (鸕鶿
守 皇女 ) - Prince Kazuraki (
葛城王 ) - Prince Owari (
尾張 皇子 ), father of Tachibana-no-Oiratsume (Prince Shōtoku's consort) - Princess Tame (
田 眼 皇女 ), married to Emperor Jomei - Princess Sakurai no Yumihari (
桜井 弓張 皇女 ), married to Prince Oshisako-no-Hikohito-no-Ōe, later married to Prince Kume (Emperor Yomei's son)
- Princess Uji no Kaitako (
- Consort: Kasuga-no-Ominako-no-Iratsume (
春日 老 女子 ), Kasuga no Nakakimi no Omi's daughter- Prince Naniwa (
難波 皇子 , 560-587) - Prince Kasuga (
春日 皇子 , 560-615) - Princess Kuwata (
桑田 皇女 ) - Third Son: Prince Ohomata (
大 派 皇子 , b.585)
- Prince Naniwa (
- Concubine: Unako no Otoshi (
菟 名子 ), Ohoka no Obito no Okuma's daughter- Princess Futohime (
太 姫 ), also桜井 皇女 - Princess Nukatehime (
糠 手 姫 皇女 , 570-664), married to Prince Oshisako no Hikohito no Ōe
- Princess Futohime (
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ a b Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō),
敏 達 天皇 (30); retrieved 2013-1-31. - ^ Brown, Delmer. (1979). Gukanshō, pp. 262–263; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki. pp. 124–125; Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon, pp. 36–37; Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2002). "Traditional order of Tennō" in Japan encyclopedia, pp. 962–963.
- ^ Nussbaum, "Traditional order of Tennō" at pp. 962–963; excerpt, "dates ... should be treated with caution up to Emperor Bidatsu Tennō, the thirtieth on the list."
- ^ Aston, William George. (1896). Nihongi, p. 109 n1.
- ^ Kelly, Charles F. "Kofun Culture", Japanese Archaeology. 27 April 2009; retrieved 2013-1-31.
- ^ a b c d Brown, p. 262.
- ^ Titsingh, p. 36; Varley, p. 44; n.b., the 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; compare Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō), Ceremony of Accession (Sokui-no-Rei); retrieved 2013-1-31.
- ^ Titsingh, p. 36.
- ^ Brown, pp. 262–263.
- ^ Hopkins, Donald R. (2002). The Greatest Killer, p. 106, citing Aston (1896). Nihongi, Vol. II. p. 104.
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959) The Imperial House of Japan, p. 419.
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, p. 46.
References
[edit]- Aston, William George. (1896). Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner. OCLC 448337491
- Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). Gukanshō: The Future and the Past. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-03460-0; OCLC 251325323
- Hopkins, Donald R. (2002). The Greatest Killer. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226351667; ISBN 9780226351681; OCLC 49305765
- Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887
- Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon (Nihon Ōdai Ichiran). Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691
- Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-04940-5; OCLC 59145842