Kojiki
Kojiki sometimes read as Furukotofumi, is the oldest extant chronicle in Japan, dating from the early 8th century and composed by Ō no Yasumaro at the request of Empress Genmei. The Kojiki is a collection of myths, early legends, genealogies, oral traditions and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the Kami; the myths contained in the Kojiki as well as the Nihon Shoki are part of the inspiration behind many practices. The myths were re-appropriated for Shinto practices such as the misogi purification ritual. Emperor Tenmu ordered Hieda no Are to memorize stories and texts from history, many of which appear to have been, until the creation of the Kojiki known oral traditions. Beyond this memorization, nothing occurred until after Empress Jitō and Emperor Monmu had both passed and Empress Genmei came to reign. According to the Kojiki, Empress Genmei on the 18th of the 9th month of 711 ordered the courtier Ō no Yasumaro to record what had been learned by Hieda no Are.
He finished and presented his work to Empress Genmei on the 28th of the 1st month of 712. The Kojiki could be made to further the Imperial right to rule; this historical narrative is broken into the Age of Gods and the Age of Humans, wherein the mythology of the gods which gave birth to the land is told and transitioned in a chronological fashion to the reign of the Emperors. This narrative sets forth the divine mandate by which the Yamato line has right to rule, through the rhetoric used in the Age of Humans, the historical and military qualifications were established. Several of the narratives which give support to the imperial line, such as the subjugation of certain Korean kingdoms, have been confirmed as false and were included to erase failures and bolster reputations of Emperors past. Vast amounts of the Age of Humans is spent recounting genealogies, which served not only to give age to the imperial family, much newer than the Kojiki claims as little evidence has been found to support the existence of early Emperors, but served to tie, whether true or not, many existing clan's genealogies to their own.
Regardless of the original intent of the Kojiki, it finalized and even formulated the framework by which Japanese history was examined in terms of the reign of Emperors. The Kojiki contains various poems. While the historical records and myths are written in a form of Chinese with a heavy mixture of Japanese elements, the songs are written with Chinese characters, though only used phonetically; this special use of Chinese characters is called Man'yōgana, a knowledge of, critical to understanding these songs, which are written in Old Japanese. The Kojiki is divided into three parts: the Nakatsumaki and the Shimotsumaki; the Kamitsumaki known as the Kamiyo no Maki, includes the preface of the Kojiki, is focused on the deities of creation and the births of various deities of the kamiyo period, or Age of the Gods. The Kamitsumaki outlines the myths concerning the foundation of Japan, it describes how Ninigi-no-Mikoto, grandson of Amaterasu and great-grandfather of Emperor Jimmu, descended from heaven to Takachihonomine in Kyūshū and became the progenitor of the Japanese Imperial line.
The Nakatsumaki begins with the story of Emperor Jimmu, the first Emperor, his conquest of Japan, ends with the 15th Emperor, Emperor Ōjin. The second through ninth Emperors' reigns are recorded in a minimum of detail, with only their names, the names of their various descendants, the place-names of their palaces and tombs listed, no mention of their achievements. Many of the stories in this volume are mythological, the historical information in them is suspect; the Shimotsumaki covers the 16th to 33rd Emperors and, unlike previous volumes, has limited references to the interactions with deities. These interactions are prominent in the first and second volumes. Information about the 24th to the 33rd Emperors is missing, as well. What follows is a condensed summary of the contents of the text, including many of the names of gods and locations as well as events which took place in association to them; the original Japanese is included in parentheses where appropriate. The handing down of old folklore and its significance Emperor Tenmu and setting out the Kojiki Ō no Yasumaro compiling the Kojiki In the Edo period, Motoori Norinaga studied the Kojiki intensively.
He produced. Chamberlain, Basil Hall. 1882. A translation of the "Ko-ji-ki" or Records of ancient matters. Yokohama, Japan: R. Meiklejohn and Co. Printers. Philippi, Donald L. 1968/1969. Kojiki. Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press and Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press. Heldt, Gustav. 2014. The Kojiki: An Account of Ancient Matters. New York: Columbia University Press. There are two major branches of Kojiki manuscripts: Urabe; the extant Urabe branch consists of 36 existing manuscripts all based on the 1522 copies by Urabe Kanenaga. The Ise branch may be subdivided into the Shinpukuji-bon manuscript of 1371–1372 and the Dōka-bon manuscripts; the Dōka sub-branch consists of: the Dōka-bon manuscript of 1381.
