; also known as
Ootarashihikooshirowake no Sumeramikoto; was the
12th emperor of
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
to appear on the traditional list of emperors. Emperor Keikō is considered by most historians to be a legendary figure, and the name Keikō Tennō was assigned to him posthumously by later generations.
No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign. Keikō 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.
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; also known as
Ootarashihikooshirowake no Sumeramikoto; was the
12th emperor of
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
to appear on the traditional list of emperors. Emperor Keikō is considered by most historians to be a legendary figure, and the name Keikō Tennō was assigned to him posthumously by later generations.
Legendary narrative
No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign. Keikō 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 Keikō 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.
His legend was recorded in
Kojiki, also known as Furukotofumi and known in English as The Records of Ancient Matters, is the oldest surviving book in Japan. The body of the Kojiki is written in Chinese, but it includes numerous Japanese names and some phrases...
and
Nihonshoki, but the accounts of him are different in these two sources. In
Kojiki he sent his son Yamatotakeru to
Kyūshūor Kyushu is the 3rd-largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include Kyūkoku , Chinzei , and Tsukushi-no-shima...
to conquer local tribes. In
Nihonshoki Keikō himself went there and won battles against local tribes. According to both sources, he sent Yamatotakeru to
Izumo provinceIzumo was an old province of Japan which today consists of the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture in the Chūgoku Region.It was one of the regions of ancient Japan where major political powers arose...
and eastern provinces to conquer the area and spread his territory.
Although the final resting place of this legendary sovereign remains unknown, Keikō's officially designated Imperial misasagi or tomb can be visited today in Shibutani-cho, Tenri City near Nara City.