was the 34th

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

,Kunaichō
斉明天皇 (34)
/ref> according to the traditional

order of succession An order, line or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated, such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.629 through 641.

Traditional narrative

Before Jomei's ascension to the

Chrysanthemum Throne The is the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The term also can refer to very specific seating, such as the throne in the Shishin-den at Kyoto Imperial Palace. Various other thrones or seats that are used by the Emperor during official functions ...

, his personal name (''

imina in modern times consist of a family name (surname) followed by a given name. Japanese names are usually written in kanji, where the pronunciation follows a special set of rules. Because parents when naming children, and foreigners when adoptin ...

'') was or . As emperor, his name would have been ''Okinagatarashihi Hironuka Sumeramikoto'' (息長足日広額天皇). He was a grandson of

Emperor Bidatsu was the 30th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')敏達天皇 (30) retrieved 2013-1-31. according to the traditional order of succession. The years of reign of Bidatsu start in 572 and end in 585; however, there are no ...

, both paternally and maternally. His father was Prince Oshisakanohikohito-no-Ōe, his mother was Princess Nukate-hime, who was a younger sister of his father.

Events in Jomei's reign

He succeeded his great-aunt,

Empress Suiko (554 – 15 April 628) was the 33rd monarch of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō''): She introduced Buddhism in Japan and built many Buddhist temples, but she held the balance between Buddhism and Shintoism. Under her rule, Japan ...

. Suiko did not make it clear who was to succeed her after her death. Before her death in 629, she called Tamura and

Prince Shōtoku , also known as or , was a semi-legendary regent and a politician of the Asuka period in Japan who served under Empress Suiko. He was the son of Emperor Yōmei and his consort, Princess Anahobe no Hashihito, who was also Yōmei's younger half ...

's son, Prince Yamashiro-no-Ōe, and gave some brief advice to each of them. After her death the court was divided into two factions, each supporting one of the princes for the throne.

Soga no Emishi was a statesman of the Yamato imperial court. His alternative names include Emishi () and Toyora no Ōomi (). After the death of his father Soga no Umako, Emishi took over '' Ōomi '', the Minister of State, from his father. According to th ...

, the head of

Soga clan The was one of the most powerful aristocratic kin groups Uji (clan), (''uji'') of the Asuka period of the early Japanese state—the Yamato period, Yamato polity—and played a major role in the spread of Buddhism in Japan. Through the 5th and ...

, supported Tamura. He claimed that Empress Suiko's last words suggested her desire that Tamura succeed her to the throne. Scholars then construed that the succession (''senso'') was received by Tamura.Varley, p. 130. Shortly thereafter, he is said to have acceded to the throne (''sokui'') as Emperor Jomei. Prince Yamashiro-no-Ōe was later attacked by the Soga clan and committed suicide along with his entire family. Jomei's contemporary title would not have been ''tennō'', as most historians believe this title was not introduced until the reigns of

Emperor Tenmu was the 40th Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 天武天皇 (40) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 53. He ascended ...

and

Empress Jitō was the 41st emperor of Japan, monarch of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 持統天皇 (41)/ref> according to the traditional List of Emperors of Japan, order of succession. Jitō's reign spanned the years from Jitō period, 68 ...

. Rather, it was presumably ''Sumeramikoto'' (written the same way as ''tennō'': 天皇) or ''Amenoshita Shiroshimesu Ōkimi'' (治天下大王), meaning "the great king who rules all under heaven". Alternatively, Jomei might have been referred to as (ヤマト大王/大君) or the "Great King of Yamato". During Emperor Jomei's reign, Soga no Emishi seized several political initiatives. After Jomei's death, the throne was passed to his wife and niece,

Empress Kōgyoku , also known as , was the 35th and 37th monarch of Japan,Kunaichō 斉明天皇 (37)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Both her reigns were within the Asuka period. Kōgyoku's reign spanned the years from 642 to 645. Her r ...

, and then to her younger brother,

Emperor Kōtoku was the 36th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 孝徳天皇 (33)/ref> according to the traditional List of emperors of Japan, order of succession. The years of his reign lasted from Asuka period, 645 through 654. Tradi ...

, before eventually being inherited by two of his sons,

Emperor Tenji , known first as and later as until his accession, was the 38th emperor of Japan who reigned from 668 to 671. He was the son of Emperor Jomei and Empress Kōgyoku (Empress Saimei), and his children included Empress Jitō, Empress Genmei, an ...

and Emperor Tenmu. Emperor Jomei's reign lasted 13 years. In the 13th year of his reign (舒明天皇十三年), he died at the age of 49.