Imperial House of Japan
The Imperial House of Japan referred to as the Imperial Family or the Yamato Dynasty, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the Emperor is "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people". Other members of the Imperial Family perform ceremonial and social duties, but have no role in the affairs of government; the duties as an Emperor are passed so on. The Japanese monarchy is claimed to be the oldest continuous hereditary monarchy in the world; the Imperial House recognizes 125 monarchs beginning with the legendary Emperor Jimmu and continuing up to the current emperor, Akihito. Historical evidence for the first 29 Emperors is marginal by modern standards, but there is firm evidence for the hereditary line since Emperor Kinmei ascended the throne 1,500 years ago. Article 5 of the Imperial Household Law defines the Imperial Family as the Empress. In English, shinnō and ō are both translated as "prince" as well as shinnōhi, naishinnō, ōhi and joō as "princess".
After the removal of 11 collateral branches from the Imperial House in October 1947, the official membership of the Imperial Family has been limited to the male line descendants of the Emperor Taishō, excluding females who married outside the Imperial Family and their descendants. There are 18 members of the Imperial Family: The Emperor was born at Tokyo Imperial Palace on 23 December 1933, the elder son and fifth child of the Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōjun, he was married on 10 April 1959 to Michiko Shōda. Emperor Akihito succeeded his father as emperor on 7 January 1989; the Empress Michiko Shōda, was born in Tokyo on 20 October 1934, the eldest daughter of Hidesaburo Shōda, president and honorary chairman of Nisshin Flour Milling Inc.. The Crown Prince, the eldest son of the Emperor and the Empress, was born in the Hospital of the Imperial Household in Tokyo on 23 February 1960, he became heir apparent upon his father's accession to the throne. Crown Prince Naruhito was married on 9 June 1993 to Masako Owada.
The Crown Princess was born on 9 December 1963, the daughter of Hisashi Owada, a former vice minister of foreign affairs and former permanent representative of Japan to the United Nations. The Crown Prince and Crown Princess have one daughter: The Princess Toshi The Prince Akishino, the Emperor's second son, second on the succession line, was born on 30 November 1965 in the Hospital of the Imperial Household in Tokyo, his childhood title was Prince Aya. He received the title Prince Akishino and permission to start a new branch of the Imperial Family upon his marriage to Kiko Kawashima on 29 June 1990; the Princess Akishino was born on 11 September 1966, the daughter of Tatsuhiko Kawashima, professor of economics at Gakushuin University. Prince and Princess Akishino have two daughters and a son: Princess Mako of Akishino Princess Kako of Akishino Prince Hisahito of Akishino The Prince Hitachi was born on 28 November 1935, the second son and sixth child of the Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kojun.
His childhood title was Prince Yoshi. He received the title Prince Hitachi and permission to set up a new branch of the Imperial Family on 1 October 1964, the day after his wedding; the Princess Hitachi was born on the daughter of former Count Yoshitaka Tsugaru. Prince and Princess Hitachi have no children; the Princess Mikasa is the widow of the Prince Mikasa, the fourth son of Emperor Taishō and Empress Teimei and an uncle of Emperor Akihito. The Princess was born on 4 June 1923, the second daughter of Viscount Masanori Takagi. Princess Mikasa has three sons with the late Prince Mikasa. Princess Tomohito of Mikasa is the widow of Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, the eldest son of the Prince and Princess Mikasa and a first cousin of Emperor Akihito; the Princess was born on 9 April 1955, the daughter of Takakichi Asō, chairman of Asō Cement Co. and his wife, Kazuko, a daughter of former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida. She has two daughters with the late Prince Tomohito of Mikasa: Princess Akiko of Mikasa Princess Yōko of Mikasa The Princess Takamado is the widow of the Prince Takamado, the third son of the Prince and Princess Mikasa and a first cousin of Emperor Akihito.
