, also known as , was the 13th legendary

Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the ...

, according to the traditional

order of succession An order of succession 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. Both the ''Kojiki'', and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Seimu's alleged lifetime. This legendary Emperor is best known for organizing his local governments by making the first appointments of their kind to provinces under his rule. Seimu had only one recorded wife who bore him a single child; he also had a concubine but she had no children. This is in stark contrast to his father, who is said to have had at least 80 children with multiple wives. Seimu's reign is conventionally considered to have been from 131 to 190 AD. An issue ultimately occurred when his only son allegedly died at a young age. Seimu appointed one of his nephews to be crown prince before his death in 190 AD, marking the first of later generations which would cede the throne to a non-direct successor. While the location of Seimu's grave (if any) is unknown, he 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 or works of ...

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintoist ...

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immuremen ...

. Modern historians have come to the conclusion that the title of "Emperor" and the name "Seimu" was used by later generations to describe this legendary Emperor. It has also been proposed that Seimu actually reigned much later than he is attested.

Legendary narrative

The Japanese have traditionally accepted this sovereign's historical existence, and a mausoleum (misasagi) for Seimu 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 imperi ...

'' and '' Nihon Shoki'', 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. The records state that Seimu was born to '' Yasakairi-hime'' sometime in 84 AD, and was given the name . It is unknown how he was chosen as crown prince, but Wakatarashihiko later ascended to the throne in 131 AD. Seimu is best known for organizing his local governments by appointing the first provincial governors and district officials. While the details of his system of governing remain elusive, at the time Imperial princes were sent to important places in the provinces. These members are designated as ''wake'', which represented their status as a branch of the Imperial family. It has been theorized by

Brinkley Brinkley may refer to: People * Brinkley (surname) Places * Brinkley, Arkansas, USA * Brinkley, Nottinghamshire Brinkley is a hamlet in Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands ...

and Kikuchi that these appointments of local governors were designed to extend the "prestige of the Court". Those that were eligible included "men of merit", Imperial princes, or chiefs of aboriginal tribes. The records state that Seimu had a wife named , who was the daughter of ''Take-oshiyama-tari-ne''. Oho-takara bore the Emperor one child, named . Seimu's only son appears to have died at a young age as the Emperor appointed

Yamato Takeru , originally , was a Japanese semi-legendary prince of the Yamato dynasty, son of Emperor Keikō, who is traditionally counted as the 12th Emperor of Japan. His name written in kanji can vary, in the '' Nihon Shoki'' it is spelled 日本武尊 a ...

's son as Crown Prince, before his own death in 190 AD at the age 107 years old. His nephew ''Tarashinakatsuhiko'' was later enthroned as the next emperor in 192 AD. Seimu's death marked an end of direct lineage from legendary

Emperor Jimmu was the legendary first emperor of Japan according to the '' Nihon Shoki'' and ''Kojiki''. His ascension is traditionally dated as 660 BC.Kelly, Charles F"Kofun Culture" Emperor Seimu is regarded by historians as a "legendary Emperor" as there is insufficient material available for further verification and study. His existence is open to debate given this lack of information. If Seimu did exist, there is no evidence to suggest that the title ''tennō'' was used during the time period to which his reign has been assigned. It is much more likely that he was a chieftain, or local clan leader, and the polity he ruled would have only encompassed a small portion of modern-day Japan. The name Seimu''-tennō'' was more than likely assigned to him posthumously by later generations. His name might have been regularized centuries after the lifetime ascribed to Seimu, possibly during the time in which legends about the origins of the

Yamato dynasty The , also referred to as the Imperial Family or the House of Yamato, 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 i ...

were compiled as the chronicles known today as the ''

''. There is a possibility that Seimu ruled during the first half of the 4th century when Japan became a unified state ruled from Yamato, making these accounts "not improbable". While the actual site of Seimu's

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

is not known, the Emperor is traditionally venerated at a

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...

(''misasagi'') at

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

. The

Imperial Household Agency The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial Family, and also the keeping of the Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century AD, up until the Second World War, it ...

designates this location as Seimu's

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

, and is formally named ''Saki no Tatanami no misasagi''. 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– ...

( – 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. Kanmu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the sco ...

between 737 and 806 AD.

Notes

References

Legendary narrative

See also

Notes

References

Further reading