was the 30th

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'')
敏達天皇 (30)
retrieved 2013-1-31. according to the traditional order of succession. The years of reign of Bidatsu start in 572 and end in 585; however, there are no certain dates for this Emperor's life or reign. The names and sequence of the early Emperors were not 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 ...

, who was the 50th

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

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 ...

Traditional narrative

Historians consider details about the life of Emperor Bidatsu to be possibly legendary, but probable.Kelly, Charles F
"Kofun Culture"
27 April 2009; retrieved 2013-1-31. The name Bidatsu''-tennō'' was created for him

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication Posthumous publication refers to material that is published after the author's death. This can be because the auth ...

by later generations. In the '' Nihon Shoki'', he is called . His palace 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 ...

was called Osada no Miya of Iware.

Events of Bidatsu's life

In the 15th year of Kimmei's reign, Bidatsu was named Crown Prince. In the , the old Emperor died, and the succession was received by his second son. Soon after, Emperor Bidatsu is said to have acceded to the throne. Bidatsu's contemporary title would not have been ''tennō'', as most historians believe this title was not introduced until the reigns 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 ...

and Empress Jitō. Rather, it was presumably , meaning "the great king who rules all under heaven". Alternatively, Bidatsu might have been referred to as or the "Great King of Yamato". Bidatsu's reign was marked by power struggles about Buddhism. The two most important men in the court of Bidatsu were

Soga no Umako was the son of Soga no Iname and a member of the powerful Soga clan of Japan. Umako conducted political reforms with Prince Shōtoku during the rules of Emperor Bidatsu and Empress Suiko and established the Soga clan's stronghold in the g ...

and Mononobe no Moriya. Soga supported the growth of Buddhism, and Moriya wanted to stop it. Bidatsu sought to re-establish relations with

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

n Kingdoms and, according to '' Nihon Shoki'', his court successfully established relations with

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder J ...

and

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms o ...

, two of the

Three Kingdoms of Korea Samhan or the Three Kingdoms of Korea () refers to the three kingdoms of Goguryeo (고구려, 高句麗), Baekje (백제, 百濟), and Silla (신라, 新羅). Goguryeo was later known as Goryeo (고려, 高麗), from which the modern name ''Kor ...

. The Emperor died from a disease which afflicted him with sores, apparently the first royal victim of smallpox in Japan. The actual site of Bidatsu'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 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 ...

(''misasagi'') at Osaka. The

designates this location as Bidatsu'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 ''Kawachi no Shinaga no naka no o no misasagi''.

Genealogy

He was the second son 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– ...

. His mother, Ishi-hime, was a daughter of Emperor Senka.Brown
p. 262
Although he had many children, none of them would ever become Emperor.Ponsonby-Fane, p. 46. According to ''

Gukanshō is a historical and literary work about the history of Japan. Seven volumes in length, it was composed by Buddhist priest Jien of the Tendai sect . Political problems arising from the relations between the Imperial government and the '' bak ...

'', Bidatsu had four empresses and 16 Imperial children (6 sons and 10 daughters). Bidatsu's first empress, Hirohime, died in the fifth year of his reign. To replace her, he elevated one of his consorts, Princess Nukatabe, to the rank of empress. Nukatabe was his half-sister by their father Kinmei. Later she ascended to the throne in her own right and is today known as

Empress Suiko (554 – 15 April 628) was the 33rd monarch of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 推古天皇 (33)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Suiko reigned from 593 until her death in 628. In the history of Japa ...

. He was succeeded first by one of his brothers, Emperor Yōmei, then by another, Emperor Sushun, and then Empress Suiko, his sister and wife, before his grandson,

Emperor Jomei was the 34th emperor of Japan,Kunaichō 斉明天皇 (34)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Jomei's reign spanned the years from 629 through 641. Traditional narrative Before Jomei's ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne ...

, eventually took the throne. *Empress: , Prince Okinaga-no-Mate's daughter **First Son: ** **,

Saiō A , was an unmarried female member of the Japanese Imperial Family, sent to Ise to serve at Ise Grand Shrine from the late 7th century until the 14th century. The Saiō's residence, , was about 10 km north-west of the shrine. The remains of ...

*Empress: , later

's daughter **, married to

Prince Shōtoku , also known as or , was a semi-legendary regent and a politician of the Asuka period in Japan who served under Empress Suiko. He was the son of Emperor Yōmei and his consort, Princess Anahobe no Hashihito, who was also Yōmei's younger half- ...

** **, married to Prince Oshisako-no-Hikohito-no-Ōe ** ** **, father of Tachibana-no-Oiratsume (

's consort) **, married to

**, married to Prince Oshisako-no-Hikohito-no-Ōe, later married to Prince Kume ( Emperor Yomei's son) *Consort: , Kasuga no Nakakimi no Omi's daughter ** ** ** **Third Son: *Concubine: , Ohoka no Obito no Okuma's daughter **, also **, married to Prince Oshisako no Hikohito no Ōe

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. ; * Hopkins, Donald R. (2002)
''The Greatest Killer''.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ; ; * Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959)
''The Imperial House of Japan''.
Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. * Titsingh, Isaac. (1834)
''Annales des empereurs du Japon''
(''

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 ...