was the 49th

emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the 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 position is derived from "the ...

, Emperor Kōnin, Tahara no Higashi Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Household Agency 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.imina in modern times consist of a family name (surname) followed by a given name, in that order. Nevertheless, when a Japanese name is written in the Roman alphabet, ever since the Meiji era, the official policy has been to cater to Western expecta ...

'') was . As a son of Imperial Prince Shiki and a grandson of

Emperor Tenji , also known as Emperor Tenchi, was the 38th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')天智天皇 (38)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 52 ...

, his formal style was Prince Shirakabe. Initially, he was not in line for succession, as Emperor Tenmu and his branch held the throne. He married Imperial Princess Ikami, a daughter of Emperor Shōmu, producing a daughter and a son. After his sister in law,

Empress Shōtoku An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

(also Empress Kōken), died, he was named her heir. The high courtiers claimed the empress had left her will in a letter in which she had appointed him as her successor. Prior to this, he had been considered a gentle man without political ambition. Kōnin had five wives and seven Imperial sons and daughters. Brown and Ishida, p. 277. Emperor Kōnin is traditionally venerated at his tomb; the Imperial Household Agency designates , in Nara, Nara, as the location of Kōnin's mausoleum.

Events of Kōnin's life

* September 8, 769 (): In the 5th year of Empress Shōtoku's reign, she died; she is said to have written a letter designating Senior Counselor Prince Shirakabe as her heir and crown prince. * August 28, 770 (): Exactly one (Japanese era-based) year later, the succession (''senso'') was received by Kōnin, who was the 62-year-old grandson of

. * October 23, 770 (): Emperor Kōnin was said to have acceded to the throne (''sokui'') in a formal ceremony, following the plans of the nobles and ministers to have him placed on the throne. The era name was also changed on this date, to Hōki. * 781 (): The emperor abdicated in favor of his son Yamabe, who became

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 ...

. Emperor Kōnin's reign had lasted for 11 years. * 781 (): Kōnin died at the age of 73.

Eras of Kōnin's reign

The years of Kammu's reign are more specifically identified by more than one

era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of ...

(''nengō'').Titsingh, p. 81; Brown and Ishida, p. 277. * '' Hōki'' (770–781) * '' Ten'ō'' (781–782)

Legacy

Kōnin attempted to reconstruct the state finance and administrative organizations, which had been corrupted under the reign of Empress Kōken.

Political conflict around his successors

Soon after his enthronement in 770 ( Hōki 1), he promoted his wife Imperial Princess Inoe or Ikami (the exact pronunciation of her name is unknown) to the empress and appointed her son Imperial Prince Osabe to the crown prince in the next year. As a grandson of Emperor Shōmu by his mother, Osabe was one of few descendants of Emperor Tenmu, the line of Tenmu however didn't succeed to the throne finally. In 772 Osabe was deprived of his crown prince rank and Imperial Prince Yamabe, an issue by another woman, later

was named heir. According to the , the replacement happened as follows: in the third month of Hōki 3 (772), Ikami was accused of cursing her husband and Emperor Kōnin stripped her of the rank of Empress. In the fifth month of this year his son Osabe was deprived his crown prince status. In Hōki 4 (773), both were alleged to have murdered Imperial Princess Naniwa, a sister of Kōnin by cursing. This allegation made those two stripped of the rank of royals. Those two were together enclosed in a house in

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, th ...

and died two years later in the same day, on the 27th day of the fourth month of Hōki 6 (on the Julian Calendar, on May 29, 775). In 772, soon after Osabe's deprivation of heir right, Prince Yamabe was named heir. His mother

Takano no Niigasa was a concubine of Emperor Kōnin of Japan and the mother of Emperor Kanmu. Her full name was Takano no Asomi Niigasa. Life Niigasa was a daughter of Yamato no Ototsugu (和乙継). She became a concubine of Prince Shirakabe (白壁王), grandson ...

, née Yamato no Niigasa, was a descendant of King Muryeong of Baekje. Since her clan had then no political power, his appointment had not been likely to happen without the deprivation of Osabe, the noblest male issue of Konin as the son of an Imperial Princess and Empress. Today it is pointed out the accusations to Ikami and Osabe were likely to be plotted for depriving her son of the throne, and they were likely to be assassinated, by Fujiwara no Momokawa. The late years of Kōnin's reign and the early years of Kanmu's reign suffered disasters. The people took those disasters as vengeance of noble victims of political conflicts, including late Ikami and Osabe. In 800 during the reign of Kanmu, Princess Ikami who had deceased in 775 was restored to the rank of Empress of Kōnin. Several shrines and temples were also founded for redemption, including Kamigoryō Shrine ( :ja:上御霊神社).

