(554 – 15 April 628) was the 33rd monarch of Japan,

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''): She introduced Buddhism in Japan and built many Buddhist temples, but she held the balance between Buddhism and Shintoism. Under her rule, Japan was the superpower in Asia, Silla paid tribute to Japan. She also reorganized the legal system and laws, bringing a peaceful era in the country. She is credited with building Japan's infrastructure, economy and culture. Empress Suiko was noted for her wisdom as a ruler
推古天皇 (33)
/ref> and the country's first and longest-reigning

empress regnant A queen regnant (: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank, title and position to a king. She reigns '' suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a kingdom; as opposed to a queen consort, who is married to a reigni ...

, 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.593 until her death in 628.

Traditional narrative

Before her 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 ...

, her personal name (her ''imina'') was Mikekashiya-hime-no-mikoto, also Toyomike Kashikiya hime no Mikoto. Empress Suiko had several names including Princess Nukatabe and (possibly posthumously) Toyomike Kashikiya. She was a daughter 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 ...

. Her mother was

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), ...

's daughter, Soga no Kitashihime. Suiko was the younger sister of Emperor Yōmei.

Biography

Empress Suiko was a consort to her half-brother,

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 ...

, but after Bidatsu's first wife died she became his official consort and was given the title Ōkisaki (official consort of the emperor). She bore eight children. After Bidatsu's death, Suiko's brother,

Emperor Yōmei was the 31st Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 用明天皇 (31)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Yōmei's reign spanned the years from 585 until his death in 587. Traditional narrative He was ca ...

, came to power for about two years before dying of illness. Upon Yōmei's death, another power struggle arose between the

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 ...

and the

Mononobe clan The was a Japanese aristocratic kin group (''uji'') of the Kofun period, known for its military opposition to the Soga clan. The Mononobe were opposed to the spread of Buddhism, partly on religious grounds, claiming that the local deities wo ...

, with the Sogas supporting Prince Hatsusebe and the Mononobes supporting . The Sogas prevailed once again and Prince Hatsusebe acceded to the throne as Emperor Sushun in 587. However, Sushun began to resent the power of

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 ...

, the head of the Soga clan, and Umako, perhaps out of fear that Sushun might strike first, had him assassinated by in 592. When asked to accede to the throne to fill the power vacuum that subsequently developed, Suiko became the first of what would be several examples in Japanese history where a woman was chosen to accede to the throne to avert a power struggle. * 593: In the 2nd year of Sushun''-tennō''s reign (崇峻天皇二年), he died; and contemporary scholars then construed that the succession (''senso'') was received by the consort of former Emperor Bidatsu. Shortly thereafter, Empress Suiko is said to have ascended to the throne (''sokui''). Suiko'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'' or ''Amenoshita Shiroshimesu Ōkimi'' (治天下大王), meaning "the great Queen who rules all under heaven". Alternatively, Suiko might have been referred to as (ヤマト大王/大君) or the "Great Queen of Yamato".

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 ...

was appointed regent the following year. Although political power during Suiko's reign is widely viewed as having been wielded by Prince Shōtoku and Soga no Umako, Suiko was far from powerless. The mere fact that she survived and her reign endured suggests she had significant political skills. In 599, an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

destroyed buildings throughout

Yamato Province was a province of Japan, located in Kinai, corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2005). "Yamato" in . It was also called . Yamato consists of two characters, 大 "great", and 和 " Wa". At first, th ...

in what is now

Nara Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the ...

. Suiko's refusal to grant Soga no Umako's request that he be granted the imperial territory known as Kazuraki no Agata in 624 is cited as evidence of her independence from his influence. Some of the many achievements under Empress Suiko's reign include the official recognition of Buddhism by the issuance of the Flourishing Three Treasures Edict in 594. Suiko was also one of the first

Buddhist 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 ...

monarchs in Japan, and had taken the vows of a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

shortly before becoming empress. The reign of this empress was marked by the opening of relations with the Sui court in 600, the adoption of the

Twelve Level Cap and Rank System , established in 603, was the first of what would be several similar cap and rank systems established during the Asuka period of Japanese history. It was adapted from similar systems that were already in place in Sui dynasty China, Paekche and Go ...

in 603 and the adoption of the

Seventeen-article constitution The is, according to the '' Nihon Shoki'' of 720, a document authored by Prince Shōtoku in 604. It was adopted in the reign of Empress Suiko. The emphasis of the document is not so much on the basic laws by which the state was to be governed, s ...

