was the 29th

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 ...

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 ...

(''Kunaichō'')
欽明天皇 (29)
retrieved 2013-8-22. 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. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834)
pp. 34–36
Brown, Delmer. (1979)
''Gukanshō,'' pp. 261–262; H. Paul Varley, Varley, H. Paul. (1980). pp. 123–124
Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan,'' p. 45. His reign is said to have spanned the years from 539 to 571. Most historians support either the view that Kinmei is the first historically verifiable Japanese emperor or the view that Yuryaku (the 21st) is.

Traditional narrative

Kinmei'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. Rather, it was presumably , meaning "the great king who rules all under heaven". Alternatively, Kinmei might have been referred to as or the "Great King of Yamato".

Events of Kinmei's life

Because of several chronological discrepancies in the account of Emperor Kinmei in the '' Nihon Shoki'', some believe that he was actually ruling a rival court to that of Emperors Ankan and Senka. 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. According to this account, Emperor Senka died in 539 at the age of 73; and succession passed to the third son of Emperor 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 at in Yamato.Brown
p. 262
The Emperor's chief counselors were: * '' Ōomi'' (Great Imperial chieftain): Soga no Iname no Sukune, also known as

Soga no Iname was a leader of the Soga clan, an early proponent of Buddhism in Japan, and a statesman during the reign of Emperor Kinmei, Emperors Kinmei and Emperor Senka, Senka in the Asuka period. He was the first person to hold the position of Omi (title), ...

. * '' Ōmuraji'' (Great Deity chieftain): Monotobe Okoshi no Muraji, also known as

Mononobe no Okoshi Mononobe no Okoshi (物部尾輿) was a Japanese statesman during the Kofun period (300-538 Common Era, CE), and the chief of the Mononobe clan. He was strongly against the introduction of Buddhism in Japan, Buddhism in Japan, along with his coun ...

. * '' Ōmuraji'' (Great Deity chieftain): Ōtomo Kanamura Maro, also known as Otomo no Kanamura. Although the imperial court was not moved to the Asuka region of Japan until 592, Emperor Kinmei's rule is considered by some to be the beginning of the

Asuka period The was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710, although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato period, Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after the ...

of Yamato Japan, particularly by those who associate the Asuka period primarily with the introduction of

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

to Japan from

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (; ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. While the three kingdoms were in separate existence, Baekje had the h ...

. According to the ''Nihon Shoki'', Emperor Kinmei received a bronze statue of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

as a gift from the king of

King Song Myong (聖明王, ''Seimei Ō'') along with a significant envoy of artisans, monks, and other artifacts in 552. (However, according to the Jōgū Shōtoku Hōō Teisetsu, Buddhism was introduced in 538.) This episode is widely regarded as the official introduction of Buddhism to the country. With the introduction of a new religion to the court, a deep rift developed between the Mononobe clan, whose members supported the worship of Japan's traditional deities, and the Soga clan, whose members supported the adoption of Buddhism. According to the ''Nihon Shoki'', Emperor Kinmei ruled until his death in 571 and was buried in the . An alternate stronger theory holds that he was actually buried in the , located in . 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'') at Nara. The

designates the Nara location as Kinmei'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 ''Hinokuma no saki Ai no misasagi''.Ponsonby-Fane, p. 419. However, the actual sites of the graves of the early Emperors are unclear, according to some historians and archaeologists.

Genealogy

Emperor Kinmei's father was Emperor Keitai and his mother was Emperor Ninken's daughter, . In his lifetime, he was known by the name . Kinmei had six Consorts and 25 Imperial children (16 sons and 9 daughters). According to Nihongi, he had six wives, but the ''Kojiki'' 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. *Empress: Ishi-hime (石姫皇女),

Emperor Senka (466 — 15 March 539) was the 28th legendary emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 宣化天皇 (28)/ref> according to the traditional List of Emperors of Japan, order of succession. No firm dates can be assigned to this e ...

's daughter **First son: **Second son: , later Emperor Bidatsu ** *Consort: ,

's daughter ** *Consort: ,

's daughter **, in the ''Kojiki'' as *Consort: ,

's daughter **Fourth Son: , later

Prince Shōtoken A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

, adoptive father of Prince Shōtoku **, Saiō; had to resign her charge after being convicted of intrigue with her half-brother Imperial Prince Mubaragi **, also **, later Empress Dowager Kitano-Hime, married to Emperor Bidatsu **, also ** ** **, also **, married to her nephew, Prince Oshisako no Hikohito no Oe, Emperor Bidatsu's son **Sixth Son: , also **, also ** **, also , married to her nephew, Prince Maroko, Emperor Yōmei's son ** Emperor Yōmei (用明天皇) *Consort: ,

's daughter **, also ** **Third daughter: , married to her half brother, Emperor Yōmei, later married to her nephew and stepson, Prince Tame ( Emperor Yōmei's son) ** **, later Kimiyori no Kimitsuhi **, speculated as

's son *Consort: , Kasuga no Hifuri no Omi's daughter ** **, also

Notes

References

* Aston, William George. (1896)
''Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697.''
London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner. * Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979)
''Gukanshō: The Future and the Past.''
Berkeley: University of California Press. ; * Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959)
''The Imperial House of Japan.''
Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. * Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). '' Nihon Ōdai Ichiran''; ou
''Annales des empereurs du Japon.''
Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. * Varley, H. Paul. (1980)
''Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns.''
New York: Columbia University Press. ; {{DEFAULTSORT:Kinmei 509 births 571 deaths 6th-century Japanese monarchs Emperors of Japan People of the Asuka period Buddhism in the Asuka period

Traditional narrative

Events of Kinmei's life

Genealogy

See also

Notes

References