Kugyō

is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the

Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the 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 position is derived from "the ...

in pre- Meiji eras. In general, this elite group included only three to four men at a time. These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background would have brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career. During Kōnin's reign, this apex of the '' Daijō-kan'' included: * '' Sadaijin'',

Fujiwara no Nagate was a Japanese court noble and statesman of the Nara period. He was the second son of the founder of the Hokke House of the Fujiwara clan, the '' sangi'' Fujiwara no Fusasaki. He achieved the court rank of Senior First Rank and the position o ...

(藤原永手) (714–771),　766–771. * ''Sadaijin'',

Fujiwara no Uona Fujiwara no Uona (藤原魚名, 721 – August 31, 783) was a member of the Fujiwara clan in Japan and occupied the position of ''sadaijin'' "Minister of the Left" in the ancient Japanese court. He was the fifth son of Fujiwara no Fusasaki (681� ...

(藤原魚名) (721–783),　781–782. * ''

Udaijin was a government position in Japan in the late Nara and Heian periods. The position was consolidated in the Taihō Code of 702. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the ''udaijin'' in the context of a central administ ...

'', Ōnakatomi Kiyomaro (大中臣清麿) (702–788), 771–781. * ''Naidaijin'', Fujiwara no Yoshitsugu (藤原良継) (716–777), 771–777. * ''Naidaijin'', Fujiwara no Uona (藤原魚名) (721–783), 778–781 * ''

Dainagon was a counselor of the first rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century. This advisory position remained a part of the Imperial court from the 8th century until the Meiji period in the 19th century.Nussbaum, "Dainag ...

'', Fun'ya no Ōchi (文室大市) (704–780), 771–777 * ''Dainagon'', Fujiwara no Uona (藤原魚名) (721–783), 771–778 * ''Sangi'', Fujiwara no Momokawa (藤原百川), 732–779.

Consorts and children

Empress (deposed in 772): Imperial

Princess Inoe Princess Inoe or ''Inoue'' (717–775) was the Empress consort of Emperor Kōnin of Japan. She was deposed in 772, accused of witchcraft. Life Inoue was the daughter of Emperor Shōmu, who reigned from March 3, 724 until August 19, 749.Imperi ...

/Ikami (井上内親王), Emperor Shōmu’s daughter *Imperial Prince Osabe (他戸親王, 761–775), the Crown Prince (deposed in 772) *Imperial Princess Sakahito (酒人内親王), Saiō in

Ise Shrine The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Officially known simply as , Ise Jingū is a shrine complex composed of many Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, and . The Inner ...

772–775, and married to

''Hi'': Princess Owari (尾張女王, d. 804), Prince Yuhara’s daughter (son of Prince Shiki) *Third Son: Imperial Prince Hieda (稗田親王, 751–781) ''Bunin'':

(高野新笠), Yamato no Ototsugu’s daughter *First Daughter: Imperial Princess Noto (能登内親王, 733–781), married to Prince Ichihara *First Son: Imperial Prince Yamabe (山部親王) later

*Second Son: Imperial Prince Sawara (早良親王), the Crown Prince (deposed in 785) ''Bunin'': Fujiwara no Sōshi (藤原曹子), Fujiwara no Nagate’s daughter ''Bunin'': Ki no Miyako (紀宮子), Ki no Ineko’s daughter ''Bunin'': Fujiwara no Nariko (藤原産子), Fujiwara no Momokawa’s daughter Court lady: Agatanushi no Shimahime (県主嶋姫), Agatanushi no Emishi’s daughter *Imperial Princess Minuma (弥努摩内親王, d. 810), married to Prince Miwa (神王) Court lady (''Nyoju''): Agatainukai no Isamimi (Omimi) (県犬養勇耳/男耳) *Hirone no Morokatsu (広根諸勝), removed from the Imperial Family by receiving the family name from Emperor (''Shisei Kōka''賜姓降下) in 787 Unknown Woman: * Prince Kaisei (開成皇子, 724–781)

Ancestry

Notes

References

* * * Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959)
''The Imperial House of Japan.''
Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society
OCLC 194887
* Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). '' Nihon Ōdai 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.
OCLC 59145842