in 604. The adoption of the

Sexagenary cycle The sexagenary cycle, also known as the gānzhī (干支) or stems-and-branches, is a cycle of sixty terms, each corresponding to one year, thus amounting to a total of sixty years every cycle, historically used for recording time in China and t ...

calendar (''Jikkan Jūnishi'') in Japan is attributed to Empress Suiko in 604. At a time when imperial succession was generally determined by clan leaders rather than the emperor, Suiko left only vague indications of succession to two candidates while on her deathbed. One, Prince Tamura, was a grandson of Emperor Bidatsu and was supported by the main line of Sogas, including

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 other, Prince Yamashiro, was a son of Prince Shōtoku and had the support of some lesser members of the Soga clan. After a brief struggle within the Soga clan in which one of Prince Yamashiro's main supporters was killed, Prince Tamura was chosen and he acceded to the throne as

Emperor Jomei was the 34th emperor of Japan,Kunaichō 斉明天皇 (34)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Jomei's reign spanned the years from 629 through 641. Traditional narrative Before Jomei's ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, ...

in 629. Empress Suiko ruled for 35 years. Although there were seven other reigning empresses, their successors were most often selected from amongst the males of the paternal Imperial bloodline, which is why some conservative scholars argue that the women's reigns were temporary and that male-only succession tradition must be maintained in the 21st century.

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 followed on the throne by her daughter,

Empress Genshō was the 44th monarch of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')元正天皇 (44)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Her reign spanned the years 715 through 724. Genshō was the fifth of eight women to take on the ...

, remains the sole exception to this conventional argument. Suiko tenno-Shinagano Yamadano misasagi

The actual site of Suiko'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 empress 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 Osaka. The

designates this location as Suiko'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's formally named ''Shinaga no Yamada no misasagi''.

Beginning of historical writing in Japan

Sinologist Sinology, also referred to as China studies, is a subfield of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on China. It is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of the Chinese civilizatio ...

Wm. Theodore de Bary believed that it was not until the reign of Suiko that "consciously written apanesehistory becomes a reality". He noted the name Suiko can be translated to "conjecture of the past", suggesting that this posthumous title was "bestowed on the empress because the writing of history was considered to be an outstanding achievement of her reign". He commented that "little of the material from the ancient Japanese past can be taken seriously" and the earliest extant Japanese annals were the ''

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 the ''

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 both date to the

8th century The 8th century is the period from 701 (represented by the Roman numerals DCCI) through 800 (DCCC) in accordance with the Julian Calendar. In the historiography of Europe the phrase the long 8th century is sometimes used to refer to the peri ...

Spouse and children

Empress Suiko, born as Princess Nukatabe (額田部皇女), was the daughter of

and his consort ( Hi), Soga no Kitashihime. Princess Nukatabe had five full sisters and seven full brothers among which the eldest would become

. She married her eldest half-brother, Prince Nunakura Futotama-Shiki, born by her father's legal wife and empress consort. The couple had eight children but none would ascend the throne. * Husband: Prince Nunakakura no Futo Tamashiki no Sumeramikoto (渟中倉太珠敷) later

, ** First Daughter: Princess Uji no Shitsukahi/Uji no Kahitako (菟道貝蛸皇女, b.570), married to Crown Prince Shōtoku ** First Son: Prince Takeda (竹田皇子) ** Second Daughter: Princess Woharida (小墾田皇, b.572), married to Prince Oshisako-no-Hikohito-no-Oe ** Third Daughter: Princess Umori/Karu no Mori (鸕鶿守皇女) ** Second Son: Prince Wohari (葛城王) ** Third Son: Prince Owari (尾張皇子), Father of Tachibana-no-Oiratsume ( Crown Prince Shōtoku's consort) (Wohari and Owari may have been the same personGoogle Books, ''Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A, Part 697'', page 95
/ref>) ** Fourth Daughter: Princess Tame (田眼皇女), married to

** Fifth Daughter: Princess Sakurawi no Yumihari (桜井弓張皇女), married to Prince Oshisako-no-Hikohito-no-Oe, later married to Prince Kume (

's son)

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. ; * Hammer, Joshua. (2006)
''Yokohama Burning: The Deadly 1923 Earthquake and Fire that Helped Forge the Path to World War II.''
New York:

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

. * Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''
Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

. ; * 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). ''A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki of Kitabatake Chikafusa.'' New York:

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...