Emperor Ank?

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Emperor Ank?
安康天皇
Emperor of Japan
Reign 453?456 (traditional) [1]
Predecessor Ingy?
Successor Y?ryaku
Born Anaho ( 穴? )
400 [a]
Died 456 (aged 56) [2] [4]
Burial
Sugawara no Fushimi no nishi misasagi ( 菅原伏見西陵 ) (Nara)
Spouse Nakashi [3]
Posthumous name
Chinese-style shig? :
Emperor Ank? ( 安康天皇 )

Japanese-style shig? :
Anaho no Sumeramikoto ( 穴?天皇 )
House Imperial House of Japan
Father Emperor Ingy? [6]
Mother Oshisaka no ?nakatsuhime [8]
Religion Shinto

Emperor Ank? ( 安康天皇 , Ank?-tenn? ) (401 ? 456) was the 20th emperor of Japan , according to the traditional order of succession . [2] [9]


No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 453 to 456.

Protohistoric narrative [ edit ]

The Japanese have traditionally accepted this sovereign's historical existence, and a mausoleum (misasagi) for Ank? is currently maintained. The following information available is taken from the pseudo-historical Kojiki and Nihon Shoki , which are collectively known as Kiki ( 記紀 ) or Japanese chronicles . These chronicles include legends and myths, as well as potential historical facts that have since been exaggerated and/or distorted over time. It's recorded in the Kiki that Ingy? was born to Oshisaka no ?nakatsuhime ( 忍坂大中? ) somewhere in 400 AD, and was given the name Anaho ( 穴? ) . [3] [10] While he was the third son of Emperor Ingy? , the title of "Crown Prince" was not bestowed upon him in his father's lifetime. For this particular sovereign, the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki tell different versions of what allegedly happened in regard to Emperor Ank?'s older brother Prince Kinashi no Karu .

War between Anaho and Kinashi [ edit ]

After Emperor Ingy?'s death in 453 AD, Crown Prince Kinashi no Karu faced a mounting problem. The incestuous relationship with his sister, Princess Karu no ?iratsume had caused the public to shun him and his retainers refused to follow. [3] [10] Karu chose to take up arms against his younger brother Anaho ( 穴? ) as his retainers had instead given their allegiance to him. [10] [11] Prince Anaho ( 穴? ) responded with a force of his own which prompted Karu to flee and take refuge at a noble family's residence. [10] [11] From this point on, the Kiki splits narratives that converge again with the same fatal outcome. In the Nihon Shoki 's version of events, Kinashi no Karu takes his final stand at the residence where he commits an honorary suicide. [10] The Nihon Shoki does not say what happened to Princess Karu no ?iratsume other than her being banished to Iyo by Emperor Ingy? during his lifetime for incest. In the Kojikis version of events, Kinashi no Karu surrenders to his younger brother and is banished to Iyo. Karu no ?iratsume follows him to Iyo afterwards and the two commit suicide together . [3] [12]

Reign [ edit ]

Prince Anaho ( 穴? ) was enthroned as Emperor Ank? towards the end of 453 AD. During this time the capital was moved to Isonokami (located in Yamoto ) where the new emperor had his palace. [10] One of Ank?'s first decisions in the following year was to arrange a marriage between his younger brother, Prince ?hatuse no Wakatakeru ( 大泊?稚武皇子 ) , and Hatahihime , who was a sister of his uncle Prince Ookusaka ( 大草香皇子 ) . [3] [13] Ank? dispatched his servant Ne-no-omi ( 根使主 ) to negotiate with Ookusaka, and he happily consented to the marriage. As a token of approval, he entrusted Ne-no-omi with a richly jeweled coronet to be presented to the Emperor. [3] [13] Unbeknownst to Ank?, his servant chose to keep the coronet for himself and lied to him by saying Ookusaka refused to comply. [10] Ank? believed Ne-no-omi's words and infuriated with rage sent his soldiers to kill Ookusaka and take his wife Nakashi ( Emperor Rich? ’s daughter) as his Kogo . [3] [13] Hatahihime was then married to ?hatuse in accordance with the Emperor's wishes. [13] Aside from his eventual demise, there aren't any other noteworthy events during Ank?'s reign.

