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33-466: Tenji had originally designated his brother, Prince Ōama , as his successor, but later changed his mind in favor of his son, Prince Ōtomo . In the course of the violence that erupted as a result of factional rivalries, Ōtomo, having taken the throne as Emperor, killed himself after reigning for less than a year. His uncle Ōama then succeeded to the throne as the Emperor Tenmu . Emperor Tenji ascended to

66-519: A memorial shrine ( misasagi ) in Nara Prefecture . The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Tenmu's mausoleum . It is formally named Hinokuma no Ōuchi no misasagi. In 675 Emperor Tenmu banned the consumption of domesticated animal meat (horse, cattle, dogs, monkeys, birds), from April 1 to September 30 each year, due to the influence of Buddhism. In the Nihon Shoki , Tenmu

99-570: A monk instead of inheriting the throne and would retire to a temple in Yoshino. Because there were no reasons to punish Ōama any longer, the Emperor accepted the prince's proposal. Ōama went down to Yoshino the next day and became a monk. The Emperor declared that Ōtomo was the next Emperor. Ōtomo summoned six subjects to the Emperor's bedroom and made them swear to help him in front of the Emperor. The Emperor nodded, and several days later he died. After

132-658: A month. After a desperate struggle, Ōama gained the capital. Ōtomo escaped to Mt. Nagara near the Palace, where he strangled himself to death. The subjects who supported him were arrested by Ōama's troops and punished as war criminals. The victor, Prince Ōama, burnt the capital down and returned to Asuka , wherein he built Asuka-Kiyomihara Palace and married Empress Uno-Sarara . Following dates are described in Julian Calendar. Prince %C5%8Cama Emperor Tenmu ( 天武天皇 , Tenmu tennō , c.  631 – October 1, 686)

165-462: A poem written after the Jinshin War ended: Our Sovereign, a god, At Asuka, Emperor Tenmu was enthroned. He elevated Unonosarara to be his empress. Events of his reign include: Tenmu reigned from this capital until his death in 686. His wife, Empress Jito became the emperor until their son became the 42nd Emperor. The actual site of his grave is known. This emperor is traditionally venerated at

198-568: Is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre- Meiji eras. 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 Tenmu's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included: The years of Tenmu's reign were marked by only one era name or nengō , which

231-418: Is described as a great innovator, but the neutrality of this description is doubtful, since the work was written under the control of his descendants. It seems clear, however, that Tenmu strengthened the power of the emperor and appointed his sons to the highest offices of his government, reducing the traditional influence of powerful clans such as the Ōtomo and Soga clans . He renewed the system of kabane ,

264-471: Is said that Tenmu asked that each household was encouraged to build an altar with a dais where a Buddha-image and a sutra could be placed so that family worshiping could be held, thus inventing the butsudan . On the other hand, all Buddhist priests, monks and nuns were controlled by the state, and no one was allowed to become a monk without the state's permission. This was aimed at preventing cults and stopping farmers from turning into priests. Kugyō ( 公卿 )

297-449: The Uji clan system. The next thing Tenji needed to do was to secure his successor. His Empress-consort was Yamato-hime but there were no children between the two. He had to find the right man from the sons of non-Imperial wives. Prince Takeru was the first son but he was mute by nature and died when he was seven years old. Prince Ōtomo was the next prince of the Emperor. He was a hard worker, and

330-402: The coup-d'etat . In the seventh month of 672, he departed Yoshino and headed for the Palace in Ōtsu where the new Emperor Ōtomo was. Many difficulties stood in his troops' way: in some counties guerrilla attacks stopped them for many days. Every time they had such difficulties, they fought bravely and patiently against the enemies and took their supporters onto their side. The war lasted about

363-436: The Emperor's death, Prince Ōtomo began the administration activities as an Emperor. Soga no Akae (蘇我赤兄), Soga no Hatayasu (蘇我果安), Kose no Omi Hito (巨勢臣比等), Ki no Ushi (紀大人) and other subjects followed him. On the other hand, Prince Ōama pretended to be a monk at the temple in Yoshino, but he was looking for a chance to raise a rebellion against Ōtomo and to drive him away. He secretly collected weapons and soldiers to prepare for

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396-503: The Korean kingdom of Silla while severing diplomatic relations with the  Tang dynasty  of China. He used religious structures to bolster the imperial authority, building several Buddhist temples and monasteries as well as strengthening ties with the Ise Shrine . He was succeeded by his wife, Empress Jitō . Tenmu was the youngest son of Emperor Jomei and Empress Kōgyoku , and