The Princess was born the eldest daughter of Shigejiro Tottori. She married the prince on 6 December 1984. Known as Prince Norihito of Mikasa, he received the title Prince Takamado and permission to start a new branch of the Imperial Family on 1 December 1984. Princess Takamado has three daughters, one of whom remains a member of the Imperial Family: Princess Tsuguko of Takamado The following family tree shows the lineage of the contemporary members of the Imperial Family. Princesses who le
Empress Jitō
Empress Jitō was the 41st monarch of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Jitō's reign spanned the years from 686 through 697. In the history of Japan, Jitō was the third of eight women to take on the role of empress regnant; the two female monarchs before Jitō were Kōgyoku/Saimei. The five women sovereigns reigning after Jitō were Genmei, Genshō, Kōken/Shōtoku, Meishō, Go-Sakuramachi. Empress Jitō was the daughter of Emperor Tenji, her mother was Ochi-no-Iratsume, the daughter of Minister Ō-omi Soga no Yamada-no Ishikawa Maro. She was the wife of Tenji's full brother Emperor Tenmu. Empress Jitō's given name was Unonosasara, or alternately Uno. Jitō took responsibility for court administration after the death of her husband, Emperor Tenmu, her uncle, she acceded to the throne in 687 in order to ensure the eventual succession of her son, Kusakabe-shinnō. Throughout this period, Empress Jitō ruled from the Fujiwara Palace in Yamato. In 689, Jitō prohibited Sugoroku, in 690 at enthronement she performed special ritual gave pardon and in 692 she travelled to Ise against the counsel of minister Miwa-no-Asono-Takechimaro.
Prince Kusakabe was named as crown prince to succeed Jitō. Kusakabe's son, Karu-no-o, was named as Jitō's successor, he would become known as Emperor Monmu. Empress Jitō reigned for eleven years. Although there were seven other reigning empresses, their successors were most selected from amongst the males of the paternal Imperial bloodline, why some conservative scholars argue that the women's reigns were temporary and that male-only succession tradition must be maintained in the 21st century. Empress Genmei, followed on the throne by her daughter, Empress Genshō, remains the sole exception to this conventional argument. In 697, Jitō abdicated in Mommu's favor. After this, her imperial successors who retired took the same title after abdication. Jitō continued to hold power as a cloistered ruler, which became a persistent trend in Japanese politics; the actual site of Jitō's grave is known. This empress is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine at Nara; the Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Jitō's mausoleum.
It is formally named Ochi-no-Okanoe no misasagi. Kugyō is a collective term for the 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 Jitō's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included: Daijō-daijin, Takechi-shinnō Sadaijin Udaijin Naidaijin Jitō's reign is not linked by scholars to any era or nengō; the Taika era innovation of naming time periods – nengō – languished until Mommu reasserted an imperial right by proclaiming the commencement of Taihō in 701. See Japanese era name – "Non-nengo periods" See Jitō period; however and Ishida's translation of Gukanshō offers an explanation which muddies a sense of easy clarity: "The eras that fell in this reign were: the remaining seven years of Shuchō. In the third year of the Taka era, Empress Jitō yielded the throne to the Crown Prince."
The Man'yōshū includes poems said to have been composed by Jitō: After the death of the Emperor Tenmu:Composed when the Empress climbed the Thunder Hill: One of the poems attributed to Empress Jitō was selected by Fujiwara no Teika for inclusion in the popular anthology Hyakunin Isshu: Emperor of Japan Imperial cult Japanese empresses List of Emperors of Japan Aston, William George.. Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A. D. 697. London: Kegan Paul, Trubner. OCLC 448337491 Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds.. Gukanshō: The Future and the Past. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-03460-0. "Hyakunin-Isshu: Single Songs of a Hundred Poets" in Transactions of the Asia Society of Japan. Tokyo: Asia Society of Japan.... Click link for digitized, full-text copy __________.. Kokka taikan. Tokyo: Teikoku Toshokan, Meiji 30–34. [reprinted Shinten kokka taikan, 10 vols. + 10 index vols. Kadokawa Shoten, Tokyo, 1983–1992. ISBN 978-4-04-020142-9 Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkōkai..
