Emperor Seimu
Emperor Seimu | |
---|---|
13th Emperor of Japan | |
Reign | legendary |
Predecessor | Emperor Keikō |
Successor | Emperor Chūai |
Burial | Saki no Tatanami no misasagi (Nara) |
Emperor Seimu (成務天皇, Seimu-tennō); also known as Wakatarashihiko no Sumeramikoto; was the 13th emperor of Japan,[1] according to the traditional order of succession.[2]
No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 131-191 [3]
Legendary narrative
Seimu 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. The name Seimu Tennō was assigned to him posthumously by later generations.
There is insufficient material available for further verification and study. 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.[4]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Seimu-tenno_sakinotatanaminoikeshirinomisasagi1.jpg/220px-Seimu-tenno_sakinotatanaminoikeshirinomisasagi1.jpg)
The actual site of Seimu's grave is not known.[1] This emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) at Nara.
The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Seimu's mausoleum. It is formally named Saki no Tatanami no misasagi.[5]
Seimu's tomb can be visited today at Misasagi-cho, Nara City.[6]
See also
Notes
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Imperial_Seal_of_Japan.svg/120px-Imperial_Seal_of_Japan.svg.png)
- ^ a b Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō): 成務天皇 (13)
- ^ Varley, Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, pp. 99-100; Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, pp. 14-15., p. 14, at Google Books
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, p. 34.
- ^ Aston, William. (1998). Nihongi, Vol. 1, pp. 214-216.
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, p. 419.
- ^ Seimu's misasagi -- map (lower right)
References
- Aston, William George. (1896). Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner. OCLC 448337491
- Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). Gukanshō: The Future and the Past. Berkeley: University of California Press. 10-ISBN 0-520-03460-0; 13-ISBN 978-0-520-03460-0; OCLC 251325323
- Chamberlain, Basil Hall. (1920). The Kojiki. Read before the Asiatic Society of Japan on April 12th, May 10th, and June 21st, 1882; reprinted, May, 1919. OCLC 1882339
- Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887
- Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Nihon Odai Ichiran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691
- Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns. New York: Columbia University Press. 10-ISBN 0-231-04940-4; 13-ISBN 978-0-231-04940-5; OCLC 59145842