(401 — 24 September 456) was the 20th

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 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 ...

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 ...

(''Kunaichō'')
安康天皇 (20)
retrieved 2013-8-28. 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. No firm dates can be assigned to this Emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 28 February 454 to 24 September 456.

Legendary narrative

Ankō was a 5th-century monarch and the first generally agreed upon historical ruler of Japan. 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), the 29th Emperor,Titsingh
pp. 34–36
Brown
pp. 261–262
Varley, pp. 123–124. is the first for which contemporary historiography is able to assign verifiable dates; however, the conventionally accepted names and dates of the early Emperors were not to be confirmed as "traditional" 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 s ...

(737–806), the 50th sovereign 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 ...

. According to ''

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'', Ankō was the second son of

Emperor Ingyō was the 19th legendary Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 允恭天皇 (19) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order of succession. No firm dates can be assigned to this Emperor's life or reign, but he i ...

, his birth name was . After his father’s death, Anaho battled with ''

Prince Kinashi no Karu was a Japanese prince. He was a son of Emperor Ingyō. Prince Kinashi no Karu, Princess Karu no Ōiratsume, Prince Anaho (Emperor Ankō) and Prince Ōhatsuse Wakatake (Emperor Yūryaku) were born as children of Ingyō and Oshisaka no Ōnakatsu ...

''. Anaho was the new ruler after his father's passing and declared that Princess Karu no Ōiratsume be hung for her actions and Kinashi no Karu be exiled. The crown prince was unhappy with this and attempted to prevent the hanging from taking place. He rallied a few of his most loyal followers who also did not agree with the princess's death to help save her. He successfully saved her and slaughtered the small garrison of men attending her hanging. But unfortunately, Anaho grabbed the princess and pressed his blade to her throat. Kinashi no Karu offered himself instead. Kinashi no Karu let Anaho defeat him in exchange for the life of Princess Karu no Ōiratsume. He then became Emperor Ankō. Ankō's contemporary title would not have been ''tennō'', as most historians believe this title was not introduced until the reign of

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 rei ...

. Rather, it was presumably , meaning "the great king who rules all under heaven". Alternatively, Ankō might have been referred to as or the "Great King of Yamato". Ankō was assassinated in his third year of reign by Mayowa no Ōkimi (Prince Mayowa), in retaliation for the execution of Mayowa's father. The actual site of Ankō's

grave A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grav ...

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 ...

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 ''Shint ...

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...

Nara Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the northwest, Wakaya ...

. The

designates this location as Ankō'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 cons ...

. It is formally named ''Sugawara no Fushimi no nishi misasagi''.Ponsonby-Fane, p. 419. His Empress was , Emperor Richu’s daughter. He did not have other consorts and any children.

Consorts and children

Empress ('' Kōgō'') : , Emperor Richu's daughter

Gallery

File:Mausoleum of Emperor Anko.jpg, Memorial Shinto shrine and mausoleum honoring Emperor Ankō

Ancestry

Notes

References

* Aston, William George. (1896)
''Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697.''
London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner. * Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979)
''Gukanshō: The Future and the Past.''
Berkeley: University of California Press. ; * Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959)
''The Imperial House of Japan.''
Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. * Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''

Nihon Ōdai Ichiran , ', is a 17th-century chronicle of the serial reigns of Japanese emperors with brief notes about some of the noteworthy events or other happenings. According to the 1871 edition of the '' American Cyclopaedia'', the 1834 French translation of ...