429-500: The army of the young Emperor Kōbun fought in the northwestern part of Mino (nowadays Sekigahara, Gifu ), an incident known as the Jinshin War . Tenmu's army won and Kōbun committed suicide. As might be expected, Emperor Tenmu was no less active than former-Emperor Tenji in improving the Taika military institutions. Tenmu's reign brought many changes, such as: (1) a centralized war department

462-401: The capital, Omikyō in Ōmi Province (today in Ōtsu ). A year later, (in 672) Tenji died and Prince Ōtomo ascended to the throne as Emperor Kōbun . Tenmu assembled an army and marched from Yoshino to the east, to attack the capital of Omikyō in a counterclockwise movement. They marched through Yamato, Iga and Mino Provinces to threaten Omikyō in the adjacent province. The army of Tenmu and

495-555: The commencement of Taihō in 701. In this context, Brown and Ishida's translation of Gukanshō offers an explanation about the years of Empress Jitō's reign which muddies a sense of easy clarity in the pre-Taihō time-frame: Unless otherwise noted (as BC), years are in CE  / AD   Imperial Consort and Regent Empress Jingū is not traditionally listed. List of Emperors of Japan Japan has been ruled by emperors since antiquity . The sequence, order and dates of

528-565: The early emperors are almost entirely based on the 8th-century Nihon Shoki , which was meant to retroactively legitimise the Imperial House by dating its foundation further back to the year 660 BC. There are several theories as to who was the first Japanese ruler supported by historical evidence: notable candidates are Emperor Yūryaku (r. 456–479) and Emperor Kinmei (r. 539–571), among others. The terms Tennō ('Emperor', 天皇), as well as Nihon ('Japan', 日本), were not adopted until

561-611: The hereditary titles of duty and rank, but with alterations, including the abolition of some titles. Omi and Muraji , the highest kabane in the earlier period, were reduced in value in the new hierarchy, which consisted of eight kinds of kabane. Each clan received a new kabane according to its closeness to the imperial bloodline and its loyalty to Tenmu. Tenmu attempted to keep a balance of power among his sons. Once he traveled to Yoshino together with his sons, and there had them swear to cooperate and not to make war on each other. This turned out to be ineffective: one of his sons, Prince Ōtsu,

594-432: The imperial throne. During his reign there was increased emphasis on the tie between the imperial household and Ise Grand Shrine (dedicated to the ancestor goddess of the emperors, Amaterasu ) by sending his daughter Princess Ōku as the newly established Saiō of the shrine, and several festivals were financed from the national budget. He also showed favor to Buddhism , and built several large temples and monasteries. It

627-552: The late 7th century AD. In the nengō system which has been in use since the late 7th century, years are numbered using the Japanese era name and the number of years which have elapsed since the start of that nengō era. This is a list of individuals who did not reign as emperor during their lifetime but were later recognized as Japanese emperors posthumously. Unless otherwise noted (as BC), years are in CE  / AD   Imperial Consort and Regent Empress Jingū

660-546: The same fitness as the Emperor, except that he was younger. His reputation was much greater than Ōtomo because he was of higher birth and was more suitable to be the next Emperor. This was a major cause of the trouble to come. In 670, the Emperor Tenji got sick. He realized that he couldn't live long, and he wished that, after his death, the Imperial Dynasty would pass to his son, Prince Ōtomo. Because Ōtomo's greatest rival

693-598: The throne and set up a capital at Ōmi-Ōtsu (currently Ōtsu city , Shiga Prefecture ). He made his best efforts for the foundation of a strong country, mimicking the Tang Dynasty's bureaucracy from China, importing the Tangs' political systems and consequently affecting Japanese culture as a whole. Japan was under a political unification process by the Yamato clan , seeking to dissolve the powerful hegemony of local prestigious clans in

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726-418: The throne, and felt the necessity to strengthen his position through politically advantageous marriages. Tenji was particularly active in improving the military institutions which had been established during the Taika reforms. In his old age, Tenji had a son, Prince Ōtomo, by a low-ranking consort. Since Ōtomo had weak political support from his maternal relatives, the general wisdom of the time held that it

