(450 – 2 June 487) was the 23rd

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

ary

emperor of Japan The emperor of Japan is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...

Imperial Household Agency The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family, and the keeping of the Privy Seal of Japan, Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century ...

(''Kunaichō'')
顕宗天皇 (23)
retrieved 2013-8-29. according to the traditional

order of succession An order, line 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.Emperor Richū, and the son of Ichinobe-no Oshiwa. He would have been quite young when

Emperor Yūryaku (417/18 – 479) was the 21st Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. According to the ''Kojiki'', this Emperor is said to have ruled from the Thirteenth Day of the Eleventh Month of 456 ( Heishin) until his death on ...

shot the arrow which killed his father during a hunting expedition; and this caused both Prince Woke and his older brother, Prince Oke, to flee for their lives. According to Harima no Kuni Fudoki, they found refuge at Akashi in

Harima Province or Banshū (播州) was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is the southwestern part of present-day Hyōgo Prefecture. Harima bordered on Tajima, Tanba, Settsu, Bizen, and Mimasaka Provinces. Its capital was Himeji. During th ...

where they hid by living in obscurity. Histories from that period explained that the two brothers sought to blend into this rural community by posing as common herdsmen.Titsingh, p. 29. It is said that the Oke came by chance to Akashi; and at that time, Prince Oke revealed his true identity. This intermediary re-introduced the lost cousins to Emperor Seinei, who had by this time ascended to the throne after the death of his father, the former Emperor Yūryaku. Seinei invited both brothers to return the court; and he adopted both of them as sons and heirs. At Seinei's death, he had no other heirs than Prince Oke and Prince Woke, whose father had been killed by Yūraku. At this point, Woke wanted his elder brother to become Emperor; but Oke refused. The two could not reach an agreement. The great men of the court insisted that one or the other of the brothers must accept the throne; but in the end, Woke proved to be more adamant. Prince Woke agreed to accept the throne; and Kenzō was ultimately proclaimed as the new Emperor—which created a sense of relief for all the people who had endured this period of uncertainty. Kenzō is considered to have ruled the country during the late-5th century, but there is a paucity of information about him. There is insufficient material available for further verification and study. Kenzō'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. He ascended ...

and

Empress Jitō was the 41st emperor of Japan, monarch of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 持統天皇 (41)/ref> according to the traditional List of Emperors of Japan, order of succession. Jitō's reign spanned the years from Jitō period, 68 ...

. Rather, it was presumably , meaning "the great king who rules all under heaven". Alternatively, Kenzō might have been referred to as or the "Great King of Yamato".

Kenzō's reign

It is recorded that his capital was at 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 ...

.Titsingh, p. 30. The location of the palace is thought to have been in present-day

Osaka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Nara ...

Nara Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, 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 ...

. Murray reports that the only event of major consequence during Kenzō's reign had to do with the filial respect he showed for his murdered father. Kenzō arranged to have his father's remains retrieved and re-interred in a mausoleum appropriate for the son of an Emperor and the father of another. Kenzō died at age 37, reigning only three years. He too had no other heirs; so his brother would follow him on the throne. His Empress was , Prince Oka-no-Wakugo's daughter (also Prince Iwaki's granddaughter and

Emperor Yuryaku The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

's great-granddaughter). The actual site of Kenzō's

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

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 such as home ...

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

(''misasagi'') at

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

. The

designates this location as Kenzō's

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

. It is formally named ''Kataoka no Iwatsuki no oka no kita no misasagi''.Ponsonby-Fane, p. 419.

Consorts and children

Empress ('' Kōgō'') : , Prince Oka-no-Wakugo's daughter (also Prince Iwaki's granddaughter and

's great-granddaughter)

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. ; * Murray, David. (1906)
''Japan.''
New York: G.P. Putnam & Sons. * Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (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 ...

''). Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. * Varley, H. Paul. (1980)
''Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns.''
New York: Columbia University Press. ; {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenzo Emperors of Japan 5th-century births 5th-century deaths People of the Kofun period 5th-century Japanese monarchs

Kenzō's reign

Consorts and children

See also

Notes

References