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Isonokami No Ason Maro
was a Japanese statesman of the Asuka period and early Nara period His family name was Mononobe no Muraji, later Mononobe no Ason and Isonokami no Ason. He attained the court rank of and ''sadaijin'', and posthumously . In 672 Maro supported Prince Ōtomo (later known as Emperor Kōbun) in the Jinshin War until the prince's suicide. He was forgiven and sent as an envoy to Silla in 676. After this he served as a , and as head of the dazaifu in 700. He became centrally involved in politics with a promotion to ''dainagon'' in 701, making ''udaijin'' in 704 and ''sadaijin'' in 708. Between 715 and his death in 717 Maro was the most powerful man in the ''daijō-kan''. Maro is also thought to be the model of , one of Princess Kaguya's five noble suitors in ''The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter''. Rise to power Mononobe no Maro first appears in historical documents at the conclusion of the Jinshin War of 672, on the side of Prince Ōtomo. His activities in the war are not known, but M ...
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Kikuchi Yōsai
, also known as Kikuchi Takeyasu and Kawahara Ryōhei, was a Japanese painter most famous for his monochrome portraits of historical figures. Biography The son of a samurai named Kawahara of Edo, he was adopted by a family named Kikuchi. When eighteen, he became a pupil of Takata Enjō; but, after studying the principles of the Kanō, Shijō, and Maruyama schools, perhaps, under Ozui, a son of Ōkyo, he developed an independent style, having some affinities with that of Tani Bunchō. His illustrated history of Japanese heroes, the '' Zenken Kojitsu'', is a remarkable specimen of his skill as a draughtsman in monochrome ink. In order to produce this work, and his many other portraits of historical figures, he performed extensive historical, and even archaeological, research. ''Zenken Kojitsu'' features over 500 major figures in Japanese history, and was originally printed as a series of ten woodblock printed books, in 1878. Style Nakane Kōtei (中根 香亭) point ...
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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. Tenmu's reign lasted from 673 until his death in 686. Traditional narrative Tenmu was the youngest son of Emperor Jomei and Empress Kōgyoku, and the younger brother of the Emperor Tenji. His name at birth was Prince Ōama (大海人皇子:Ōama no ōji). He was succeeded by Empress Jitō, who was both his niece and his wife. During the reign of his elder brother, Emperor Tenji, Tenmu was forced to marry several of Tenji's daughters because Tenji thought those marriages would help to strengthen political ties between the two brothers. The nieces he married included Princess Unonosarara, today known as Empress Jitō, and Princess Ōta. Tenmu also had other consorts whose fathers were influential courtiers. Tenmu had many children, including his cro ...
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Prince Nagaya
Nagaya ( ') (684 – 20 March 729) was a politician of the Nara period and an imperial prince of Japan, a son of Prince Takechi (grandson of Emperor Tenmu). His father was Prince Takechi and his mother Princess Minabe (a daughter of Emperor Tenji and Empress Genmei's sister). He married Princess Kibi (his cousin, a daughter of Empress Genmei and Empress Genshō's sister). He was substantially influential in politics owing to his membership of the Imperial family of the most noble birth, and there were no other competitive Imperial members at that time. A large residence was allocated to him in a prestigious part of Heijō-kyō. The Fujiwara clan were the most powerful competitors of Nagaya. Fujiwara no Fuhito, the leader of the house, had been the most powerful courtier in the court in the days when Japan was under the reign of Empress Genshō, a cousin of Nagaya's. After Fuhito's death in 720, Nagaya seized complete power within the court. This power shift was the source of ...
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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 role of empress regnant, and the only one in the history of Japan to have inherited her title from another empress regnant rather than from a male predecessor. The four female monarchs before Genshō were Suiko, Kōgyoku, Jitō and Genmei; the three women sovereigns reigning after her were Kōken, Meishō, and Go-Sakuramachi. Traditional narrative Before her ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, her personal name (''imina'') was Hidaka''-hime''. Genshō was an elder sister of Emperor Monmu and daughter of Prince Kusakabe and his wife who later became Empress Genmei. Therefore, she was a granddaughter of Emperor Tenmu and Empress Jitō by her father and a granddaughter of Emperor Tenji through her mother. Events of Genshō's l ...
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Heijō-kyō
was the Capital of Japan during most of the Nara period, from 710 to 740 and again from 745 to 784. The imperial palace is a listed UNESCO World Heritage together with other places in the city of Nara (cf. Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara). Empress Genmei ordered the Imperial capital moved from Fujiwara-kyō to Heijō-kyō in 708, and the move to Heijō-kyō was complete in 710. Heijō-kyō was modeled after Chang'an, the capital of Tang-dynasty China, although Heijō-kyō lacked walls. In the city, merchants and traders from China, Korea and India introduced various foreign cultures to Heijō-kyō through the Silk Road. As a result, Heijō-kyō flourished as Japan's first international and political capital, with a peak population of between 50,000 and 100,000. The overall form of the city was an irregular rectangle, and the area of city is more than 25 km2. Architecture In the area of Heijō-kyō, there are ancient Buddhist temples, and some temples are also l ...
