, also known as , was the 35th and 37th monarch of Japan,Kunaichō
斉明天皇 (37)
/ref> 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.Asuka period The was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710, although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato period, Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after the ...

. Kōgyoku's reign spanned the years from 642 to 645. Her reign as Saimei encompassed 655 to 661. In other words, * 642: She ascended the throne as Kōgyoku''-tennō'', and she stepped down in response to the assassination of Soga no Iruka (see:

Isshi incident The was a successful plot by Nakatomi no Kamatari ( Fujiwara no Kamatari), Prince Naka no Ōe and others who conspired to eliminate the main branch of the Soga clan, beginning with the assassination of Soga no Iruka. It takes its name from th ...

). * 645: She abdicated in favor of her brother, who would become known as Emperor Kōtoku. * 654: Kōtoku died and the throne was vacant. * 655: She re-ascended, beginning a new reign as Saimei''-tennō''. * 661: Saimei ruled until her death caused the throne to be vacant again. The two reigns of this one woman spanned the years from 642 through 661. In the

history of Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to the Japanese Paleolithic, Paleolithic, around 38–39,000 years ago. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the fi ...

, Kōgyoku/Saimei was the second of eight women to take on the role of

empress regnant A queen regnant (: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank, title and position to a king. She reigns '' suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a kingdom; as opposed to a queen consort, who is married to a reigni ...

. The sole female monarch before Kōgyoku/Saimei was Suiko''-tennō''. The six female sovereigns reigning after Kōgyoku/Saimei were

Jitō were medieval territory stewards in Japan, especially in the Kamakura and Muromachi shogunates. Appointed by the shōgun, ''jitō'' managed manors, including national holdings governed by the '' kokushi'' or provincial governor. There were als ...

, Genmei, Genshō, Kōken/Shōtoku, Meishō, and Go-Sakuramachi.

Traditional narrative

Before her ascension to the

Chrysanthemum Throne The is the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The term also can refer to very specific seating, such as the throne in the Shishin-den at Kyoto Imperial Palace. Various other thrones or seats that are used by the Emperor during official functions ...

, her personal name (''

imina in modern times consist of a family name (surname) followed by a given name. Japanese names are usually written in kanji, where the pronunciation follows a special set of rules. Because parents when naming children, and foreigners when adoptin ...

'') was . As empress, her name would have been . Princess Takara (''Takara no miko'') was a great-granddaughter of Emperor Bidatsu.

Events in Kōgyoku's reign

During her first reign the

Soga clan The was one of the most powerful aristocratic kin groups Uji (clan), (''uji'') of the Asuka period of the early Japanese state—the Yamato period, Yamato polity—and played a major role in the spread of Buddhism in Japan. Through the 5th and ...

seized power. Her son Naka no Ōe planned a coup d'état and slew Soga no Iruka at the court in front of her throne. The Empress, shocked by this incident, abdicated the throne. Kōgyoku'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. Rather, it was presumably ''Sumeramikoto'' or ''Amenoshita Shiroshimesu Ōkimi'' (治天下大王), meaning "the Great Queen who rules

all under Heaven ''Tianxia'', 'all under Heaven', is a Chinese term for a historical Chinese cultural concept that denoted either the entire geographical world or the metaphysical realm of mortals, and later became associated with political sovereignty. In anc ...

". Alternatively, Kōgyoku might have been referred to as (ヤマト大王/大君) or the "Great Queen of Yamato". Empress Kōgyoku reigned for four years. The years of Kōgyoku's reign are not linked by scholars to any era or ''nengō''. The Taika era innovation of naming time periods – ''nengō'' – was yet to be initiated during her son's too-brief reign. In this context, Brown and Ishida's translation of ''Gukanshō'' offers an explanation about the years of Empress Jitō's reign which muddies a sense of easy clarity in the pre-Taiho time-frame: :"The eras that fell in this reign were: (1) the remaining seven years of Shuchō 686+7=692?) and (2) Taika, which was four years long 95–698 (The first year of this era was ''kinoto-hitsuji'' 95) ... In the third year of the Taka era 97 Empress Jitō yielded the throne to the Crown Prince." The years of Kōgyoku's reign are not more specifically identified by more than one

era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of rule, a t ...

or ''

nengō The or , is the first of the two elements that identify years in the Japanese era calendar scheme. The second element is a number which indicates the year number within the era (with the first year being "", meaning "origin, basis"), followed b ...

'' which was an innovation of Kōtoku's brief reign.Titsingh, pp. 43–54.