Grave

The actual site of Jomei's

grave A grave is a location where a cadaver, dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is burial, buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of buria ...

is known. The emperor is traditionally venerated at a

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

(''misasagi'') located in

Sakurai, Nara file:Sakurai city-office.jpg, 270px, Sakurai City Hall is a city located in Nara Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 54,384 in 25678 households, and a population density of 550 persons per km2. The total area of the city i ...

. The

Imperial Household Agency The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family, and the keeping of the Privy Seal of Japan, Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century ...

designates this location as Jomei's

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

. It is formally named ''Osaka no uchi no misasagi''. Mausoleum_of_Emperor_Jomei

It is commonly called . It is an . It is identified as the tomb of Emperor Jomei by the

and of the same form as the . and of his wife

buried in

Kengoshizuka Kofun 270px, Kengoshizuka Kofun before reconstruction is a Kofun period burial mound, located in the Koshi neighborhood of the village of Asuka, Nara in the Kansai region of Japan. The tumulus was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 19 ...

Poetry

The ''

Man'yōshū The is the oldest extant collection of Japanese (poetry in Classical Japanese), compiled sometime after AD 759 during the Nara period. The anthology is one of the most revered of Japan's poetic compilations. The compiler, or the last in ...

'' includes poems attributed to emperors and empresses, including "Climbing Kagu-yama and looking upon the land", which is said to have been composed by Emperor Jomei: :::Countless are the mountains in Yamato, ::: But perfect is the heavenly hill of Kagu; :::When I climb it and survey my realm, :::Over the wide plain the smoke-wreaths rise and rise, :::Over the wide lake the gulls are on the wing; :::A beautiful land it is, the land of Yamato! :::::: – Emperor JomeiNippon Gakujutsu Shinkokai. (1969). ''The Manyōshū'', p. 3.

Consorts and children

*''Consort (Hi)'': Princess Tame (田眼皇女),

’s daughter *Empress (Kōgō): Princess Takara (宝皇女) later

, Prince Chinu's daughter (also Prince Oshisaka-no-Hikohito-no-Ōe's grand daughter and

’s great grand daughter) **Second Son: Prince Kazuraki/Naka-no-Ōe (葛城/中大兄皇子) later

**Prince Ōama (大海人皇子) later

Princess Hashihito Hashihito (? – 665) was Empress of Japan as the consort of Emperor Kōtoku.吉永登「間人皇女」、『万葉　文学と歴史の間』、創元社、1967年。初出は『日本文学』、1963年3月。 Her husband was also her materna ...

(間人皇女, d. 665), Empress Consort of

*''Madame (Bunin)'': Soga no Hote-no-iratsume (蘇我法提郎女),

Soga no Umako was the son of Soga no Iname and a member of the powerful Soga clan of Japan. Conflicting evidence has suggested that Soga no Umako was actually an emperor during the Asuka period. Umako conducted political reforms with Prince Shōtoku during t ...

‘s daughter **First Son: Prince Furuhito-no-Ōe (古人大兄皇子) (ca. 612–645) **Princess Nunoshiki (布敷皇女) *Court lady (''Uneme''): Kaya no Uneme (蚊屋采女), lower court lady from Kaya (蚊屋采女姉子) **Prince Kaya (蚊屋皇子) *''Madame (Bunin):'' Awata no Kagushi-hime (粟田香櫛媛) **Princess Oshisaka-no-watamuki (押坂錦向皇女) *''Madame (Bunin):'' Soga no Tetsuki-no-iratsume (蘇我手杯娘),

‘s daughter **Princess Yata (箭田皇女) *Unknown: ** Prince Isobe (磯部皇子), founder of Kuge clan

Notes

References

* Aston, William George. (1896)
''Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697''.
London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner
OCLC 448337491
* Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979)
''Gukanshō: The Future and the Past''.
Berkeley: University of California Press.
OCLC 251325323
* Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959)
''The Imperial House of Japan''.
Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society
OCLC 194887
* Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''

Nihon Ōdai Ichiran , ', is a 17th-century chronicle of the serial reigns of Japanese emperors with brief notes about some of the noteworthy events or other happenings. According to the 1871 edition of the ''American Cyclopaedia'', the 1834 French translation of ...

''; ou
''Annales des empereurs du Japon''.
Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
OCLC 5850691
* Varley, H. Paul. (1980)
''Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns''.
New York: Columbia University Press.
OCLC 59145842
* Yamada, Munemutsu. (1992)
''Nihon Shoki''.
Tokyo: Newton Press (''Nyūton-puresu'').
OCLC 166448992
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jomei Emperors of Japan 593 births 641 deaths People of the Asuka period 6th-century Japanese people 7th-century Japanese monarchs Man'yō poets