was the 42nd

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 ...

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'')
文武天皇 (42)
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.697 through 707.

Traditional narrative

Before his 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 Karu''-shinnō''.Brown, p. 270. He was a grandson 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 ...

. He was the second son of Prince Kusakabe. Monmu's mother was Princess Abe, a daughter of

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 ...

. Monmu's mother would later accede to the throne herself, and she would be known as Empress Genmei.

Events of Monmu's life

Karu''-shinnō'' was only six years old when his father, Crown Prince Kusakabe, died. * 697: In the 10th year of Jitō''-tennō''s reign (持統天皇十年), the empress abdicated; and the succession (''senso'') was received by a grandson of

. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Monmu is said to have acceded to the throne (''sokui''). Emperor Monmu ruled until his death in 707, at which point he was succeeded by his mother,

Empress Genmei , also known as Empress Genmyō, was the 43rd monarch of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 元明天皇 (43) retrieved August 22, 2013. according to the traditional order of succession. Genmei's reign spanned the years 707 through ...

, who was also his first cousin once removed and his first cousin twice removed. He left a young son by Fujiwara no Miyako, a daughter of Fujiwara no Fuhito: Obito no miko (Prince Obito), who eventually became

Emperor Shōmu was the 45th Emperor of Japan, emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 聖武天皇 (45)/ref> according to the traditional List of Emperors of Japan, order of succession. Shōmu's reign spanned the years 724 through 749, duri ...

. Emperor Monmu's reign lasted 10 years. He died at the age of 25. The actual site of Monmu'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. This 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 this location as Monmu'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 Ako no oka no e no misasagi''.

Kugyō

is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the

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 ...

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 Monmu's reign, this apex of the ''

Daijō-kan The , also known as the Great Council of State, was (i) (''Daijō-kan'') the highest organ of Japan's premodern Imperial government under the Ritsuryō legal system during and after the Nara period or (ii) (''Dajō-kan'') the highest organ of Jap ...

'' included: * '' Daijō-daijin'', Osakabe''-shinnō''. * ''

Sadaijin The ''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', Kenkyusha Limited, was a government position in Japan during the Asuka to Meiji era. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the ''Sadaijin'' in the context of a cent ...

'' * ''

Udaijin was a government position in Japan during the Asuka to Meiji era. The position was consolidated in the Taihō Code of 701. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the ''Udaijin'' in the context of a central administrat ...

'' * '' Naidaijin'', Nakatomi Kamako no Muraji. * ''

Dainagon was a counselor of the first rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century. This advisory position remained a part of the Imperial court from the 8th century until the Meiji period in the 19th century.Nussbaum, "Dainag ...

'', Fujiwara Fuhito.

Eras of Monmu's reign

Conventional modern scholarship seems to have determined that the years of Monmu's reign are encompassed within more than one

era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of rule, a t ...

or ''

nengō The or , is the first of the two elements that identify years in the Japanese era calendar scheme. The second element is a number which indicates the year number within the era (with the first year being "", meaning "origin, basis"), followed b ...

''. * '' Taihō (era)'' (701–704) * '' Keiun'' (704–708)

Non''-nengō'' period

The initial years of Monmu's reign are not linked by scholars to any era or ''nengō''.Titsingh, p. 60. The Taika era innovation of naming time periods – ''nengō'' – languished until Monmu reasserted an imperial right by proclaiming the commencement of Taihō in 701. * See Japanese era name – ''"Non-nengo periods"'' * See Monmu period (697–701). In this context, Brown and Ishida's translation of ''Gukanshō'' offers an explanation about the years of Empress Jitō's reign which muddies a sense of easy clarity in the pre-Taiho time-frame: ::"The eras that fell in this reign were: (1) the remaining seven years of Shuchō 686+7=692?) and (2) Taika, which was four years long 95–698 (The first year of this era was ''kinoto-hitsuji'' 95) ... In the third year of the Taka era 97 Empress Jitō yielded the throne to the Crown Prince."

Consorts and children

''Bunin'': Fujiwara no Miyako (藤原宮子, d. 754), Fujiwara no Fuhito’s daughter *First Son: Prince Obito (首皇子) later

''Hin'': Ki no Kamado-no-iratsume (紀竃門娘) ''Hin'': Ishikawa no Tone-no-iratsume (石川刀子娘) *Takamado Hironari (Hiroyo)

Notes

References

* 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 , ', 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. * Varley, H. Paul. (1980)
''Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns''.
New York: Columbia University Press. ; {{DEFAULTSORT:Monmu 683 births 707 deaths 7th-century Japanese monarchs 8th-century Japanese monarchs Emperors of Japan People of the Asuka period Sons of empresses regnant