, also known as was the fifth legendary

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 ...

, 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. Kōshō 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. Kōshō's reign allegedly began in 475 BC, he had one wife and two sons. After his death in 393 BC, his second son supposedly became the next emperor.

Legendary narrative

In the ''

'' and '' Nihon Shoki'', only his name and genealogy were recorded. The Japanese have traditionally accepted this sovereign's historical existence, and an Imperial ''misasagi''(陵) or tomb for Kōshō is currently maintained; however, no extant contemporary records have been discovered that confirm a view that this historical figure actually reigned. Kōshō is believed to be the oldest son of Emperor Itoku, and his wife Amanotoyototsu-hime. His mother was the daughter of Okishimimi-no-kami. The ''Kojiki'' records that he ruled from the palace of at Waki-no-kami 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, th ...

. Kōshō allegedly had a wife named ''Yosotarashi-hime'', and fathered two children with her. His reign lasted from 475 BC until his death in 393 BC, his second son then took the throne and would later be referred to as

Emperor Kōan , also known as was the sixth 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. Kōan is known as a "l ...

Known information

The existence of at least the first nine Emperors is disputed due to insufficient material available for further verification and study. ''Kōshō'' is thus regarded by historians as a "legendary Emperor", and is considered to have been the fourth of eight Emperors without specific legends associated with them. The name Kōshō''-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 Posthumous publication refers to material that is published after the author's death. This can be because the auth ...

by later generations, and literally means "filial manifestation". His name might have been regularized centuries after the lifetime ascribed to Kōshō, possibly during the time in which legends about the origins of the Yamato dynasty were compiled as the chronicles known today as the ''

''. While the actual site of Kōshō'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 ...

(''misasagi'') in Gose. 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 Kōshō'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 ''Waki-no-kami no Hakata no yama no e no misasagi''. There is a possibility that this figure could have lived instead in the 1st century (AD), however more research is needed to make any further conclusions. The first emperor that historians state might have actually existed is Emperor Sujin, 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 s ...

between 737 and 806 AD.

Consorts and Children

*Empress: , Owari clan's daughter ** ** , later

Notes

References

Legendary narrative

Known information

Consorts and Children

See also

Notes

References

Further reading