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Emperor Kotoku

 

 
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Emperor Kotoku
 
 
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(596
596

Events...
 - November 24, 654
654

Events...
) was the 36th emperor of Japan
Japan

Japan is 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....
, according to the traditional order of succession. The years of his reign lasted from 645 through 654.

re his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne
Chrysanthemum Throne

File:Emperor Tenji.jpgThe Chrysanthemum Throne is the English language term used to identify the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The term can refer to very specific seating, as in the raised thrones constructed in the Shishin-den for Emperor Showa and Empress Kojun on November 10, 1928 ....
, his personal name (his imina) was Karu-no-Oji, also known as Ame-Yorodzu Toyo-hi (meaning "Heaven-myriad-abundant-sun").

He enacted the Taika Reform Edicts.

He was a descendant of Emperor Bidatsu
Emperor Bidatsu

Emperor Bidatsu was the 30th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 572 through 585....
.






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(596
596

Events...
 - November 24, 654
654

Events...
) was the 36th emperor of Japan
Japan

Japan is 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....
, according to the traditional order of succession. The years of his reign lasted from 645 through 654.

Genealogy

Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne
Chrysanthemum Throne

File:Emperor Tenji.jpgThe Chrysanthemum Throne is the English language term used to identify the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The term can refer to very specific seating, as in the raised thrones constructed in the Shishin-den for Emperor Showa and Empress Kojun on November 10, 1928 ....
, his personal name (his imina) was Karu-no-Oji, also known as Ame-Yorodzu Toyo-hi (meaning "Heaven-myriad-abundant-sun").

He enacted the Taika Reform Edicts.

He was a descendant of Emperor Bidatsu
Emperor Bidatsu

Emperor Bidatsu was the 30th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 572 through 585....
. He was a son of Chinu no okimi (Prince Chinu, ???) by Kibitsuhime no okimi (Princess Kibitsuhime, ????). Empress Kogyoku
Empress Kogyoku

Empress Kogyoku , also Empress Saimei was the 35th and 37th sovereign empress of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession....
 was his elder sister from same parents. Chinu was a son of Prince Oshisaka hikohito no oe whose father was the Emperor Bidatsu. He had at least three consorts including his Empress, Hashihito no Himemiko (Princess Hashihito), the daughter of Emperor Jomei
Emperor Jomei

was the 34th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 629 through 641....
 and his sister Empress Kogyoku.

Events of Kotoku's reign

He ruled from July 12, 645
645

Events...
 until his death in 654.

In 645 he ascended to the throne two days after Prince Naka no Oe
Emperor Tenji

Emperor Tenji , also known as Emperor Tenchi was the 38th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. The years of Emperor Tenji's reign spanned 661 through 672....
(Emperor Tenji) assassinated Soga no Iruka
Soga no Iruka

was a statesman in the Asuka Period of Japan.He was a son of Soga no Emishi. He was assassinated by Emperor Tenji though he tried to murder Prince Yamashiro, and to rule the emperor family....
 in the court of Kogyoku. Kogyoku abdicated in favor of her son and crown prince, Naka no Oe, but Naka no Oe insisted Kotoku should ascend to the throne instead.

  • In the 3rd year of Kogyoku, in the summer of 645: In the 3rd year of Kogyoku-tennos reign (????3?), the empress abdicated; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by her younger brother. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Kotoku is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’).


According to Nihonshoki he was of gentle personality and was favor in Buddhism
Buddhism

Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices considered by most to be a religionand is based on the teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as "The Buddha" , who was born in what is today Nepal....
.

In 645 he created a new city in the area called Naniwa
Osaka

is a Cities of Japan in Japan, located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, in the Kansai region of the main island of Honshu.Osaka is a City designated by government ordinance under the Local Autonomy Law and the capital city of Osaka Prefecture....
, and moved the capital from Yamato province
Yamato Province

was a Provinces of Japan of Japan, located in Kinai, corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshu. It was also called . At first, the name was written with one different character , and for about ten years after 737, this was revised to use more desirable characters ....
 to this new city (see Nara
Nara, Nara

is the capital cities of Japan of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. The city occupies the northern part of Nara Prefecture, directly bordering Kyoto Prefecture....
). The new capital had a sea port and was good for foreign trade and diplomatic activities.

