| Emperor Suinin | |
|---|---|
| 11th Emperor of Japan | |
| Reign | legendary |
| Born | legendary |
| Died | legendary |
| Buried | Sugawara no Fushimi no higashi no Misasagi (Nara) |
| Predecessor | Emperor Sujin |
| Successor | Emperor Keikō |
Emperor Suinin (垂仁天皇, Suinin-tennō); also known as Ikumeiribikoisachi no Mikoto; was the 11th Emperor of Japan to appear on the traditional list of emperors.[1] Emperor Suinin is considered by most historians to be a legendary figure, and the name Suinin Tennō was assigned to him posthumously by later generations.
Contents |
Legendary narrative
No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign. Suinin is regarded by historians as a "legendary emperor" because of the paucity of information about him, which does not necessarily imply that no such person ever existed. There is insufficient material available for further verification and study. If Suinin did exist, there is no evidence to suggest that the title tennō was used during the time period to which his reign has been assigned. It is much more likely that he was a chieftain, or local clan leader, and the polity he ruled would have only encompassed a small portion of modern day Japan.
Legend says that about two thousand years ago, Emperor Suinin ordered his daughter, Princess Yamatohime-no-mikoto, to set out and find a suitable permanent location from which to hold ceremonies for Amaterasu Omikami, the Sun Goddess.[2] After twenty years of searching, she is said to have settled on the area of Ise, establishing the Ise Shrine.[3] According to Asama Shrine tradition, the earliest veneration of Konohanasakuya-hime at the base of Mount Fuji was in the 8th month of the 3rd year of the reign of Emperor Suinin.[4]
Nihonshoki records the wrestling match in which Nomi no Sukune and Taima no Kehaya held during his era, as the origin of Sumai (Sumo wrestling). In the context of events like this, the Japanese have traditionally accepted this sovereign's historical existence; however, no extant contemporary records have been discovered which confirm a view that this historical figure actually reigned.[5]
Jien records that Suinin was the third son of Emperor Sujin, and that he ruled from the palace of Tamaki-no-miya at Makimuku in what will come to be known as Yamato province. Jien also explains that during the reign of Emperor Suinin, the first High Priestess (Saiō, also known as saigū) was appointed for Ise Shrine in what would become known as Ise province.[3]
Suinin is a posthumous name. It is undisputed that this identification is Chinese in form and Buddhist in implication, which suggests that the name must have been regularized centuries after the lifetime ascribed to Suinin, possibly during the time in which legends about the origins of the Yamato dynasty were compiled as the chronicles known today as the Kojiki.[5]
Although the final resting place of this legendary sovereign is said to remain unknown, Suinin's officially designated Imperial misasagi or tomb can be visited today in Nishi-machi, Amagatsuji, Nara City.[6] [7] This kofun-type Imperial tomb is characterized by a keyhole-shaped island located within a wide, water-filled moat.[8][9]
See also
Notes
- ^ Brown, Delmer et al. (1979). Gukanshō, pp. 253-254 ; Varley, Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, pp. 95-96; Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, pp. 9-10.
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, p. 32.
- ^ a b Brown, p. 253.
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1962. Studies in Shinto and Shrines, p.458.
- ^ a b Aston, William. (1998). Nihongi, Vol. 1, pp. 167-187.
- ^ Suinin's misasagi -- image
- ^ Suinin's misasagi -- map (mis-labelled as "Enperor Nonin s Tomb")
- ^ Suinin-type kofun -- see illustration #3, bottom of web page
- ^ Suinin's misasagi -- aerial photo (also known as Hōraisan kofun)
References
- Aston, William George. (1896). Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner. [reprinted by Tuttle Publishing, Tokyo, 2007. 10-ISBN 0-8048-0984-4; 13-ISBN 978-0-8048-0984-9]
- Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). [ Jien, c. 1220], Gukanshō (The Future and the Past, a translation and study of the Gukanshō, an interpretative history of Japan written in 1219). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-03460-0
- Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887
- ____________. (1962). Studies in Shinto and Shrines. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 3994492
- Titsingh, Isaac, ed. (1834). [Siyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652], Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland.
- Varley, H. Paul , ed. (1980). [ Kitabatake Chikafusa, 1359], Jinnō Shōtōki (A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04940-4
External links
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Emperor Sujin |
Legendary Emperor of Japan 29 BC-AD 70 (traditional dates) |
Succeeded by Emperor Keikō |
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