, also known as was the eighth legendary

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 ...

, 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. Very little is known about this Emperor due to a lack of material available for further verification and study. Kōgen 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. Kōgen's reign allegedly began in 214 BC, he had one wife and two consorts whom he fathered six children with. After his death in 158 BC, one of his sons supposedly became Emperor Kaika.

Legendary narrative

In the ''

'' and ''

Nihon Shoki The or , sometimes translated as ''The Chronicles of Japan'', is the second-oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate and detailed than the , the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeol ...

'', only Kōgen's name and genealogy were recorded. The Japanese have traditionally accepted this sovereign's historical existence, and an Imperial ''misasagi'' or tomb for Kōgen is currently maintained; however, no extant contemporary records have been discovered that confirm a view that this historical figure actually reigned. Kōgen was born sometime in 273 BC, and is recorded as being the eldest son of Emperor Kōrei. His empress mother was named "''Kuwashi-hime''", who was the daughter of Shiki no Agatanushi Oome. Before he was enthroned sometime in 214 BC, his pre-ascension name was ''Prince Ō-yamato-neko-hiko-kuni-kuru no Mikoto''. The Kojiki records that he ruled from the palace of at Karu 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 ...

. Emperor Kōgen had a chief wife (empress) named ''Utsushikome'', along with two consorts. His first son was named Prince Ōhiko, and according to the Nihon Shoki was the direct ancestor of the

Abe clan The was one of the oldest of the major Japanese clans (''uji''); and the clan retained its prominence during the Sengoku period and the Edo period.Meyer, Eva-Maria"Gouverneure von Kyôto in der Edo-Zeit." Universität Tübingen (in German). Th ...

. One of Kōgen's other sons, Prince ''Hikofutsuoshinomakoto'', was also the grandfather of the legendary Japanese hero-statesman

Takenouchi no Sukune or Takeshiuchi no Sukune was a legendary Japanese hero-statesman of the 1st century, and a Shinto kami. He is recorded in Japan's earliest literary texts, the ''Kojiki'' (ca. 712) and the ''Nihon Shoki'' ( 720). Life Takenouchi no Sukune was ...

. Emperor Kōgen reigned until his death in 158 BC; his second son was then enthroned as the next emperor.

Known information

The existence of at least the first nine Emperors is disputed due to insufficient material available for further verification and study. Kōgen is thus regarded by historians as a "legendary Emperor", and is considered to have been the seventh of eight Emperors without specific legends associated with them. The name Kōgen''-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, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

by later generations. His name might have been regularized centuries after the lifetime ascribed to Kōgen, possibly during the time in which legends about the origins of the

imperial dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

were compiled as the chronicles known today as the ''

''. While the actual site of Kōgen'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'') in Kashihara. The

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 ...

designates this location as Kōgen'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 ...

, and its formal name is ''Tsurugi no ike no shima no e no misasagi''. 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. 261–2 ...

( – 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. Kammu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the scop ...

between 737 and 806 AD.

Consorts and children

*Empress: , Oyakuchisukune's daughter **, ancestor of all the

's descendants. ** **, later Emperor Kaika. ** *Consort: , Ōhesoki's daughter **, grandfather of . *Consort: , Kawachi-no-Aotamakake's daughter **

Family tree

Notes

References