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Emperor Jimmu
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; also known as: Kamuyamato Iwarebiko; given name: Wakamikenu no Mikoto or Sano no Mikoto, was the mythical founder of Japan and is the first emperor named in the traditional lists of emperors.
The Imperial house of Japan traditionally based its claim to the throne on its descent from Jimmu. No firm dates can be assigned to this early emperor's life or reign, nor for the reigns of his early successors.
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; also known as: Kamuyamato Iwarebiko; given name: Wakamikenu no Mikoto or Sano no Mikoto, was the mythical founder of Japan and is the first emperor named in the traditional lists of emperors.
The Imperial house of Japan traditionally based its claim to the throne on its descent from Jimmu. No firm dates can be assigned to this early emperor's life or reign, nor for the reigns of his early successors. The reign of Emperor Kimmei (509?-571), the 29th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, is the first for which contemporary historiography are able to assign verifiable dates.
Legendary narrative
Jimmu is regarded by historians as a "legendary emperor" because of the paucity of information about him: there is insufficient material available to determine whether he existed or not. According to the legendary account in the Kojiki, this historical figure would have been born on February 13, 711 BCE (January 1 of Chinese calendar), and died, again according to legend, on March 11, 585 BCE (both dates according to the lunisolar ).
The conventionally accepted names and dates of the early emperors were not to be confirmed as "traditional" until the reign of Emperor Kammu (737–806), the 50th sovereign of the Yamato dynasty.
According to Shinto belief, Jimmu is regarded as a direct descendant of the sun goddess, Amaterasu. Amaterasu had a son called Ame no Oshihomimi no Mikoto and through him a grandson named Ninigi-no-Mikoto. She sent her grandson to the Japanese islands where he eventually married Konohana-Sakuya-hime. Among their three sons was Hikohohodemi no Mikoto, also called Yamasachi-hiko, who married Toyotama-hime. She was the daughter of Ryujin, the Japanese sea god. They had a single son called Hikonagisa Takeugaya Fukiaezu no Mikoto. The boy was abandoned by his parents at birth and consequently raised by Tamayori-hime, his mother's younger sister. They eventually married and had a total of four sons. The last of them became Emperor Jimmu.
It is said that soon after the beginning of Jimmu's reign, a Master of Ceremonies (saishu) was appointed. This office was commonly held by a member of the Nakatomi clan after the eighth century.
Jimmu's migration
Mythic records in the Kojiki and Nihonshoki tell us that Jimmu's brothers were originally born in Takachiho, the southern part of Kyushu (in modern day Miyazaki prefecture), and decided to move eastward, as they found their location inappropriate for reigning over the entire country. Jimmu's older brother Itsuse no Mikoto originally led the migration, and they moved eastward through the Seto Inland Sea with the assistance of local chieftain Sao Netsuhiko. As they reached Naniwa (modern day Osaka), they encountered another local chieftain, Nagasunehiko (lit. the long-legged man"), and Itsuse was killed in the ensuing battle. Jimmu realized that they had been defeated because they battled eastward against the Sun, so he decided to land on the east side of Kii Peninsula and battle westward. They reached Kumano, and with the guidance of a three-legged bird, Yatagarasu (lit. eight-span crow), moved to Yamato. There they once again battled Nagasunehiko and were victorious.
In Yamato, Nigihayahi no Mikoto, who also claims to be a descendant of the Takamagahara gods, was protected by Nagasunehiko. However, when Nigihayahi met Jimmu, he accepted Jimmu's legitimacy, and Jimmu ascended to the throne.
Emperor Jimmu's official Imperial misasagi, or tomb, can be found in Kashihara in Nara prefecture. This mausoleum is located a short distance from Kashihara Shrine.
According to the Kojiki, death came to Jimmu when he was aged 126. This emperor's posthumous name literally means "divine might" or "god-warrior." 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 Jimmu, possibly during the time in which legends about the origins of the Yamato dynasty were compiled as the chronicles known today as the Kojiki.
The Emperor and Imperial expansionism
New Year's Day in the Japanese lunisolar calendar was traditionally celebrated as the regnal day of Emperor Jimmu.
In 1872, the Meiji government proclaimed February 11, 660 BCE, in the Gregorian calendar the foundation day of Japan. This mythical date was commemorated as the holiday Kigensetsu ("Era Day") from 1872 to 1948. The Kigensetsu celebration in 1940 is today considered controversial; but during that early Showa period, any questions were effectively side-stepped as the entire nation commemorated what was then calculated to have been 2,600 years since the accession of Emperor Jimmu. The holiday was suspended after the end of the Pacific War, and its celebration was reinstated in 1966 as the national holiday Kenkoku Kinen no hi ("National Foundation Day").
Starting around 1928, Emperor Showa and his reign became associated with the rediscovery of Hakko ichiu as an expansionist element of Japanese nationalistic beliefs. The naval limitations treaties of 1921, and especially 1930, were a tragic mistake in their unanticipated effect on internal political struggles in Japan; and the treaties provided an external motivating catalyst which provoked reactionary, militarist elements to desperate actions which eventually overwhelmed civilian and liberal elements in society. The evolution of Hakko ichiu serves as a changing litmus test of these factional relationships during the next decade.
In 1940, the Showa regime also constructed on the legendary site of Emperor Jimmu's palace, near Miyazaki, the Hakko Tower, symbolizing the divine right of the Empire of Japan to "unify the eight corners of the world". The ancient phrase of Hakko ichi'u, used according to tradition by the Emperor to describe the unification of the world under his sacred rule, was an imperative to all Japan subjects.
See also
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