In 653 Kotoku sent an embassy to Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an Dynasties in Chinese history preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire....
, but not all ships could reach China because of wrecking.

Naka no Oe held the rank of crown prince and was the de facto leader of the government. In 653 Naka no Oe proposed to move the capital again to Yamato province. Kotoku denied. Naka no Oe ignored the emperor's policy and moved to the former province. Many courtiers and loyals in the court including Empress Hashihito followed him. Kotoku was left in the palace. In the next year he died because of illness. After his death, Naka no Oe wouldn't ascend to the throne. Instead, his mother and the sister of Kotoku, the former Empress Kogyoku ascended to the throne under another name, Empress Saimei.

The system of hassho kyakkan (eight ministries and a hundred offices) was first established during the reign of Emperor Kotoku.

Kugyo
Kugyo is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan
Emperor of Japan

The of Japan is the symbol of the state and of the unity of the Japanese people. He is the head of the Imperial House of Japan. Under Japan's present constitution, the Emperor is the "symbol of the state and the unity of the people," and is a ceremonial figurehead in a constitutional monarchy ....
 in pre-Meiji
Meiji period

The , or Meiji era, denotes the 45-year reign of the Meiji Emperor, running, in the Gregorian calendar, from 23 October 1868 to 30 July 1912. During this time, Japan started its modernization and rose to world power status....
 eras.

In general, this elite group included only three to four men at a time. These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background would have brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career. During Kotoko's reign, this apex of the Daijo-kan included:
  • Sadaijin
    Sadaijin

    Sadaijin , most commonly translated as "Minister of the Left", was a government position in Japan in the late Nara period and Heian periods....
    , Abe no Kurahashi-maro (?-649), 645-649.
  • Sadaijin, Kose no Tokoda (593-658), 649-658.
  • Udaijin
    Udaijin

    Udaijin , most commonly translated as the "Minister of the Right", was a government position in Japan in the late Nara period and Heian periods....
    , Soga no Kura-no-Yamada no Ishikawa-no-maro (?????????) (?-649), 645-649.
  • Udaijin, Otomo no Nagatoko (?-651), 649-651.
  • Naidaijin(??), Nakatomi Kamako (Fujiwara no Kamatari
    Fujiwara no Kamatari

    Fujiwara no Kamatari was the founder of the Fujiwara clan in Japan. His birth clan was the Nakatomi. He was the son of Nakatomi no Mikeko, and his birth name was Nakatomi no Kamatari ....
    , ????) (614-669), 645-669.


Eras of Kotoku's reign

The years of Kotoku's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengo.
  • Taika
    Taika (era)

    was a after the Kogyoku period and before the Hakuchi . This period spanned the years from 645 through 650. The reigning emperor was ....
     (645-650)
  • Hakuchi
    Hakuchi (era)

    was a after the Taika era and before a late 7th century gap in the sequence of nengo which would stretch uninterrupted from the proclamation of the new era Taiho at the beginning of the 8th century....
     (650-655)


Consorts and Children


Empress: Princess Hashihito (?-665), daughter of Emperor Jomei
Emperor Jomei

was the 34th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 629 through 641....


Hi: Abe no Otarashi-hime, daughter of Abe no Kurahashi-maro
  • Prince Arima (640-658)


Hi: Saga no Chi-no-iratsume, daughter of Soga no Kura-no-Yamada no Ishikawa-no-maro

See also

  • Emperor of Japan
    Emperor of Japan

    The of Japan is the symbol of the state and of the unity of the Japanese people. He is the head of the Imperial House of Japan. Under Japan's present constitution, the Emperor is the "symbol of the state and the unity of the people," and is a ceremonial figurehead in a constitutional monarchy ....
  • List of Emperors of Japan
    List of Emperors of Japan

    The following is a traditional list of Emperor of Japan. Dates for the first 28 emperors, and especially the first 16, are based on the Japanese era name system....
  • Imperial cult
    Imperial cult

    An Imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor, or a dynasty of emperors , are worshiped as messiahs, demigods or deity. "Cult " here is used to mean "worship," not in the modern pejorative sense....