Death [ edit ]

Ank? married Nakashi whom he "loved deeply" in 455 AD, but before this time she already had a son named Mayowa no ?kimi (Prince Mayowa). The young prince (6 years old at the time) was able to escape punishment on "his mother's account" and was brought up in the royal palace. [10] Sometime in the Autumn of 456 AD, Emperor Ank? confided to Nakashi that he was worried one day Mayowa may seek to avenge his father's death. Mayowa overheard this remark and creeped to the side of his step-father who was asleep in Nakashi's lap. He then proceeded to cut off Ank?'s head with his own sword. [3] [13] At the time of his death Ank? was 56 years old, had no children of his own, and according to the Nihon Shoki was buried sometime in 459 AD. [4] [10] Prince ?hatuse no Wakatakeru ( Emperor Ingy? 's youngest son) became the next Emperor towards the end of 456 AD after killing Prince Mayowa and the rest of his competition. [1] [3]

Historical assessment [ edit ]

Emperor Ank?'s misasagi

Ank? is regarded by historians as a ruler during the mid 5th century whose existence is generally accepted as fact. [14] Scholar Francis Brinkley lists Emperor Ank? under "Protohistoric sovereigns" whose reign was "a discreditable page of Japanese History". [13] Other scholars identify Ank? with King K? in the Book of Song . [15] This would have been a king of Japan (referred to as Wa by contemporary Chinese scholars) who is said to have sent tribute to the Southern Dynasty of China in 462, during the reign of Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei . [15] It also mentions that King K? was appointed as the "General of the East". [15] However, there is no record in the Kiki of any tribute being sent during this time.

Titles and dating [ edit ]

There is no evidence to suggest that the title tenn? was used during the time to which Ank?'s reign has been assigned. Rather, it was presumably Sumeramikoto or Amenoshita Shiroshimesu ?kimi ( 治天下大王 ) , meaning "the great king who rules all under heaven". An alternate title could have also been ヤマト大王/大君 "Great King of Yamato". The name Ank? -tenn? was more than likely assigned to him posthumously by later generations. [16] His name might have been regularized centuries after the lifetime ascribed to Ank?, possibly during the time in which legends about the origins of the Yamato dynasty were compiled as the chronicles known today as the Kojiki . [17]

Outside of the Kiki , the reign of Emperor Kinmei [b] ( c.  509  ? 571 AD) is the first for which contemporary historiography has been able to assign verifiable dates. [19] The conventionally accepted names and dates of the early Emperors were not confirmed as "traditional" though, until the reign of Emperor Kanmu [c] between 737 and 806 AD. [17]

Events during reign [ edit ]

Emperor Ank? had a short 3-year reign which is largely confined to an event that had deadly consequences. Sholar William George Aston notes in his translation of the Nihon Shoki that Hatahihime and Prince Ookusaka ( 大草香皇子 ) are implied in the Shukai as grandchildren rather than children of Emperor Nintoku . He states that the "obvious explanation" is that the "chronicle is entirely untrustworthy". [10] At the point where Emperor Ank?'s servant Ne-no-omi ( 根使主 ) relays false information regarding Prince Ookusaka's alleged rejection, the emperor had no reason to doubt him. Frank Brinkley notes that it was "not customary in those days" to conduct investigations (in this case a servant). [13]

The exact account of Emperor Ank?'s death is also questionable given that a child could conceive or commit such a thing. Scholar Francis Brinkley suggests that Empress Nakashi played a role in her husband's death. [13] He also suggests that answer might lie with Prince ?hatuse no Wakatakeru ( 大泊?稚武皇子 ) who later became Emperor Y?ryaku. Brinkley argues that if ?hatuse had no issue with killing several of his family members to obtain the throne, then there is no reason why he wouldn't have started with the reigning emperor. [13]

Gravesite [ edit ]

While the actual site of Ank?'s grave is not known, this regent is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine at the ruins of Horai Castle in Nara City . [9] [20] The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Ank?'s mausoleum / kofun -type Imperial tomb. Formally, this tomb is called Emperor Ank?'s misasagi ( 菅原伏見西陵 , Sugawara no Fushimi no nishi misasagi ) , but is also given the name Kojo No. 1 Mound ( 古城1?墳 ) . Another possible burial theory involves the Horaisan Kofun ( ??山古墳 ) , whose owner remains unknown. Ank? is also enshrined at the Imperial Palace along with other emperors and members of the Imperial Family at the Three Palace Sanctuaries .

