(401 – 456) was the 20th

emperor of Japan The emperor of Japan is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...

, 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. No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 453 to 456.

Protohistoric narrative

The Japanese have traditionally accepted this sovereign's historical existence, and a mausoleum (misasagi) for Ankō is currently maintained. The following information available is taken from the pseudo-historical ''

Kojiki The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...

'' and ''

Nihon Shoki The or , sometimes translated as ''The Chronicles of Japan'', is the second-oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate and detailed than the , the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeol ...

'', which are collectively known as or ''Japanese chronicles''. These chronicles include legends and myths, as well as potential historical facts that have since been exaggerated and/or distorted over time. It's recorded in the ''Kiki'' that Ingyō was born to somewhere in 400 AD, and was given the name . While he was the third son of Emperor Ingyō, the title of "Crown Prince" was not bestowed upon him in his father's lifetime. For this particular sovereign, the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki tell different versions of what allegedly happened in regard to Emperor Ankō's older brother '' Prince Kinashi no Karu''.

War between Anaho and Kinashi

After Emperor Ingyō's death in 453 AD, Crown Prince ''Kinashi no Karu'' faced a mounting problem. The

incest Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...

uous relationship with his sister, Princess Karu no Ōiratsume had caused the public to shun him and his retainers refused to follow. Karu chose to take up arms against his younger brother as his retainers had instead given their allegiance to him. Prince responded with a force of his own which prompted Karu to flee and take refuge at a noble family's residence. From this point on, the ''Kiki'' splits narratives that converge again with the same fatal outcome. In the ''

's'' version of events, ''Kinashi no Karu'' takes his final stand at the residence where he commits an honorary suicide. The Nihon Shoki does not say what happened to Princess Karu no Ōiratsume other than her being banished to Iyo by Emperor Ingyō during his lifetime for incest. In the ''

s'' version of events, ''Kinashi no Karu'' surrenders to his younger brother and is banished to Iyo. Karu no Ōiratsume follows him to Iyo afterwards and the two commit suicide together.

Reign

Prince was enthroned as ''Emperor Ankō'' towards the end of 453 AD. During this time the capital was moved to ''Isonokami'' (located in Yamoto) where the new emperor had his palace. One of Ankō's first decisions in the following year was to arrange a marriage between his younger brother, , and Hatahihime, who was a sister of his uncle . Ankō dispatched his servant to negotiate with Ookusaka, and he happily consented to the marriage. As a token of approval, he entrusted Ne-no-omi with a richly jeweled

coronet In British heraldry, a coronet is a type of crown that is a mark of rank of non-reigning members of the royal family and peers. In other languages, this distinction is not made, and usually the same word for ''crown'' is used irrespective of ra ...

to be presented to the Emperor. Unbeknownst to Ankō, his servant chose to keep the coronet for himself and lied to him by saying Ookusaka refused to comply. Ankō believed Ne-no-omi's words and infuriated with rage sent his soldiers to kill Ookusaka and take his wife Nakashi ( Emperor Richū’s daughter) as his Kogo. Hatahihime was then married to Ōhatuse in accordance with the Emperor's wishes. Aside from his eventual demise, there aren't any other noteworthy events during Ankō's reign.

Death

Ankō married Nakashi whom he "loved deeply" in 455 AD, but before this time she already had a son named (Prince Mayowa). The young prince (6 years old at the time) was able to escape punishment on "his mother's account" and was brought up in the royal palace. Sometime in the Autumn of 456 AD, Emperor Ankō confided to Nakashi that he was worried one day Mayowa may seek to avenge his father's death. Mayowa overheard this remark and crept to the side of his step-father who was asleep in Nakashi's lap. He then proceeded to cut off Ankō's head with his own sword. At the time of his death Ankō was 56 years old, had no children of his own, and according to the Nihon Shoki was buried sometime in 459 AD. Prince Ōhatuse no Wakatakeru ( Emperor Ingyō's youngest son) became the next Emperor towards the end of 456 AD after killing Prince Mayowa and the rest of his competition.

Historical assessment

Ankō is regarded by historians as a ruler during the mid 5th century whose existence is generally accepted as fact. Scholar Francis Brinkley lists Emperor Ankō under "Protohistoric sovereigns" whose reign was "a discreditable page of Japanese History". Other scholars identify Ankō with King Kō in the ''

Book of Song The ''Book of Song'' (''Sòng Shū'') is a historical text of the Liu Song dynasty of the Southern Dynasties of China. It covers history from 420 to 479, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories, a traditional collection of historical records. ...

