| Kinmei 欽明天皇 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great King of Yamato | |||||
 Emperor Kinmei, from "Rekidai Son'ei" (Portraits of Japanese Emperors) by Kōtarō Miyake, 1894 | |||||
| Emperor of Japan | |||||
| Reign | December 5, 539 – April 15, 571[verification needed] | ||||
| Predecessor | Senka | ||||
| Successor | Bidatsu | ||||
| Born | 509 Japan | ||||
| Died | 15 April 571(571-04-15) (aged 62) Asuka, Yamato | ||||
| Burial | Hinokuma no saki Ai no misasagi (檜隈坂合陵) (Nara) | ||||
| Spouse | Ishi-hime | ||||
| Issue among others... | |||||
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| House | Imperial House of Japan | ||||
| Father | Emperor Keitai | ||||
| Mother | Princess Tashiraka | ||||
| Religion | Shinto | ||||
Emperor Kinmei (欽明天皇,Kinmei-tennō; 509–571) was the 29themperor of Japan,[1] according to the traditionalorder of succession.[2][3] His reign is said to have spanned the years from539 to 571. Most historians support either the view that Kinmei is the first historically verifiable Japanese emperor or the view thatYuryaku (the 21st) is.[4][3][5]
Kinmei's contemporary title would not have beentennō, as most historians believe this title was not introduced until the reigns ofEmperor Tenmu andEmpress Jitō. Rather, it was presumablySumeramikoto orAmenoshita Shiroshimesu Ōkimi (治天下大王), meaning "the great king who rules all under heaven". Alternatively, Kinmei might have been referred to asヤマト大王/大君 or the "Great King of Yamato".
Because of several chronological discrepancies in the account of Emperor Kinmei in theNihon Shoki, some believe that he was actually ruling a rival court to that of EmperorsAnkan andSenka. Nevertheless, according to the traditional account, it was not until the death of Emperor Kinmei's older brother Emperor Senka that he gained the throne.
Before he came to the throne (at least according to theNihon Shoki) he was hesitant and refused to wield power stating:
I am young in years, and of shallow knowledge. I have not yet had experience of the affairs of government. TheEmpress Yamada has a clear acquaintance with all matters of administration, and I pray you to apply to her and then decide.
The Empress, Kasuga no Yamada, refused this believing Kinmei was compassionate and smart enough to rule.[6] However, historians such asWilliam George Aston have questioned this with Aston himself noting that:
A brother had died four years before, aged seventy, and another had just died, aged seventy-three. Kimmei is said to have died A.D. 571, at the age of sixty-three, or eighty-one, by another account. Evidently the chronology is not yet quite satisfactory.
According to this account, Emperor Senka died in 539 at the age of 73;[7] and succession passed to the third son ofEmperor Keitai. This Imperial Prince was the next youngest brother of Emperor Senka. He would come to be known as Emperor Kinmei. He established his court atShikishima no Kanazashi Palace (磯城嶋金刺宮) inYamato.[8]
The Emperor's chief counselors were:
Although the imperial court was not moved to theAsuka region of Japan until 592, Emperor Kinmei's rule is considered by some to be the beginning of theAsuka period ofYamato Japan, particularly by those who associate the Asuka period primarily with the introduction ofBuddhism to Japan fromBaekje.
According to theNihon Shoki, Emperor Kinmei received a bronze statue ofGautama Buddha as a gift from KingSong Myong (聖明王,Seimei Ō) ofBaekje, alongside a significant envoy of artisans, monks, and other artifacts in 552. Though some regard this event as the official introduction of Buddhism to Japan, texts such as theJōgū Shōtoku Hōō Teisetsu indicate Buddhism may have been introduced as early as 538.
The advent of Buddhism across the Japanese Archipelago contributed to a deep rift between theMononobe clan, whose members supported the worship ofJapan's traditional deities, and the Soga clan, whose members supported the adoption of Buddhism.
According to theNihon Shoki, Emperor Kinmei ruled until his death in 571. Although the text states that Emperor Kinmei was buried in the Hinokuma no Sakai Burial Mound (桧隈坂合陵), the current scholarly consensus instead holds that he is more likely to have been buried in the Misemaruyama Tumulus (見瀬丸山古墳), located in Kashihara City (橿原市).
The Emperor is traditionally venerated at amemorialShintoshrine (misasagi) at Nara. TheImperial Household Agency designates the Nara location as Kinmei'smausoleum,[1] and is formally namedHinokuma no saki Ai no misasagi.[9] Its status as the emperor's actual resting place, alongside othergraves of the early Emperors, are held in dispute by some historians and archaeologists.
Emperor Kinmei's father wasEmperor Keitai and his mother wasEmperor Ninken's daughter, Princess Tashiraka (手白香皇女,Tashiraka no himemiko).[8] In his lifetime, he was known by the name Amekuni Oshiharaki Hironiwa (天国排開広庭).
Kinmei had six Consorts and 25 Imperial children (16 sons and 9 daughters).[8] According to Nihongi, he had six wives, but theKojiki gives only five wives; identifying the third consort to be the same as the sixth one. The first three were his nieces, daughters of his half-brother Emperor Senka; two others were sisters, daughters of the Omi Soga no Iname.
| Regnal titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Emperor of Japan: Kinmei 539–571 | Succeeded by |
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| Yamato |
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| Nara |
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| Heian |
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| Kamakura |
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| Northern Court |
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| Muromachi |
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| Azuchi–Momoyama |
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| Edo |
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| Empire of Japan |
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| Japan |
Unless otherwise noted (as BC), years are inCE / AD *Imperial Consort andRegentEmpress Jingū is not traditionally listed. | ||||||||