Man'yōshū. Tokyo: Iwanami shoten. [reprinted by Columbia University Press, New York, 1965. ISBN 0-231-08620-2. Rprinted by Dover Publications, New York, 2005. ISBN 978-0-486-43959-4 Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon.. The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887 Titsingh, Isaac.. Nihon Ōdai Ichiran. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691 Varley, H. Paul.. Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-04940-5.
Buddhism
Buddhism is the world's fourth-largest religion with over 520 million followers, or over 7% of the global population, known as Buddhists. Buddhism encompasses a variety of traditions and spiritual practices based on original teachings attributed to the Buddha and resulting interpreted philosophies. Buddhism originated in ancient India as a Sramana tradition sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, spreading through much of Asia. Two major extant branches of Buddhism are recognized by scholars: Theravada and Mahayana. Most Buddhist traditions share the goal of overcoming suffering and the cycle of death and rebirth, either by the attainment of Nirvana or through the path of Buddhahood. Buddhist schools vary in their interpretation of the path to liberation, the relative importance and canonicity assigned to the various Buddhist texts, their specific teachings and practices. Observed practices include taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, observance of moral precepts, monasticism and the cultivation of the Paramitas.
Theravada Buddhism has a widespread following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia such as Myanmar and Thailand. Mahayana, which includes the traditions of Pure Land, Nichiren Buddhism and Tiantai, is found throughout East Asia. Vajrayana, a body of teachings attributed to Indian adepts, may be viewed as a separate branch or as an aspect of Mahayana Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism, which preserves the Vajrayana teachings of eighth-century India, is practiced in the countries of the Himalayan region and Kalmykia. Buddhism is an Indian religion attributed to the teachings of the Buddha born Siddhārtha Gautama, known as the Tathāgata and Sakyamuni. Early texts have his personal name as "Gautama" or "Gotama" without any mention of "Siddhārtha," which appears to have been a kind of honorific title when it does appear; the details of Buddha's life are mentioned in many Early Buddhist Texts but are inconsistent, his social background and life details are difficult to prove, the precise dates uncertain. The evidence of the early texts suggests that he was born as Siddhārtha Gautama in Lumbini and grew up in Kapilavasthu, a town in the plains region of the modern Nepal-India border, that he spent his life in what is now modern Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Some hagiographic legends state that his father was a king named Suddhodana, his mother was Queen Maya, he was born in Lumbini gardens. However, scholars such as Richard Gombrich consider this a dubious claim because a combination of evidence suggests he was born in the Shakyas community – one that gave him the title Shakyamuni, the Shakya community was governed by a small oligarchy or republic-like council where there were no ranks but where seniority mattered instead; some of the stories about Buddha, his life, his teachings, claims about the society he grew up in may have been invented and interpolated at a time into the Buddhist texts. According to the Buddhist sutras, Gautama was moved by the innate suffering of humanity and its endless repetition due to rebirth, he set out on a quest to end this repeated suffering. Early Buddhist canonical texts and early biographies of Gautama state that Gautama first studied under Vedic teachers, namely Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta, learning meditation and ancient philosophies the concept of "nothingness, emptiness" from the former, "what is neither seen nor unseen" from the latter.
Finding these teachings to be insufficient to attain his goal, he turned to the practice of asceticism. This too fell short of attaining his goal, he turned to the practice of dhyana, which he had discovered in his youth, he famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree now called the Bodhi Tree in the town of Bodh Gaya in the Gangetic plains region of South Asia. He gained insight into the workings of karma and his former lives, attained enlightenment, certainty about the Middle Way as the right path of spiritual practice to end suffering from rebirths in Saṃsāra; as a enlightened Buddha, he attracted followers and founded a Sangha. Now, as the Buddha, he spent the rest of his life teaching the Dharma he had discovered, died at the age of 80 in Kushinagar, India. Buddha's teachings were propagated by his followers, which in the last centuries of the 1st millennium BCE became over 18 Buddhist sub-schools of thought, each with its own basket of texts containing different interpretations and authentic teachings of the Buddha.