''. This would have been a king of Japan (referred to as '' Wa'' by contemporary Chinese scholars) who is said to have sent

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of lands which the state con ...

to the Southern Dynasty of China in 462, during the reign of Emperor Taiwu of the

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei ( zh, c=北魏, p=Běi Wèi), Tuoba Wei ( zh, c=拓跋魏, p=Tuòbá Wèi), Yuan Wei ( zh, c=元魏, p=Yuán Wèi) and Later Wei ( zh, t=後魏, p=Hòu Wèi), was an Dynasties of China, impe ...

. It also mentions that King Kō was appointed as the "General of the East". However, there is no record in the ''Kiki'' of any tribute being sent during this time.

Titles and dating

There is no evidence to suggest that the title ''tennō'' was used during the time to which Ankō's reign has been assigned. Rather, it was presumably , meaning "the great king who rules all under heaven". An alternate title could have also been "Great King of Yamato". The name Ankō''-tennō'' was more than likely assigned to him

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

by later generations. His name might have been regularized centuries after the lifetime ascribed to Ankō, possibly during the time in which legends about the origins of the

imperial dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

were compiled as the chronicles known today as the ''

''. Outside of the ''Kiki'', the reign of

Emperor Kinmei was the 29th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 欽明天皇 (29) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834)pp. 34–36 Brown, Delmer. (1979) ''Gukanshō,'' pp. 261–2 ...

( – 571 AD) is the first for which contemporary historiography has been able to assign verifiable dates. The conventionally accepted names and dates of the early Emperors were not confirmed as "traditional" though, until the reign of

Emperor Kanmu , or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桓武天皇 (50) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Kammu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the scop ...

between 737 and 806 AD.

Events during reign

Emperor Ankō had a short 3-year reign which is largely confined to an event that had deadly consequences. Scholar

William George Aston William George Aston (9 April 1841 – 22 November 1911) was an Anglo-Irish diplomat, author, and scholar of the languages and histories of Korea and Japan. Early life Aston was born near Derry, Ireland.Ricorso Aston, bio notes/ref> He disti ...

notes in his translation of the

that Hatahihime and are implied in the Shukai as grandchildren rather than children of

Emperor Nintoku , also known as was the 16th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Due to his reputation for goodness derived from depictions in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, he is sometimes referred to as the . While his existence ...

. He states that the "obvious explanation" is that the "chronicle is entirely untrustworthy". At the point where Emperor Ankō's servant relays false information regarding Prince Ookusaka's alleged rejection, the emperor had no reason to doubt him. Frank Brinkley notes that it was "not customary in those days" to conduct investigations (in this case a servant). The exact account of Emperor Ankō's death is also questionable given that a child could conceive or commit such a thing. Scholar Francis Brinkley suggests that Empress Nakashi played a role in her husband's death. He also suggests that answer might lie with who later became Emperor Yūryaku. Brinkley argues that if Ōhatuse had no issue with killing several of his family members to obtain the throne, then there is no reason why he wouldn't have started with the reigning emperor.

Gravesite

While the actual site of Ankō'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 not known, this regent 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 at the ruins of Horai Castle in

Nara City is the capital city of Nara Prefecture, Japan. , Nara has an estimated population of 367,353 according to World Population Review, making it the largest city in Nara Prefecture and sixth-largest in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara is a Core ...

. 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 Ankō'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 ...

/''

kofun are megalithic tombs or tumulus, tumuli in Northeast Asia. ''Kofun'' were mainly constructed in the Japanese archipelago between the middle of the 3rd century to the early 7th century AD.岡田裕之「前方後円墳」『日本古代史大辞 ...

''-type Imperial tomb. Formally, this tomb is called , but is also given the name . Another possible burial theory involves the , whose owner remains unknown. Ankō is also enshrined at the Imperial Palace along with other emperors and members of the Imperial Family at the Three Palace Sanctuaries.

Protohistoric narrative

War between Anaho and Kinashi

Reign

Death

Historical assessment

Titles and dating

Events during reign

Gravesite

See also

Notes

References

Further reading