also known as Emperor Hansho, was the 18th

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. Both the ''Kojiki'', and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') recorded events that took place during Hanzei's alleged lifetime. No firm dates can be assigned to this Emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 406 CE to 410 CE. His family included an "Imperial Lady", and "Concubine" which bore him 4 children. Historians have stated that while nothing remarkable took place during Hanzei's brief reign, he did have ranked concubines which is an introduced Chinese custom. Hanzei died sometime in 410 AD without naming an heir to the throne which caused Imperial ministers to name a successor. While the location of Hanzei's grave 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 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 ...

tomb A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () 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 '' immurement'', alth ...

. Modern historians have come to the conclusion that the title of "Emperor" and the name "Hanzei" were used by later generations to describe him. There is also a general consensus regarding Hanzei's factual existence.

Protohistoric narrative

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

pseudo-historical Pseudohistory is a form of pseudoscholarship that attempts to distort or misrepresent the historical record, often by employing methods resembling those used in scholarly historical research. The related term cryptohistory is applied to pseudohi ...

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 Hanzei was born to sometime in 352 AD, and was given the name . He was the third son 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 ...

, and a younger brother of

Emperor Richū , also known as was the 17th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Both the ''Kojiki'', and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') recorded events that took place during Richū's alleged lifetime. ...

. The phrase ''Mizu ha'' in the name ''Mizuhawake'' translates to ''beautiful teeth'', as he was said to have beautiful "exceptionally large" "teeth like one bone" all of the same size. Only the ''Kojiki'' mentions the alleged full grown height of Emperor Hanzei which is said to have been . Shortly after Nintoku died, his elder brother attempted to

assassinate Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

his eldest brother (Richū). ''Mizuhawake'' was able to bribe one of Nakatsu's

retainers Retainer may refer to: * Retainer (orthodontics), devices for teeth * RFA ''Retainer'' (A329), a ship * Retainers in early China, a social group in early China Employment * Retainer agreement, a contract in which an employer pays in advance for ...

into killing Nakatsu in order to prove his loyalty to the future emperor. According to the ''Nihon Shoki'', Richū bypassed his own children to make his younger brother Mizuhawake crown prince in 401 AD. The given reason is that a ''Tajihi'' flower fell into a well which gave the name of ''Mizuhawake'' as the next heir to be. Mizuhawake was proclaimed as "Emperor Hanzei" upon Richū's death in 405 AD, and was enthroned sometime in the following year. Shortly after his enthronement Hanzei took as an "Imperial concubine", and eventually her younger sister as a consort. The two Empresses bore him 4 children which consisted of 2 sons and 2 daughters. During Emperor Hanzei's reign, he ruled from the palace Shibagaki no Miya at ''Tajihi'' in the province of Kawachi (present-day

Matsubara, Osaka is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 117,811 in 57351 households and a population density of 7100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Matsubara is located in the center ...

). During his five-year reign the country enjoyed a time of peace. Emperor Hanzei died peacefully in his palace sometime in 410 AD without naming an heir (crown prince). This issue was later settled by Imperial ministers who selected

's youngest son Ingyō as the next emperor.

Historical assessment

Hanzei is regarded by historians as a ruler during the early

5th century The 5th century is the time period from AD 401 (represented by the Roman numerals CDI) through AD 500 (D) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The 5th century is noted for being a period of migration and political instability throughout Eurasia. ...

whose existence is generally accepted as fact. Scholar

Francis Brinkley Francis Brinkley (30 December 1841 – 12 October 1912) was an Anglo-Irish newspaper owner, editor and scholar who resided in Meiji period Japan for over 40 years, where he was the author of numerous books on Japanese culture, art and architect ...

lists Emperor Hanzei under "Protohistoric sovereigns", but notes that his short reign was "not remarkable for anything" except for indirect evidence that Chinese customs were beginning to be adopted by the Japanese court. 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 "three ranks of concubines are mentioned", which at the time were of Chinese origin (ranked concubines). Others such as author Ryoichi Maenosono (

Kokushi Daijiten The ''Kokushi Daijiten'' (国史大辞典 literally "Great Dictionary of National History") all no.: REF DS 833 .K64, (Vol. 1)is a large, general history dictionary of Japan published by the Tokyo-based company Yoshikawa Kobunkan. The original ...

) identify Emperor Hanzei with " King Chin of the

Five kings of Wa The were kings of ancient Japan ( Wa) who sent envoys to China during the 5th century to strengthen the legitimacy of their claims to power by gaining the recognition of the Chinese emperor. Details about them are unknown. According to written re ...

. According to Chinese records, King Chin sent a tribute to the

Liu Song dynasty Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern dynasties (南朝宋) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties peri ...

in 438 AD.

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

and

Japanologist , sometimes known as Japanology in Europe, is a sub-field of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on Japan. It incorporates fields such as the study of Japanese language, History of Japan, history, ...

Basil Hall Chamberlain Basil Hall Chamberlain (18 October 1850 – 15 February 1935) was a British academic and Japanologist. He was a professor of the Japanese language at Tokyo Imperial University and one of the foremost British Japanologists active in Japan during ...

notes in his translation of the

that no accurate information exists regarding the ancient Japanese measures used to get Hanzei's alleged height of . He went on to say that "the English equivalents used in this passage correspond but approximately to the modern Japanese standards". As for Hanzei's ascension, the ''

'' mentions that ''Tajihi'' is now known as the itadori flower. Aston notes though, that the story of a ''Tajihi'' flower falling into a well is inconsistent with a later passage in the Nihon Shoki which refers to ''Tajihi'' as a location (not a flower). There is no evidence to suggest that the title ''tennō'' was used during the time to which Hanzei'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 Hanzei''-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 Hanzei, 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 ''

''. While the actual site of Hanzei'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 ''

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 in

Sakai, Osaka is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its ''kofun'', keyhole-shaped burial mounds dating from the fifth century. The ''kofun' ...

. 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 Hanzei'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 ...

, and is formally named formally named . 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 ...

Protohistoric narrative

Historical assessment

Consorts and children

Imperial Lady/Concubine

Issue

Ancestry

See also

Notes

References

Further reading