Prince Sawara
Prince Sawara (早良親王, Sawara-shinnō) (750? – November 8, 785) was the fifth son of Prince Shirakabe (later Emperor Kōnin), by Takano no Niigasa.
Biography
In 781 he was named
He was made a Crown Prince by the Emperor Kanmu after his wife died and his son fell ill (the son allegedly possessed by the spirit of Sawara). Later that year, he was elevated posthumously to become Emperor Sudō (崇道天皇, Sudō-tennō). This is the then only recorded instance of posthumously raising someone to the rank and title of emperor.[1] He was reburied in Yamato.
Additional concerns led to the decision to move the capital again, to
He was also made part of pantheon of
The
Notes
References
- Plutschow, Herbert. "Tragic Victims in Japanese Religion, Politics, and the Arts," Anthropoetics Vol. 6, No. 2 (Fall 2000/Winter 2001)
- Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887