| Emperor Tenji 天智天皇 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great King of Yamato | |||||
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| Emperor of Japan | |||||
| Reign | 661–672 | ||||
| Predecessor | Saimei | ||||
| Successor | Kōbun | ||||
| Born | Kazuraki (葛城) 626 | ||||
| Died | January 7, 672(672-01-07) (aged 45–46) Ōmi noMiya (Shiga) | ||||
| Burial | Yamashina no misasagi (山科陵) (Kyoto) | ||||
| Spouse | Yamato Hime no Ōkimi | ||||
| Issue among others... | |||||
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| House | Imperial House of Japan | ||||
| Father | Emperor Jomei | ||||
| Mother | Empress Kōgyoku | ||||
Emperor Tenji (天智天皇,Tenji-tennō; 626 – January 7, 672), known first asPrince Katsuragi (葛城皇子,Katsuragi no Ōji) and later asPrince Nakano Ōe (中大兄皇子,Nakano Ōe no Ōji) until his accession, was the 38themperor of Japan who reigned from 668 to 671. He was the son ofEmperor Jomei andEmpress Kōgyoku (Empress Saimei), and his children includedEmpress Jitō,Empress Genmei, andEmperor Kōbun.
In 645, Tenji andFujiwara no Kamatari defeatedSoga no Emishi andSoga no Iruka. He established a new government and carried out political reforms. He then assumed real political power as the crown prince of bothEmperor Kōtoku and Empress Saimei. Despite the death of Empress Saimei, he did not accede to the throne for seven years, and came to the throne only after the relocation of the capital toŌmi in 668. He created Japan's first family register, theKōgo Nenjaku, and the first code of law, theŌmi Code.
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Tenji was the son ofEmperor Jomei, but was preceded as ruler by his motherEmpress Saimei.
Prior to his accession, he was known as Prince Naka-no-Ōe (中大兄皇子,Naka-no-Ōe no Ōji).
As prince, Naka no Ōe played a crucial role in ending the near-total control theSoga clan had over the imperial family. In 644, seeing the Soga continue to gain power, he conspired withNakatomi no Kamatari andSoga no Kurayamada no Ishikawa no Maro to assassinateSoga no Iruka in what has come to be known as theIsshi Incident. Although the assassination did not go exactly as planned, Iruka was killed, and his father and predecessor,Soga no Emishi, committed suicide soon after. Following the Isshi Incident, Iruka's adherents dispersed largely without a fight, and Naka no Ōe was named heir apparent. He also married the daughter of his ally Soga no Kurayamada, thus ensuring that a significant portion of the Soga clan's power was on his side.
Naka no Ōe reigned as Emperor Tenji from 661 to 672.
Tenji was particularly active in improving the military institutions established during theTaika Reforms.[5]
Following his death in 672, there ensued a succession dispute between his fourteen children (many by different mothers). In the end, he was succeeded by his son,Prince Ōtomo, also known as Emperor Kōbun, then by Tenji's brotherPrince Ōama, also known as Emperor Tenmu. Almost one hundred years after Tenji's death, the throne passed to his grandsonEmperor Kōnin.
The actual site of Tenji's grave is known.[8] This emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) atYamashina-ku, Kyoto.
TheImperial Household Agency designates this location as Tenji's mausoleum. It is formally namedYamashina no misasagi.[9]
TheMan'yōshū includes poems attributed to emperors and empresses; and according toDonald Keene, evolvingMan'yōshū studies have affected the interpretation of even simple narratives like "The Three Hills." The poem was long considered to be about two male hills in a quarrel over a female hill, but scholars now consider that Kagu and Miminashi might be female hills in love with the same male hill, Unebi.[10] This still-unresolved enigma in poetic form is said to have been composed by Emperor Tenji while he was still Crown Prince during the reign of Empress Saimei:
| Japanese | Rōmaji | English |
香具山は | Kaguyama wa | Mount Kagu strove with |
One of his poems was chosen byFujiwara no Teika as the first in the popularHyakunin Isshu anthology:
| Japanese | Rōmaji | English |
秋の田の | Aki no ta no | Because of the coarseness of the rush-mat |
After his death, his wife,Empress Yamato wrote a song of longing about her husband.[13]
The top court officials (公卿,Kugyō) during Emperor Tenji's reign included:
Prince Ōtomo (Ōtomo-shinnō) was the favorite son of Emperor Tenji; and he was also the first to be accorded the title ofDaijō-daijin.[15]
The years of Tenji's reign are not linked by scholars to any era ornengō.[4] The Taika era innovation of naming time periods –nengō – languished until Mommu reasserted an imperial right by proclaiming the commencement of Taihō in 701 (aside from the momentary proclamation of theShuchō era under Emperor Tenmu in 686).
In this context, Brown and Ishida's translation ofGukanshō offers an explanation about the years of Empress Jitō's reign which muddies a sense of easy clarity in the pre-Taiho time-frame:
Empress:Yamato Hime no Ōkimi (倭姫王), Prince Furuhito-no-Ōe's daughter (son ofEmperor Jomei).
Hin: Soga no Ochi-no-iratsume (蘇我遠智娘, d.c. 651), Soga no Kura-no-yamada no Ishikawa-no-maro's daughter
Hin: Soga no Mei-no-iratsume (蘇我姪娘), Soga no Kura-no-yamada no Ishikawa-no-maro's daughter
Hin: Soga no Hitachi-no-iratsume (蘇我常陸娘), Soga no Akae's daughter
Hin: Abe no Tachibana-no-iratsume (阿部橘娘, d. 681), Abe no Kurahashi-maro's daughter
10th son: Prince Ōama, later Emperor Tenmu
Court lady: Koshi-no-michi no Iratsume (越道伊羅都売)
Court lady (Uneme): Yakako-no-iratsume, a lower court lady from Iga (伊賀采女宅子娘) (Iga no Uneme)
Court lady: Oshinumi no Shikibuko-no-iratsume (忍海色夫古娘), Oshinumi Zokuryu's daughter
Court lady: Kurikuma no Kurohime-no-iratsume (栗隈黒媛娘), Kurikuma Tokuman's daughter
Mausoleum of Emperor Tenji [ja] is aKofun in that is the traditional burial site of Emperor Tenji. Specifically, it is anOctagonal Kofun [ja].[17]
TheImperial Household Agency has limited access by the public out of respect for Emperor Tenji who they claim is buried there.[17]
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| Preceded by | Emperor of Japan: Tenji 661–672 | Succeeded by |
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Unless otherwise noted (as BC), years are inCE / AD *Imperial Consort andRegentEmpress Jingū is not traditionally listed. | ||||||||
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