Emperor Shōmu
Emperor Shōmu 聖武天皇 | |||||
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Fujiwara no Asukabe-hime | |||||
Issue |
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House | Yamato | ||||
Father | Emperor Monmu | ||||
Mother | Fujiwara no Miyako | ||||
Religion | Buddhism |
Emperor Shōmu (聖武天皇, Shōmu-tennō, September 22, 701 – June 4, 756) was the 45th
Traditional narrative
Before his ascension to the
Shōmu was the son of Emperor Monmu and Fujiwara no Miyako, a daughter of Fujiwara no Fuhito.[6]
Shōmu had five consorts and six Imperial sons and daughters.[7]
Events of Shōmu's reign
Shōmu was still a child at the time of his father's death; thus, his grandmother,
- 724 (Yōrō 8, 1st month): In the 9th year of Genshō-tennō's reign (元正天皇九年), the empress abdicated; and her nephew received the succession (‘‘senso’’). Shortly thereafter, Emperor Shōmu is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’).[8]
- January 31, 724 (Jinki 1): The era name is changed to mark the accession of Emperor Shōmu.[9]
- 735–737: A major smallpox epidemic raged throughout Japan, incurring adult mortality rates of about 25% to 35%.[10]
Shōmu continued to reside in the Hezei Palace.[6]
Shōmu is known as the first emperor whose consort was not born into the imperial household. His consort Kōmyō was a non-royal Fujiwara commoner. A ritsuryō office was created for the queen-consort, the Kogogushiki; and this bureaucratic innovation continued into the Heian period.[11]
Emperor Shōmu's tour to the eastern provinces
While battle maneuvers of the
Despite the good news, Shōmu did not return to Heijō-kyō immediately, but stayed in Kawaguchi until
Timeline
- 724 (Jinki 1): Emperor Shōmu rises to throne.[6]
- 740 (Tenpyō 12, 8th month): In the Imperial court in Nara, Kibi no Makibi and Genbō conspire to discredit Fujiwara no Hirotsugu, who is Dazai shoni in Kyushu.[21]
- 740 (Tenpyō 12, 9th month): Hirotsugu rebels in reaction to the growing influence of Genbō and others.[21]
- 740 (Tenpyō 12, 9th month): Under the command of Ōno no Azumabito, an Imperial army of 17,000 is sent to Kyushu to stop the potential disturbance.[21]
- 740 (Tenpyō 12, 10th month): Hirotsugu is decisively beaten in battle; and he is beheaded in Hizen Province.[21]
- 740 (Tenpyō 12): The capital is moved to Kuni-kyō
- 741 (Tenpyō 13): The Emperor calls for nationwide establishment of provincial temples. Provincial temples ("kokubunji") and provincial nunneries ("kokubunniji") were established throughout the country. The more formal name for these "kokubunji" was "konkomyo-shitenno-gokoku no tera" (meaning "temples for the protection of the country by the four guardian deities of the golden light"). The more formal name for these "bokubunniji" was "hokke-metuzai no tera" (meaning "nunneries for eliminating sin by means of the Lotus Sutra").[22]
- 743 (Tenpyō 15): The Emperor issues a rescript to build the Daibutsu (Great Buddha), later to be completed and placed in Nara.[23]
- 743 (Tenpyō 15): The law of Perpetual Ownership of Cultivated Lands (墾田永代私財法) issued
- 744 (Tenpyō 16): In the spring, the court was moved to Naniwa-kyō which then became the new capital.[21]
- 745 (Tenpyō 17): The Emperor declares by himself Shigaraki-kyō the capital
- 745 (Tenpyō 17): The capital returns to Heijō-kyō, construction of the Great Buddha resumes.