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Fujiwara No Fuhito
Fujiwara no Fuhito (藤原 不比等: 659 – 13 September 720) was a powerful member of the Imperial Court in Kyoto, imperial court of Japan during the Asuka period, Asuka and Nara periods. Second son of Fujiwara no Kamatari (or, according to one theory, of Emperor Tenji), he had sons by two women, and those sons were the founders of the four principal lineages of the Fujiwara clan: the South, North, Ceremonial, and Capital lineages. Also, he had four daughters by two other women, three by Kamohime, one by Tachibana no Michiyo. One daughter by Kamohime became Emperor Monmu's wife Miyako, who in turn gave birth to Emperor Shōmu. The daughter by Michiyo became the empress of his grandson Shōmu, Empress Kōmyō. During the reign of Emperor Monmu, the government ordered that only the descendants of Fuhito could bear the Fujiwara surname and could be appointed in the Daijō-kan, Office of Dajokan, the center of administratives. Biography Fuhito was 13 years old when the Jinsh ...
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Prince Hozumi
was a Japanese prince, the fifth son of Emperor Tenmu, who lived from the Asuka to Nara periods. He was the first child of the emperor and Soga no Ōnu-no-iratsume, who later had two daughters together as well. After the death of his half-sister Princess Tajima in 708, with whom he had had a tryst, he married the poet Ōtomo no Sakanoe no Iratsume. Four of his poems (plus many by his wife and Tajima) are included in the ''Man'yōshū'', including a lament written after the death of the Princess. He had two sons.''Man'yōshū'', Volume 4Poem 694/ref> Much of his early life is unknown. In 703 he was responsible for organising the funeral of Empress Jitō. He became Prime Minister in 705, taking over after the death of his half-brother Prince Osakabe. It has been speculated based on the ''Man'yōshū'' that he was banished to a mountain temple, , in Ōmi, where he became a monk after the discovery of his affair with Princess Tajima, who was married to his older half-brother Prince ...
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Daijō-daijin
The was the head of the ''Daijō-kan'' (Great Council of State) during and after the Nara period and briefly under the Meiji Constitution. Equivalent to the Chinese (Grand Preceptor). History Emperor Tenji's favorite son, Prince Ōtomo, was the first to have been accorded the title of ''Daijō-daijin'' during the reign of his father. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the ''Daijō Daijin'' in the context of a central administrative body composed of the three ministers: the ''Daijō-daijin'' (Chancellor), the ''Sadaijin'' (Minister of the Left), and the ''Udaijin'' (Minister of the Right). These positions were consolidated under the Code of Taihō in 702.Hall, John Whitney ''et al.''. (1993)''The Cambridge History of Japan'', p. 232 As the Fujiwara clan—which dominated the regency—gained influence, the official government offices diminished in power. By the 10th century, chancellors had no power to speak of unless they were simultaneously r ...
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Prince Osakabe
Prince Osakabe (刑部(忍壁)親王, ''Osakabe Shinnō'') (died June 2, 705) was a Japanese imperial prince who helped write the Taihō Code (681 A.D.), alongside Fujiwara no Fuhito. The Code was essentially an administrative reorganization, which would serve as the basis for Japan's governmental structure for centuries afterwards. Background Prince Osakabe was born to Emperor Tenmu and Kajihime no Iratsume in approximately 663 A.D. According to the Nihon Shoki in the fifth month, on the fifth day of 679 A.D. Prince Osakabe, Prince Kusakabe, Prince Otsu, Prince Takechi, Prince Kawashima, and Prince Shiki, all swore to Emperor Tenmu that they wouldn't engage in future succession disputes. This occurred after Emperor Tenmu ascended the throne after the Jinshin War. In the first months of 704 A.D. he, Prince Naga, Prince Toneri, and Prince Hozumi were collectively awarded two hundred households by Emperor Monmu and Empress Genmei. Along with Prince Kawashima, Osakabe was appo ...
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Taihō Code
The was an administrative reorganisation enacted in 703 in Japan, at the end of the Asuka period. It was historically one of the . It was compiled at the direction of Prince Osakabe, Fujiwara no Fuhito and Awata no Mahito. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Taihō Code" in . The work was begun at the request of Emperor Monmu and, like many other developments in the country at the time, it was largely an adaptation of the governmental system of China's Tang dynasty. The establishment of the Taihō Code was one of the first events to include Confucianism as a significant element in the Japanese code of ethics and government. The Code was revised during the Nara period to accommodate certain Japanese traditions and practical necessities of administration. The revised edition was named the . Major work on the Yōrō Code was completed in 718. The Taihō Code contained only two major departures from the Tang model. First, government positions and class status were based on birth ...
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Chūnagon
was a counselor of the second rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century. The role was eliminated from the Imperial hierarchy in 701, but it was re-established in 705. This advisory position remained a part of the Imperial court from the 8th century until the Meiji period in the 19th century.Nussbaum, "Chūnagon" at . This became a Taihō Code office in the early feudal Japanese government or ''daijō-kan''. In the ranks of the Imperial bureaucracy, the ''Chūnagon'' came between the ''Dainagon'' (major counselors) and the Shōnagon (minor counselors).Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Imperial honors included the sometimes creation of a temporary or . The number of ''Chūnagon'' has varied, from three in 705 to four in 756. There were eight in 1015; and in later years, there were up to ten ''Chūnagon'' at one time. Chūnagon in context Any exercise of meaningful powers of court officials in the pre-Meiji period reached its nadir during the years of the ...
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