Emperor Sushun

Sushun
Emperor of Japan
Reign588–593
PredecessorYōmei
SuccessorSuiko
Born520/521
Died593 (aged 72)
Burial
Kurahashi no oka no e no misasagi (Nara)

Emperor Sushun (崇峻天皇, Sushun-tennō, d. 592) was the 32nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.[1] His reign started in 587 and ended in 592.[2] Historians consider details about the life of Emperor Sushun to be possibly legendary, but probable.[3] The name Sushun-tennō was created for him posthumously by later generations.

The conventionally accepted names and sequence of the early emperors were not to be confirmed as "traditional" until the reign of Emperor Kammu, who was the 50th monarch of the Yamato dynasty.[4]

Traditional history

Before he became the monarch, this prince's personal name (imina) was Hatsusebe-shinnō, also known as Hatsusebe no Waka-sazaki.[5] His name at birth was Hatsusebe no Miko (長谷部皇子).[6]

Sushun was the twelfth son of Emperor Kimmei. His mother was Oane-no-kimi (小姉君), a daughter of Soga no Iname,[6] who was the chief of the Soga clan.

Sushun had one Empress and two Imperial children.[7]

Events of Sushun's life

  • 592: Sushun's reign lasted for five years before his death at the age of 72.[6]

The emperor's first minister was his powerful uncle, Soga no Umako. Sushun planned to remove the head of the Soga clan from his office. When the plan was discovered, Umako ordered someone to murder Sushun.[9] In the early history of Japan, this is the second time that an emperor is murdered.[10]

After his death

This emperor's official name after his death (his posthumous name) was regularized many centuries after the lifetime which was ascribed to Sushun.[11]

According to the Imperial Household Agency, the emperor's final resting place is in an earthen tumulus (kofun). Sushun is venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) which is associated with the burial mound.[1]

References

The chrysanthemum symbol of the Japanese emperor and his family.
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō), 崇峻天皇 (32); retrieved 2011-10-19.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon, pp. 38-39; Brown, Delmer et al. (1979). Gukanshō, p. 263; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, p. 126; Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric et al. (2002). "Traditional order of Tennō" in Japan encyclopedia, pp. 962-963.
  3. ↑ Kelly, Charles F. "Kofun Culture," Japanese Archaeology. April 27, 2009; retrieved 2011-10-19.
  4. ↑ Aston, William George. (1896). Nihongi, pp. 109.
  5. ↑ Aston, William. (2005). Nihongi, p. 112.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Varley, p. 126.
  7. ↑ Brown, p. 263.
  8. ↑ Varley, p. 44; compare Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō), Ceremony of Accession (Sokui-no-Rei); retrieved 2011-12-23.
  9. ↑ Martin, Peter. (1997). The Chrysanthemum Throne: a history of the Emperors of Japan, p. 36.
  10. ↑ Kamstra, Jacques H. (1967). Encounter or Syncretism : the Initial Growth of Japanese Buddhism, pp. 367-370.
  11. ↑ Aston (1998), pp. 146-147.
Preceded by
Emperor Yōmei 		Emperor of Japan:
Sushun
587-592 		Succeeded by
Empress Suiko