- 749 (Tenpyō 21, 4th month): Shōmu, accompanied by the empress, their children, and all the great men and women of the court, went in procession to Todai-ji. The emperor stood before the statue of the Buddha and proclaimed himself to be a disciple of the three jewels,[24] which are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.[25]
- 749 (Tenpyō 21, 7th month): After a 25-year reign, Emperor Shōmu abdicates in favor of his daughter, Princess Takano, who would become Empress Kōken.[26] After abdication, Shōmu took the tonsure, thus becoming the first retired emperor to become a Buddhist priest.[26] Empress Komyo, following her husband's example, also took holy vows in becoming a Buddhist nun.[26]
- 752 (
Legacy
Shōmu, a devout Buddhist, is best remembered for commissioning, in 743, the sixteen-meter high statue of the
Earlier in 741, he established the system of
Emperor Shōmu died at age 56.[26]
The actual site of Shōmu's
(misasagi) at Nara.The
Shōsōin
The
Kugyō
Kugyō (公卿) is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan 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 Shōmu's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:
- Daijō-daijin (720–735), Toneri-shinnō (舎人親王) (9th son of Emperor Tenmu).[7]
- Daijō-daijin (737–745), Suzuka-ō (鈴鹿王) (son of Prince Takechi).[32]
- Nagaya-ō (長屋王) (son of Prince Takechi).[32]
- Sadaijin (743–756), Tachibana no Moroe (橘諸兄) (formerly Katsuragi-ō, Prince Katsuragi) (half brother of Empress Kōmyō) .[32]
- Naidaijin, Fujiwara no Toyonari (藤原豊成) (son of Fujiwara no Muchimaro).[32]
- Dainagon, Fujiwara no Fusasaki (藤原房前) (son of Fujiwara no Fuhito).[7]
Eras of Shōmu's life
The years of Shōmu's reign are more specifically identified by more than one
- Jinki (724–729)
- Tenpyō (729–749)
- Tenpyō-kanpō (749)
- Tenpyō-shōhō (749–757)
Consorts and children
- Empress (Kōgō): Fujiwara Asukabehime (藤原 安宿媛), Fujiwara no Fuhito’s daughter
- Second Daughter: Imperial Princess Abe (阿倍内親王) later Empress Kōken
- First Son: Prince Motoi (基王, 727–728)
- Bunin: Agatainukai no Hirotoji (県犬養広刀自, d.762), Agatainukai no Morokoshi's daughter
- First Daughter: Imperial Princess Inoe (井上内親王), married to Emperor Kōnin
- Third Daughter: Imperial Princess Fuwa (不破内親王, 723-795), married to Prince Shioyaki
- Second Son: Imperial Prince Asaka (安積親王, 728–744)
- Bunin: Nan-dono (南殿, d.748), Fujiwara no Muchimaro’s daughter
- Bunin: Hoku-dono (北殿, d.760), Fujiwara no Fusasaki’s daughter
- Bunin: Tachibana-no-Hirooka no Konakachi (橘広岡古那可智, d.759), Tachibana no Sai's daughter
Ancestry
Ancestors of Emperor Shōmu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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See also
- Emperor of Japan
- Imperial cult
- List of Emperors of Japan
Notes
- ^ a b Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō): 聖武天皇 (45)
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, p. 57.
- ^ Brown, Delmer et al. (1979). Gukanshō, pp. 272–273; Varley, H. Paul. Jinnō Shōtōki, pp. 141–143; Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon, pp. 67–73., p. 67, at Google Books
- ^ Brown, pp. 264; prior to Emperor Jomei, the personal names of the emperors (their imina) were very long and people did not generally use them. The number of characters in each name diminished after Jomei's reign.
- ^ Brown, p. 272; Varley, p. 141.
- ^ a b c d e Varley, p. 141.
- ^ a b c Brown, p. 272.
- ^ Titsingh, p. 67, p. 67, at Google Books; Varley, p. 44; a distinct act of senso is unrecognized prior to Emperor Tenji; and all sovereigns except Jitō, Yōzei, Go-Toba, and Fushimi have senso and sokui in the same year until the reign of Emperor Go-Murakami.
- ^ Titsingh, p. 67, p. 67, at Google Books.
- ISBN 9780674690059.
- ^ Piggott, Joan R. (1997). The Emergence of Japanese Kingship, p. 308.
- ISBN 9780774803793. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
- JSTOR 2382412.
- ^ ISBN 9780231136976. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
- ^ Brown & Hall 1993, p. 252
- ^ a b Doe & Ōtomo 1982, p. 102
- )
- ^ Doe & Ōtomo 1982, p. 103
- ^ Brown & Hall 1993, p. 399
- ^ Brown & Hall 1993, p. 43
- ^ a b c d e Titsingh, p. 71, p. 71, at Google Books.
- ^ Varley, pp. 141–142.
- ^ Varley, p. 141; Brown, p. 273.
- ^ Titsingh, p. 73, p. 73, at Google Books.
- ^ Titsingh, p. 41 n2, p. 41, at Google Books.
- ^ a b c d Varley, p. 143.
- ^ Titsingh, p. 74, p. 74, at Google Books; Varley, p. 143.
- ^ "Middle Way & Higan Service, Nichiren Shu Beikoku Betsuin". Archived from the original on August 7, 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2009.
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, p. 420.
- ^ "Shōmu's misasagi – map" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 28, 2008. Retrieved January 7, 2008.
- ^ "Komyo's misasagi – map" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 28, 2008. Retrieved January 7, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e Brown, p. 273.
- ^ Titsingh, p. 67; Brown, p. 273.
- ^ "Genealogy". Reichsarchiv (in Japanese). April 30, 2010. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
References
- Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). Gukanshō: The Future and the Past. Berkeley: University of California Press. OCLC 251325323
- Brown, Delmer M.; Hall, John Whitney (1993). The Cambridge History of Japan: Ancient Japan. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521223522. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
- Doe, Paula; Ōtomo, Yakamochi (1982). Selections (illustrated ed.). University of California Press. ISBN 0520043464. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
- Piggott, Joan R. (19970. The Emergence of Japanese Kingship. Stanford: OCLC 247691704
- OCLC 194887
- OCLC 5850691
- OCLC 59145842
External links
Media related to Emperor Shomu at Wikimedia Commons