, also known as was the third

legendary Legendary may refer to: * Legend, a folklore genre * Legendary (hagiography) ** Anjou Legendarium * J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium Film and television * ''Legendary'' (film), a 2010 American sports drama film * ''Legendary'', a 2013 film fea ...

emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his positio ...

, according to the traditional

order of succession An order of succession 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. Very little is known about this Emperor due to a lack of material available for further verification and study. Annei is known as a "legendary emperor" among historians as his actual existence is disputed. Nothing exists in the ''

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 ...

'' other than his name and genealogy. Annei's reign allegedly began in 549 BC, he had one wife and three sons. After his death in 511 BC, his second or third son supposedly became the next emperor.

Legendary narrative

Emperor Annei's name appears in both the ''

'' and '' Nihon Shoki'' where only his genealogy are recorded. While the Japanese have traditionally accepted this sovereign's historical existence, no extant contemporary records have been discovered that confirm a view that this historical figure actually reigned. Before his accession to the throne, he was allegedly known as Prince Shikitsu-hiko Tamatemi. Shikitsu-hiko Tamatemi was either the eldest son or the only son of

Emperor Suizei , also known as , was the second legendary emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Very little is known about this Emperor due to a lack of material available for further verification and study. Suizei is known as a "le ...

with Isuzuyori-hime. The ''Kojiki'' records that he ruled from the palace of at Katashiro in Kawachi in what would come to be known as

Yamato Province was a province of Japan, located in Kinai, corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2005). "Yamato" in . It was also called . Yamato consists of two characters, 大 "great", and 和 " Wa". At first, the ...

. During Emperor Annei's alleged lifetime, he had one wife named "Nunasoko-Nakatsu-hime" and fathered three children with her. Annei's reign lasted from 549 BC until his death in 511 BC, his second or third son then took the throne and would later be referred to as

Emperor Itoku , also known as was the fourth legendary Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Very little is known about this emperor due to a lack of material available for further verification and study. Itoku is known as a "le ...

Known information

The existence of at least the first nine Emperors is disputed due to insufficient material available for further verification and study. ''Annei'' is thus regarded by historians as a "legendary Emperor", and is considered to have been the second of eight Emperors without specific legends associated with them. The name Annei''-tennō'' was assigned to him

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

by later generations, and literally means "steady tranquillity". His name might have been regularized centuries after the lifetime ascribed to Annei, possibly during the time in which legends about the origins of the

Yamato dynasty The , also referred to as the Imperial Family or the House of Yamato, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the Emperor i ...

were compiled as the chronicles known today as the ''

''. The name "Annei" is first credited to Japanese scholar and writer

Ōmi no Mifune was a Japanese scholar and writer of '' kanshi'' (poetry in Classical Chinese) and ''kanbun'' (prose in Classical Chinese), who lived in the Nara period of Japanese history. Biography Birth and ancestry Mifune was born in 722.'' Nihon Kot ...

, who allegedly came up with the name sometime in the latter half of the 8th century. While the actual site of Annei's grave is not known, the Emperor 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 or works of a ...

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...

(陵,''misasagi'') in

Kashihara is a city located in Nara Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 124,829, with 52,034 households. Population density is around 3,176.79 persons per km2, and the total area is 39.52 km2. The city was founded on Februa ...

. The

Imperial Household Agency The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial Family, and also the keeping of the Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century AD, up until the Second World War, it ...

designates this location as Annei's

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

, and is formally named ''Unebi-yama no hitsujisaru Mihodo no i no e no misasagi(畝傍山西南御陰井上陵,The royal tomb over the mihodo at the south west of

mount unebi is a mountain in the city of Kashihara, in the central-western part Nara Prefecture, Japan. Together with Mount Amanokagu and Mount Miminashi, it belongs to the so-called " Yamato Sanzan", in which it is the highest. At the foot of the mounta ...

) ''. The first emperor that historians believe might have actually existed is

Emperor Sujin , also known as in the ''Kojiki'', and or in the '' Nihon Shoki'' was the tenth Emperor of Japan. While Sujin is the first emperor whose existence historians widely accept, he is still referred to as a "legendary emperor" due to a lack of info ...

, the 10th emperor of Japan. Outside of the Kojiki, 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– ...

( – 571 AD) is the first for which contemporary historiography is 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. Kanmu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the sco ...

between 737 and 806 AD.

Consorts and Children

*Empress: , Prince Kamo's daughter (

Kotoshironushi , also known as is a Shinto ''kami''. In the ''Kojiki'', Kotoshironushi is the son of Ōkuninushi, the earthly deity of Izumo province. When the heavenly deities sent Takemikazuchi to conquer Izumo, Ōkuninushi deferred the decision over whether ...

's son) ** ** , later

Notes

References

Legendary narrative

Known information

Consorts and Children

See also

Notes

References

Further reading