was the 19th

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 Ingyō'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 410 to 453. While the location of Ingyō's grave (if any) 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 ...

Protohistoric narrative

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

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 Ingyō was born to somewhere between 373 and 375 AD and was given the name . He was the fourth 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 ...

, making him the youngest brother of Richū and Hanzei. After the death of his brother Hanzei in 410 AD Oasazuma was approached by ministers who had unanimously chosen him as the next Emperor. Oasazuma declined the offer stating that his brothers had "despised him as a fool". He also called himself "unlucky" as he claimed to be suffering from an unmentioned paralyzing illness. After more than two years had passed, Oasazuma was finally persuaded by his favorite concubine Oshisaka no Ōnakatsuhime to accept the throne. Oasazuma was formally enthroned as Emperor Ingyō and his concubine became the next Kōgō. Sometime in early 414 an envoy was sent to

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

and procured a physician for the ailing Emperor. The physician attributed the problem to Ingyō's legs and was able to cure him in August of that year. In 415 AD, Ingyō reformed the system of family and clan names. This had been an ongoing issue as many families either gave false names or used a clan title with a ranking they hadn't earned. In the middle of 416 AD, an earthquake hit Japan which disrupted the "temporary" burial process of Emperor Hanzei. Sometime in the winter of 418 AD, empress Oshisaka no Ōnakatsuhime unintentionally introduced her husband to her younger sister at a banquet. Emperor Ingyō fell deeply in love and sent a messenger afterwards to summon her. He learned that the woman's name was " Otohime" ("youngest princess"), but was given the designation of "Sotohori Iratsume" ("clothing pass maiden") by local men for her beauty. Otohime initially refused to comply as she didn't want to hurt her sister's feelings. Not wanting to face punishment for disobeying, the messenger stayed with Otohime until she agreed to come. Oshisaka was not pleased by this and refused to let Otohime into the Imperial palace. Ingyō thus built Otohime a separate residence nearby where he often sneaked off to. Empress Oshisaka no Ōnakatsuhime bore Ingyō a total of nine children (5 sons and 4 daughters). In 434 AD Ingyō chose to name his first son Kinashi no Karu as Crown Prince. This was unknowingly a controversial choice as Kinashi was later accused of an

incest Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...

uous relationship with his sister, Princess Karu no Ōiratsume. Ingyō couldn't punish his son due to the title he had bestowed upon him, so instead chose an indirect approach by banishing his daughter Karu no Ōiratsume to Iyo. When Emperor Ingyō died sometime in 453 AD, the king of

grieved so much that he presented Japan with 80 musicians to comfort Ingyo's soul. Kinashi no Karu meanwhile faced a challenge as his younger brother Anaho was favored to be heir apparent.

Historical assessment

Ingyō 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 lists Emperor Ingyō under "Protohistoric sovereigns" whose reign was overshadowed by an affair and scandal regarding his son. Other scholars identify Ingyō with King Sai in the ''

Book of Song The ''Book of Song'' (''Sòng Shū'') is a historical text of the Liu Song dynasty of the Southern Dynasties of China. It covers history from 420 to 479, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories, a traditional collection of historical records. ...

''. This would have been a king of Japan (referred to as '' Wa'' by contemporary Chinese scholars) who is said to have sent messengers 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 ...

at least twice, in 443 and 451. However, there is no record in the ''Kiki'' of messengers being sent.

Titles and dating

There is no evidence to suggest that the title ''tennō'' was used during the time to which Ingyō'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 Ingyō''-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 Ingyō, 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 ''

''. 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 ...

between 737 and 806 AD.

Events during reign

Early on in his reign, Emperor Ingyō chose to send envoys to Korea for medical assistance. Brinkley took note of this and stated that Korea was evidently regarded as the "home of healing science". He also attributed the "many other" arts which were borrowed from China. In regard to reforms, Sholar

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 when Ingyō reformed the system of family and clan names, it would have only applied to

dominant caste A dominant caste is one which preponderates numerically over other castes and also wields preponderant economic and political power. A large and powerful caste group can be more easily dominant if its position in the local caste hierarchy is not to ...

. At the time the general populace of Japan kept their personal names and "cared little for geopolitics". Emperor Ingyō's later affair with "Otohime" is regarded as important by Brinkley as it illustrates the manners and customs at the time. He also suggests that the "atmosphere of loose morality" was in part responsible for Kinashi no Karu's incestuous relationship. It is agreed upon by

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 ...

's translation of the

, and Aston's translation of the Nihon Shoki that Prince Kinashi no Karu was probably appointed crown prince during his father's lifetime. At the time, marriage between children of the same father had always been allowed as long as the mothers involved were different. Marriage of children of the same mother of whom Kinashi no Karu was guilty of was considered incest. Aston notes in his translation of the Nihon Shoki that it's doubtful Karu no Ōiratsume was banished by her father. Historically women have always been more lightly punished than men for the same offense, and "the particular character of the fault in this case makes such a discrimination all the more reasonable". Francis Brinkley comments that four facts present themselves during Emperor Ingyō's reign: "Men wore wristbands and garters to which grelots were attached, that a high value was set for pearls, that metal was used for the construction of great man's gates, and the first earthquake is said to have been experienced in 416 AD". The latter of these things allegedly leveled the Imperial Palace at

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

from the severity of the Earth's tremors. Modern sources have since questioned the reliability of this "first earthquake", opting instead to recognize another that took place in Nara prefecture on May 28, 599 during the reign of

Empress Suiko (554 – 15 April 628) was the 33rd monarch of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō''): She introduced Buddhism in Japan and built many Buddhist temples, but she held the balance between Buddhism and Shintoism. Under her rule, Japan ...

Gravesite

While the actual site of Ingyō'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

shrine in Fujiidera

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

. 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 Ingyō'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 ...

/''

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. Formally, this tomb is called , but is also given the name . Another burial candidate for Emperor Ingyō's is the , which is also located in Fujiidera. Ingyō is also enshrined at the Imperial Palace along with other emperors and members of the Imperial Family at the Three Palace Sanctuaries.

Protohistoric narrative

Historical assessment

Titles and dating

Events during reign

Gravesite

Consorts and children

Spouse/Concubine

Issue

See also

Notes

References

Further reading