The Four Truths express the basic orientation of Buddhism: we crave and cling to impermanent states and things, dukkha, "incapable of satisfying" and painful. This keeps us caught in saṃsāra, the endless cycle of repeated rebirth and dying again, but there is a way to liberation from this endless cycle to the state of nirvana, namely following the Noble Eightfold Path. The truth of dukkha is the basic insight that life in this mundane world, with its clinging and craving to impermanent states and things is dukkha, unsatisfactory. Dukkha can be translated as "incapable of satisfying," "the unsatisfactory nature and the general insecurity of all conditioned phenomena". Dukkha is most translated as "suffering," but this is inaccurate, since it refers not to episodic suffering, but to the intrinsically unsat
Emperor Tenmu
Emperor Tenmu was the 40th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Tenmu's reign lasted from 673 until his death in 686. Tenmu was the youngest son of Emperor Jomei and Empress Kōgyoku, the younger brother of the Emperor Tenji, his name at birth was Prince Ōama. He was succeeded by Empress Jitō, 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, Princess Ōta. Tenmu had other consorts whose fathers were influential courtiers. Tenmu had many children, including his crown prince Kusakabe by Princess Unonosarara. Through Prince Kusakabe, Tenmu had two empresses among his descendents. 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 was assigned contemporaneously—not only by generations.
The only document on his life was Nihon Shoki. However, it was edited by his son, Prince Toneri, the work was written during the reigns of his wife and children, causing one to suspect its accuracy and impartiality, he is mentioned in the preface to the Kojiki, being hailed as the emperor to have commissioned them. Tenmu's father died while he was young, he grew up under the guidance of Empress Saimei, he 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 the throne, felt the necessity to strengthen his position through politically advantageous marriages. Tenji was active in improving the military institutions, established during the Taika reforms.
In his old age, Tenji had 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 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 for reasons of seclusion. He took with him one of his wives, Princess Unonosarara, a daughter of Tenji. However, he left all his other consorts at the capital. A year 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 and Mino Provinces to threaten Omikyō in the adjacent province. The army of Tenmu and the army of the young Emperor Kōbun fought in the northwestern part of Mino. Tenmu's army won and Kōbun committed suicide, an incident known as the Jinshin War.
Post-Meiji chronology In the 10th year of Tenji, in the 11th month: Emperor Tenji, in the 10th year of his reign, designated his son as his heir. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Kōbun is said to have acceded to the throne. If this understanding were valid it would it would follow:In the 1st year of Kōbun: Emperor Kōbun, in the 1st year of his reign, died. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Tenmu could be said to have acceded to the throne. Pre-Meiji chronology Prior to the 19th century, Otomo was understood to have been a mere interloper, a pretender, an anomaly; 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: a centralized war department was organized. In 673 Tenmu moved the capital back to Yamato on the Kiymihara plain; the Man'yōshū includes a poem written after the Jinshin War ended: Our Sovereign, a god, Has made his Imperial City Out of the stretch of swamps, Where chestnut horses sank To their bellies.
– Ōtomo Miyuki At Asuka, Emperor Tenmu was enthroned. He elevated Unonosarara to be his empress. Events of his reign include: 674: Ambassadors of Tane no kuni were received in th
Emperor Keitai
Emperor Keitai was the 26th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. No firm dates can be assigned to this Emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 507 to 531. Keitai is considered to have ruled the country during the early-6th century, but there is a paucity of information about him. There is insufficient material available for further study. Significant differences exist in the records of the Nihon Shoki; the Kojiki puts this Emperor's birth year at 485. In the extant account, he is called Ohodo; the Nihon Shoki gives his birth year at 450. In this historical record, he is said to have been called Hikofuto. In other historical records, he is said to have been King of Koshi, a smaller tribal entity in northern parts of central Japan as far as the coast of Sea of Japan; some modern reference works of history call Keitai King Ohodo of Koshi. Keitai'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 Sumeramikoto or Amenoshita Shiroshimesu Ōkimi, meaning "the great king who rules all under heaven". Alternatively, Keitai might have been referred to as ヤマト大王/大君 or the "Great King of Yamato". Keitai was not the son of the immediate previous monarch. According to the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, Buretsu died without a successor, at which time a fifth generation grandson of Emperor Ōjin, Keitai and ascended the throne. If Emperor Keitai began a new dynasty as some historians believe Emperor Buretsu would have been the last monarch of the first recorded dynasty of Japan. According to the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, his father was Hikoushi no Ō/Hikoushi no Ōkimi and his mother was Furihime; when Buretsu died, Kanamura recommended Keitai as a possible heir to the Yamato throne. His mother, was a seventh generation descendant of Emperor Suinin by his son, Prince Iwatsukuwake, his father was a fourth generation descendant of Emperor Ōjin by his son, Prince Wakanuke no Futamata. Genealogy information is supplemented in Shaku Nihongi.