Events in Saimei's reign

When Kōtoku died, his designated heir was Naka no Ōe. When Naka no Ōe's mother re-ascended, he continued in the role of her heir and crown prince. In this role, he could and did remain active in the political life of Japan. In the fifth year of Saimei's reign,

Paekche Baekje or Paekche (; ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. While the three kingdoms were in separate existence, Baekje had the h ...

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

was destroyed in 660. Japan assisted Paekche loyals in an attempt to aid the revival of Paekche dynasty. Early in 661, Saimei responded to the situation by leaving her capital 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 ...

. Her plan was to lead a military expedition to Korea. The empress stayed in Ishiyu Temporary Palace in

Iyo Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of northwestern Shikoku.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tosa''" in . Iyo bordered on Sanuki Province to the northeast, Awa Province (Tokushima), Awa to the east ...

, today

Dōgo Onsen is a hot spring in the city of Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the ...

. In May she arrived at Asakura Palace in the north part of Tsukushi province in

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

, today a part of

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders ...

. The allied army of Japan and

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (; ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. While the three kingdoms were in separate existence, Baekje had the h ...

was preparing for war against

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

, but the death of the empress thwarted those plans. In 661, Saimei died in the Asakura Palace before the army departed to

. In October her body was brought from Kyūshū by sea to Port Naniwa-zu (today Osaka city); and her state funeral was held in early November. Empress Saimei ruled for seven years. The years of Saimei's reign are not linked by scholars to any era or ''nengō''. The Taika era innovation of naming time periods – ''nengō'' – languished until Mommu reasserted an imperial right by proclaiming the commencement of Taihō in 701. The actual site of Kōgyoku/Saimei'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 known, having been identified as the Kengoshizuka tomb in the village of Asuka,

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 ...

. This empress 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 Nara. 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 Kōgyoku/Seimei'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 ''Ochi-no-Okanoe no misasagi''.Ponsonby-Fane, p. 420.

''Kugyō''

''Kugyō'' (公卿) is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the

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 ...

in pre- Meiji eras. In general, this elite group included only three to four men at a time. These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background would have brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career. During Kōgyoku's reign, this apex of the ''

Daijō-kan The , also known as the Great Council of State, was (i) (''Daijō-kan'') the highest organ of Japan's premodern Imperial government under the Ritsuryō legal system during and after the Nara period or (ii) (''Dajō-kan'') the highest organ of Jap ...

'' included: * ''

Sadaijin The ''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', Kenkyusha Limited, was a government position in Japan during the Asuka to Meiji era. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the ''Sadaijin'' in the context of a cent ...

'' * ''

Udaijin was a government position in Japan during the Asuka to Meiji era. The position was consolidated in the Taihō Code of 701. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the ''Udaijin'' in the context of a central administrat ...

'' The ''kugyō'' during Saimei's reign included: * ''

'', Kose no Tokoda(巨勢徳太) (593–658), 649–658Brown, p. 267. * ''

'' (not appointed) * '' Naidaijin'' (内臣), Nakatomi no Kamako(中臣鎌子) ( Fujiwara no Kamatari, 藤原鎌足) (614–669), 645–669

Spouses and children

Empress Saimei, born Princess Takara, was the daughter of Prince Chinu, a grandson of Emperor Bidatsu, and his princess consort. Firstly, she married Prince Takamuku and had a son. Secondly, the princess married Prince Toneri who also was Emperor Bidatsu's grandson.The marriage produced one daughter and two sons who both ascended the throne in the future. * First Husband: Prince Takamuku (高向王), Prince Tame's son (also Emperor Yomei’s grandson) ** First Son: Prince Kara (漢皇子) * Second Husband: Prince Tamura (田村皇子), later Emperor Jomei, Prince Oshisaka-no-hikohito-no-Ōe's son (also Emperor Bidatsu's grandson) ** Second Son: Prince Naka no Ōe (中大兄皇子) later Emperor Tenji) ** First Daughter: Princess Hashihito (間人皇女, d. 665), married Emperor Kōtoku ** Third Son: Prince Ōama (大海人皇子) later

Popular culture

* Portrayed by Kim Min-kyung in the 2012–2013 KBS1 TV series '' Dream of the Emperor''.

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''; ou
''Annales des empereurs du Japon''.
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:Kogyoku, Empress Japanese emperors who abdicated 594 births 661 deaths Japanese empresses regnant People of the Asuka period 7th-century empresses consort 7th-century empresses regnant 6th-century Japanese people 7th-century Japanese monarchs 7th-century Japanese women 7th-century Japanese poets 7th-century Japanese women writers 6th-century Japanese women 6th-century Japanese poets