Emperor Kōrei
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| Emperor Kōrei | |
|---|---|
| 7th Emperor of Japan | |
| Reign | legendary |
| Born | legendary |
| Died | legendary |
| Buried | Kataoka no Umasaka no Misasagi (Nara) |
| Predecessor | Emperor Kōan |
| Successor | Emperor Kōgen |
Emperor Kōrei (孝霊天皇, Kōrei-tennō); also known as Ooyamatonekohikofutoni no Mikoto; was the 7th emperor of Japan to appear on the traditional list of emperors.[1] Emperor Kaika is considered by most historians to be a legendary figure, and the name Kaika Tennō was assigned to him posthumously by later generations.
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[edit] Legendary narrative
Modern scholars have come to question the existence of at least the first nine emperors; and Kōrei's great-grandson Emperor Sujin is the first many agree might have actually existed, in third or fourth century.[2]
No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign.[3] Kōrei is regarded by historians as a "legendary emperor" because of the paucity of information about him, which does not necessarily imply that no such person ever existed. There is insufficient material available for further verification and study. If Kōrei 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 reign of Emperor Kimmei (509?-571), the 29th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, is the first for which contemporary historiography are able to assign verifiable dates;[4] however, the conventionally accepted names and dates of the early emperors were not to be confirmed as "traditional" until the reign of Emperor Kammu (737–806), the 50th sovereign of the Yamato dynasty.[5]
In Kojiki and Nihonshoki only his name and genealogy were recorded. He is believed to be son of Emperor Kōan; and his mother is believed to have been Oshihime, who was the daughter of Ametarashihiko-Kunio-shihito-no-mikoto.[6] The Japanese have traditionally accepted this sovereign's historical existence, and an Imperial misasagi or tomb for Kōrei is currently maintained; however, no extant contemporary records have been discovered which confirm a view that this historical figure actually reigned. He was the sixth of eight emperors without specific legends associated with them, also known as the "eight undocumented monarchs" (欠史八代, Kesshi-hachidai).[7]
The Kojiki notes that it was during Kōrei's reign that Kibi was conquered.[8]
Jien records that Kōrei was the eldest son of Emperor Kōan, and that he ruled from the palace of Ihoto-no-miya at Kuroda in what will come to be known as Yamato province.[9]
Kōrei is a posthumous name. It is undisputed that this identification is Chinese in form and Buddhist in implication, which suggests that the name must have been regularized centuries after the lifetime ascribed to Kōrei, possibly during the time in which legends about the origins of the Yamato dynasty were compiled as the chronicles known today as the Kojiki.[7]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Brown, Delmer et al. (1979). Gukanshō, p. 252; Varley, Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, pp. 90-92; Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, pp. 5-6.
- ^ "Life in the Cloudy Imperial Fishbowl," Japan Times. March 27, 2007.
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, p. 30.
- ^ Titsingh, pp. 34-36; Brown, pp. 261-262; Varley, pp. 123-124.
- ^ Aston, William. (1896). Nihongi, pp. 109.
- ^ Varley, p. 90.
- ^ a b Aston, pp. 146-147.
- ^ Chamberlain, Basil. (1919). The Kojiki, p. 196.
- ^ Brown, p. 252; p. Varley, p. 90.
[edit] References
- Aston, William George. (1896). Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner. [reprinted by Tuttle Publishing, Tokyo, 2007. 10-ISBN 0-8048-0984-4; 13-ISBN 978-0-8048-0984-9]
- Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). [ Jien, c. 1220], Gukanshō (The Future and the Past, a translation and study of the Gukanshō, an interpretative history of Japan written in 1219). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-03460-0
- Chamberlain, Basil Hall. (1919). The Kojiki. Read before the Asiatic Society of Japan April 12, May 10, and June 21, 1882; reprinted, May, 1919.
- Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887
- Titsingh, Isaac, ed. (1834). [Siyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652], Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland.
- Varley, H. Paul , ed. (1980). [ Kitabatake Chikafusa, 1359], Jinnō Shōtōki (A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04940-4
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Emperor Kōan |
Legendary Emperor of Japan 290 BC-215 BC (traditional dates) |
Succeeded by Emperor Kōgen |
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