It says he was a son of Ushi no Ōkimi, a grandson of Ohi no Ōkimi, a great-grandson of Ohohoto no Ōkimi, a great-great-grandson of Prince Wakanuke no Futamata, a great-great-great-grandson of Emperor Ōjin. The genealogical trees of the Nihon Shoki have been lost, the accuracy of its account of events remains unknown; this uncertainty raises arguable doubts about this Emperor's genealogy. Although genealogical information in the Shaku Nihongi leaves room for discussion, many scholars acknowledge the blood relationship with the Okinaga clan, a powerful local ruling family or the collateral line of the Imperial family-governed Ōmi region; this family produced many consorts throughout history. According to the Nihon Shoki, Ohohoto no Ōkimi, the great-grandfather of Emperor Keitai, married into the Okinaga clan. Keitai's mother, was from a local ruling family in Koshi, so his mother brought him to her home after his father's death. Abundant traditions relating to the family have been passed down by shrines and old-established families in both regions.
Regardless of speculation about Keitai's genealogy, it is well settled that there was an extended period of disputes over the succession which developed after Keitai's death. A confrontation arose between adherents of two branches of the Yamato, pitting the supporters of sons who would become known as Emperor Ankan and Emperor Senka against those who were backers of the son who would become known as Emperor Kinmei. Keitai declared his ascension in Kusuba, in the northern part of Kawachi Province, married a younger sister of Emperor Buretsu, Princess Tashiraka, it is supposed that his succession was not welcomed by everyone, it took about 20 years for Keitai to enter Yamato Province, near Kawachi and the political center of Japan at the time. In Keitai's years, 527 or 528, the Iwai Rebellion broke out in Tsukushi province, Kyūshū. Keitai sent him to Kyūshū to put down the rebellion. Among his sons, Emperor Ankan, Emperor Senka and Emperor Kinmei ascended to the throne; the actual site of Keitai's grave is not known.
The Emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine at the Ooda Chausuyama kofun in Ibaraki, Osaka. The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Keitai's mausoleum, it is formally named Mishima no Aikinu no misasagi. Empress: Princess Tashiraka, Emperor Ninken's daughter Prince Amekunioshiharakihironiwa Emperor KinmeiConsort: Menokohime, Owari no Muraji Kusaka's daughter First Son: Prince Magari no Ōe Emperor Ankan Secons son: Prince Hinokuma no Takata Emperor SenkaConsort: Wakakohime, Mio no Tsunoori no Kimi's younger sister Prince Ōiratsuko Princess Izumo Consort: Hirohime, Prince Sakata no Ōmata's daughter Princess Kamusaki Princess Manta Princess Umaguta Consort: Ominoiratsume, daughter of Okinaga no Mate Princess Sasage, SaiōConsort: Sekihime, daughter of Manda no Muraji Omochi Princess Manda no Ōiratsume Princess Shirasaka no Ikuhihime Princess Ono no Wakairatsume Consort: Yamatohime, daughter of Mio no Kimi
Emperor of Japan
The Emperor of Japan is the head of the Imperial Family and the head of state of Japan. Under the 1947 constitution, he is defined as "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people." He was the highest authority of the Shinto religion. In Japanese, the Emperor is called Tennō "heavenly sovereign". In English, the use of the term Mikado for the Emperor was once common, but is now considered obsolete; the Emperor of Japan is the only head of state in the world with the English title of "Emperor". The Imperial House of Japan is the oldest continuing monarchical house in the world; the historical origins of the Emperors lie in the late Kofun period of the 3rd–7th centuries AD, but according to the traditional account of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, Japan was founded in 660 BC by Emperor Jimmu, said to be a direct descendant of the sun-goddess Amaterasu. The current Emperor is Akihito, he acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne upon the death of his father, Emperor Shōwa, in 1989. The Japanese government announced in December 2017 that Akihito will abdicate on 30 April 2019.
