Emperor Tenji (天智天皇, Tenji-tennō, 626 – January 7, 672), known first as Prince Katsuragi (葛城皇子, Katsuragi no Ōji) and later as Prince Nakano Ōe (中大兄皇子, Nakano Ōe no Ōji) until his accession, was the 38th emperor of Japan who reigned from 668 to 671. He was the son of Emperor Jomei and Empress Kōgyoku (Empress Saimei), and his children included Empress Jitō, Empress Genmei, and Emperor Kōbun.
| Emperor Tenji 天智天皇 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great King of Yamato | |||||
| Emperor of Japan | |||||
| Reign | 661–672 | ||||
| Predecessor | Saimei | ||||
| Successor | Kōbun | ||||
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| Born | Kazuraki (葛城) 626 | ||||
| Died | January 7, 672(672-01-07) (aged 45–46) Ōmi no Miya (Shiga) | ||||
| Burial |
Yamashina no misasagi (山科陵) (Kyoto)
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| Spouse | Yamato Hime no Ōkimi | ||||
| Issue among others... |
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| House | Imperial House of Japan | ||||
| Father | Emperor Jomei | ||||
| Mother | Empress Kōgyoku | ||||
In 645, Tenji and Fujiwara no Kamatari defeated Soga no Emishi and Iruka. He established a new government and carried out political reforms. He then assumed real political power as the crown prince of both the Kōtoku and Saimei Emperors. Despite the death of Emperor Saimei, he did not accede to the throne for seven years, and came to the throne after the relocation of the capital to Ōmi in 668. He created Japan's first family register, the Kōgo Nenjaku, and the first code of law, the Ōmi Code.
He was the son of Emperor Jomei, but was preceded as ruler by his mother Empress Saimei.
Prior to his accession, he was known as Prince Naka-no-Ōe (中大兄皇子, Naka-no-Ōe no Ōji).
As prince, Naka no Ōe played a crucial role in ending the near-total control the Soga clan had over the imperial family. In 644, seeing the Soga continue to gain power, he conspired with Nakatomi no Kamatari and Soga no Kurayamada no Ishikawa no Maro to assassinate Soga no Iruka in what has come to be known as the Isshi Incident. Although the assassination did not go exactly as planned, Iruka was killed, and his father and predecessor, Soga no Emishi, committed suicide soon after. Following the Isshi Incident, Iruka's adherents dispersed largely without a fight, and Naka no Ōe was named heir apparent. He also married the daughter of his ally Soga no Kurayamada, thus ensuring that a significant portion of the Soga clan's power was on his side.
Naka no Ōe reigned as Emperor Tenji from 661 to 672.
Tenji was particularly active in improving the military institutions which had been established during the Taika Reforms.[6]
Following his death in 672, there ensued a succession dispute between his fourteen children (many by different mothers). In the end, he was succeeded by his son, Prince Ōtomo, also known as Emperor Kōbun, then by Tenji's brother Prince Ōama, also known as Emperor Tenmu. Almost one hundred years after Tenji's death, the throne passed to his grandson Emperor Kōnin.
The actual site of Tenji's grave is known.[9] This emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) at Yamashina-ku, Kyoto.
The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Tenji's mausoleum. It is formally named Yamashina no misasagi.[10]
The Man'yōshū includes poems attributed to emperors and empresses; and according to Donald Keene, evolving Man'yōshū studies have affected the interpretation of even simple narratives like "The Three Hills." The poem was long considered to be about two male hills in a quarrel over a female hill, but scholars now consider that Kagu and Miminashi might be female hills in love with the same male hill, Unebi.[11] This still-unresolved enigma in poetic form is said to have been composed by Emperor Tenji while he was still Crown Prince during the reign of Empress Saimei:
| Japanese | Rōmaji | English |
|
香具山は |
Kaguyama wa |
Mount Kagu strove with |
One of his poems was chosen by Fujiwara no Teika as the first in the popular Hyakunin Isshu anthology:
| Japanese | Rōmaji | English |
|
秋の田の |
Aki no ta no |
Because of the coarseness of the rush-mat |
After his death, his wife, Empress Yamato wrote a song of longing about her husband.[14]
The top court officials (公卿, Kugyō) during Emperor Tenji's reign included:
Prince Ōtomo (Ōtomo-shinnō) was the favorite son of Emperor Tenji; and he was also the first to be accorded the title of Daijō-daijin.[16]
The years of Tenji's reign are not linked by scholars to any era or nengō.[5] The Taika era innovation of naming time periods – nengō – languished until Mommu reasserted an imperial right by proclaiming the commencement of Taihō in 701 (aside from the momentary proclamation of the Shuchō era under Emperor Tenmu in 686).
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:
Empress: Yamato Hime no Ōkimi (倭姫王), Prince Furuhito-no-Ōe's daughter (son of Emperor Jomei).
Hin: Soga no Ochi-no-iratsume (蘇我遠智娘, d. c. 651), Soga no Kura-no-yamada no Ishikawa-no-maro's daughter
Hin: Soga no Mei-no-iratsume (蘇我姪娘), Soga no Kura-no-yamada no Ishikawa-no-maro's daughter
Hin: Soga no Hitachi-no-iratsume (蘇我常陸娘), Soga no Akae's daughter
Hin: Abe no Tachibana-no-iratsume (阿部橘娘, d. 681), Abe no Kurahashi-maro's daughter
10th son: Prince Ōama, later Emperor Tenmu
Court lady: Koshi-no-michi no Iratsume (越道伊羅都売)
Court lady (Uneme): Yakako-no-iratsume, a lower court lady from Iga (伊賀采女宅子娘) (Iga no Uneme)
Court lady: Oshinumi no Shikibuko-no-iratsume (忍海色夫古娘), Oshinumi Zokuryu's daughter
Court lady: Kurikuma no Kurohime-no-iratsume (栗隈黒媛娘), Kurikuma Tokuman's daughter
Mausoleum of Emperor Tenji [ja] is a Kofun in that is the traditional burial site of Emperor Tenji. Specifically, it is an Octagonal Kofun [ja].[18]
The Imperial Household Agency has limited access by the public out of respect for Emperor Tenji who they claim is buried there.[18]
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| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Emperor of Japan: Tenji 661–672 |
Succeeded by |