See also [ edit ]

Japanese Imperial kamon ? a stylized chrysanthemum blossom

Notes [ edit ]

  1. ^ There is a consensus among historians that Emperor Ank? was born in 400 AD. [2] [3] [4] [5] Alternately, there are sources that also use the year 401 AD. [6] [7]
  2. ^ The 29th Emperor [2] [18]
  3. ^ Kanmu was the 50th sovereign of the Yamato dynasty

References [ edit ]

  1. ^ a b "Genealogy of the Emperors of Japan" (PDF) . Kunaicho.go.jp . Archived from the original (PDF) on March 22, 2011 . Retrieved August 15, 2023 .
  2. ^ a b c d Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon (in French). Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. pp. 26?27.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ponsonby-Fane, Richard (1915). "Ank? (454?456)" . The Imperial Family of Japan . Ponsonby Memorial Society. pp. 12?13.
  4. ^ a b c Brown, Delmer M. (1979). "(21) Emperor Ank?" . A Translation and Study of the Gukansh?, an Interpretative History of Japan Written in 1219 . Gukansh?. p. 258. ISBN   978-0-520-03460-0 .
  5. ^ Joseph Henry Longford (1923). "List of Emperors: II. The Dawn of History and The great Reformers" . Japan . Houghton Mifflin. p. 304.
  6. ^ a b "Genealogy" . Reichsarchiv (in Japanese). 30 April 2010 . Retrieved August 15, 2023 .
  7. ^ Kenneth Henshall (2013). Historical Dictionary of Japan to 1945 . Scarecrow Press. p. 488. ISBN   9780810878723 .
  8. ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard (1915). "Table of Emperors Mothers". The Imperial Family of Japan . Ponsonby Memorial Society. p. xiii.
  9. ^ a b "安康天皇 (20)" . Imperial Household Agency (Kunaich?) (in Japanese) . Retrieved August 15, 2023 .
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j William George Aston (1896). "The Emperor Anaho: Ank? Tenno" . Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697. (Volume 1) . London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner. pp. 328?332.
  11. ^ a b Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882). "Sect. CXLII - Emperor Ingy? (Part VI - War Between Prince Karu and Prince Anaho)" . A translation of the "Kojiki" or Records of ancient matters . R. Meiklejohn and Co.
  12. ^ Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882). "Sect. CXLIII - Emperor Ingy? (Part VII - Death of Prince Karu and Princess So-Tohoshi)" . A translation of the "Kojiki" or Records of ancient matters . R. Meiklejohn and Co.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i Francis Brinkley (1915). "Chapter XII: The Protohistoric Sovereigns". A History of the Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era . Encyclopædia Britannica . pp. 111?112.
  14. ^ Kelly, Charles F. "Kofun Culture" . www.t-net.ne.jp . Retrieved November 14, 2023 .
  15. ^ a b c 日本人名大?典+Plus, 朝日日本?史人物事典,デジタル版. "倭王興(わおうこう)とは？ 意味や使い方" . コトバンク (in Japanese) . Retrieved 2023-01-21 . {{ cite web }} : CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ( link )
  16. ^ Brinkley, Frank (1915). A History of the Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the end of the Meiji Era . Encyclopaedia Britannica Company. p.  21 . Posthumous names for the earthly Mikados were invented in the reign of Emperor Kanmu (782?805), i.e., after the date of the compilation of the Records and the Chronicles.
  17. ^ a b Aston, William George. (1896). Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697, Volume 2 . The Japan Society London. p. 109 & 217?223. ISBN   9780524053478 .
  18. ^ Brown, Delmer M. and Ichir? Ishida (1979). A Translation and Study of the Gukansh?, an Interpretative History of Japan Written in 1219 . University of California Press. pp. 248, 261?262. ISBN   9780520034600 .
  19. ^ Hoye, Timothy. (1999). Japanese Politics: Fixed and Floating Worlds . Prentice Hall. p. 78. ISBN   9780132712897 . According to legend, the first Japanese Emperor was Jimmu. Along with the next 13 Emperors, Jimmu is not considered an actual, historical figure. Historically verifiable Emperors of Japan date from the early sixth century with Kimmei.
  20. ^ Gowland, William (1907). The Burial Mounds and Dolmens of the Early Emperors of Japan . Vol. 37. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. pp. 10?46.

Further reading [ edit ]

Regnal titles
Preceded by Emperor of Japan :
Ank?
453?456
(traditional dates) 		Succeeded by
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