The role of the Emperor of Japan has alternated between a ceremonial symbolic role and that of an actual imperial ruler. Since the establishment of the first shogunate in 1199, the Emperors of Japan have taken on a role as supreme battlefield commander, unlike many Western monarchs. Japanese Emperors have nearly always been controlled by external political forces, to varying degrees. In fact, between 1192 and 1867, the shōguns, or their shikken regents in Kamakura, were the de facto rulers of Japan, although they were nominally appointed by the Emperor. After the Meiji Restoration in 1867, the Emperor was the embodiment of all sovereign power in the realm, as enshrined in the Meiji Constitution of 1889. Since the enactment of the 1947 Constitution, he has been a ceremonial head of state without nominal political powers. Since the mid-nineteenth century, the Imperial Palace has been called Kyūjō Kōkyo, is on the former site of Edo Castle in the heart of Tokyo. Earlier, Emperors resided in Kyoto for nearly eleven centuries.
The Emperor's Birthday is a national holiday. Unlike most constitutional monarchs, the Emperor is not the nominal chief executive. Article 65 explicitly vests executive power in the Cabinet, of which the Prime Minister is the leader; the Emperor is not the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. The Japan Self-Defense Forces Act of 1954 explicitly vests this role with the Prime Minister; the Emperor's powers are limited only to important ceremonial functions. Article 4 of the Constitution stipulates that the Emperor "shall perform only such acts in matters of state as are provided for in the Constitution and he shall not have powers related to government." It stipulates that "the advice and approval of the Cabinet shall be required for all acts of the Emperor in matters of state". Article 4 states that these duties can be delegated by the Emperor as provided for by law. While the Emperor formally appoints the Prime Minister to office, Article 6 of the Constitution requires him to appoint the candidate "as designated by the Diet", without giving the Emperor the right to decline appointment.
Article 6 of the Constitution delegates the Emperor the following ceremonial roles: Appointment of the Prime Minister as designated by the Diet. Appointment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as designated by the Cabinet; the Emperor's other duties are laid down in article 7 of the Constitution, where it is stated that "the Emperor, with the advice and approval of the Cabinet, shall perform the following acts in matters of state on behalf of the people." In practice, all of these duties are exercised only in accordance with the binding instructions of the Cabinet: Promulgation of amendments of the constitution, cabinet orders, treaties. Convocation of the Diet. Dissolution of the House of Representatives. Proclamation of general election of members of the Diet. Attestation of the appointment and dismissal of Ministers of State and other officials as provided for by law, of full powers and credentials of Ambassadors and Ministers. Attestation of general and special amnesty, commutation of punishment and restoration of rights.
Awarding of honors. Attestation of instruments of ratification and other diplomatic documents as provided for by law. Receiving foreign ambassadors and ministers. Performance of ceremonial functions. Regular ceremonies of the Emperor with a constitutional basis are the Imperial Investitures in the Tokyo Imperial Palace and the Speech from the Throne ceremony in the House of Councillors in the National Diet Building; the latter ceremony opens extra sessions of the Diet. Ordinary sessions are opened each January and after new elections to the House of Representatives. Extra sessions convene in the autumn and are opened then. Although the Emperor has been a symbol of continuity with the past, the degree of power exercised by the Emperor has varied throughout Japanese history. In the early 7th century, the Emperor had begun to be called the "Son of Heaven"; the title of Emperor was borrowed from China, being derived from Chinese characters and was retroactively applied to the legendary Japanese rulers who reigned before the 7th–8th centuries AD.
According to the traditional account of the Nihon Shoki, Japan was founded by Emperor Jimmu in 660 BC. Modern historians agree that the Emperors before the possible late 3rd century AD ruler known traditionally as Emperor Ōjin are legendary. Emperor Ank