759-801: The younger brother of the Emperor Tenji . His name at birth was Prince Ōama ( 大海人皇子 , Ōama no ōji ) . He was succeeded by Empress Jitō , who was both his niece and his wife. During the reign of his elder brother, Emperor Tenji, Tenmu was forced to marry several of Tenji's daughters because Tenji thought those marriages would help to strengthen political ties between the two brothers. The nieces he married included Princess Unonosarara, today known as Empress Jitō, and Princess Ōta . Tenmu also had other consorts whose fathers were influential courtiers. Tenmu had many children, including his crown prince Kusakabe by Princess Unonosarara; Princess Tōchi ; Prince Ōtsu and Princess Ōku by Princess Ōta (whose father also

792-462: Was Nihon Shoki . However, it was edited by his son, Prince Toneri, and the work was written during the reigns of his wife and children, causing one to suspect its accuracy and impartiality. He is also mentioned briefly in the preface to the Kojiki , being hailed as the emperor to have commissioned them. Tenmu's father died while he was young, and he grew up mainly under the guidance of Empress Saimei. He

825-500: Was Tenji); and Prince Toneri , the editor of the Nihon Shoki and father of Emperor Junnin . Through Prince Kusakabe, Tenmu had two emperors and two empresses among his descendants. Empress Kōken was the last of these imperial rulers from his lineage. Emperor Tenmu is the first monarch of Japan, to whom the title Tennō ( Emperor of Japan ) was assigned contemporaneously—not only by later generations. The only document on his life

858-451: Was later executed for treason after the death of Tenmu. Tenmu's foreign policy favored the Korean kingdom Silla , which took over the entire Korean peninsula in 676. After the unification of Korea by Silla, Tenmu decided to break diplomatic relations with the Tang dynasty of China, evidently in order to keep on good terms with Silla. Tenmu used religious structures to increase the authority of

891-457: Was not a good idea for him to ascend to the throne, yet Tenji was obsessed with the idea. In 671 Tenmu felt himself to be in danger and volunteered to resign the office of crown prince to become a monk. He moved to the mountains in Yoshino, Yamato Province (now Yoshino, Nara ), officially for reasons of seclusion. He took with him his sons and one of his wives, Princess Unonosarara, a daughter of Tenji. However, he left all his other consorts at

924-501: Was not expected to gain the throne, because his brother Tenji was the crown prince, being the older son of their mother, the reigning empress. During the Tenji period , Tenmu was appointed his crown prince. This was because Tenji had no appropriate heir among his sons at that time, as none of their mothers was of a rank high enough to give the necessary political support. Tenji was suspicious that Tenmu might be so ambitious as to attempt to take

957-646: Was organized; (2) the defenses of the Inner Country near the Capital were strengthened; (3) forts and castles were built near Capital and in the western parts of Honshū—and in Kyushu; (4) troops were reviewed; and all provincial governors were ordered to complete the collection of arms and to study tactics. In 673 Tenmu moved the capital back to Yamato on the Kiymihara plain, naming his new capital Asuka. The Man'yōshū includes

990-447: Was proclaimed in the final months of the emperor's life; and Shuchō ended with Tenmu's death. The early years of Tenmu's reign are not linked by scholars to any era or nengō . The Taika era innovation of naming time periods – nengō – was discontinued during these years, but it was reestablished briefly in 686. The use of nengō languished yet again after Tenmu's death until Emperor Monmu reasserted an imperial right by proclaiming

1023-432: Was the 40th Emperor of Japan , according to the traditional order of succession . He ascended to the throne following the Jinshin War , during which his army defeated that of Emperor Kōbun . Tenmu reigned from 673 until his death in 686, amid the late Asuka period . During his reign, Tenmu implemented political and military reforms, consolidating imperial power and centralizing governance. His foreign policy favored

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1056-420: Was very clever and intellectual. He had enough ability to be the next Emperor. Although Ōtomo was almost perfect, his mother was of low birth. She was from the rural area landlord's family and was not Imperial-Household-born. This was a great disadvantage in considering Ōtomo to ascend to the throne. At the same time, a younger brother of the Emperor Tenji's was as excellent as Ōtomo. He, Prince Ōama, had almost

1089-405: Was Ōama, the Emperor attempted to drive Ōama away. He invited the prince to his bedroom and asked if Ōama had an intention to take the throne. If Ōama answered yes, the Emperor would have arrested and punished him as a traitor. Prince Ōama was clever enough to know his trick and answered that he had no will to succeed the throne and he wanted Ōtomo to be the next Emperor. He added that he wanted to be

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