Emperor Ankō

Emperor Ankō (安康天皇, Ankō-tennō) (401 — 456) was the 20th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.[2][9]

Emperor Ankō
安康天皇
Emperor of Japan
Reign453–456 (traditional)[1]
PredecessorIngyō
SuccessorYūryaku
BornAnaho (穴穂)
400[lower-alpha 1]
Died456 (aged 56)[2][4]
Burial
Sugawara no Fushimi no nishi misasagi (菅原伏見西陵) (Nara)
SpouseNakashi[3]
Posthumous name
Chinese-style shigō:
Emperor Ankō (安康天皇)

Japanese-style shigō:
Anaho no Sumeramikoto (穴穂天皇)
HouseImperial House of Japan
FatherEmperor Ingyō[6]
MotherOshisaka no Ōnakatsuhime[8]
ReligionShinto


No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 453 to 456.

Protohistoric narrative

The Japanese have traditionally accepted this sovereign's historical existence, and a mausoleum (misasagi) for Ankō is currently maintained. The following information available is taken from the pseudo-historical Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, which are collectively known as Kiki (記紀) or Japanese chronicles. These chronicles include legends and myths, as well as potential historical facts that have since been exaggerated and/or distorted over time. For this particular sovereign, the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki tell different versions of what allegedly happened in regard to Emperor Ankō's older brother Prince Kinashi no Karu. It's recorded in the Kiki that Ingyō was born to Oshisaka no Ōnakatsuhime (忍坂大中姫) somewhere in 400 AD, and was given the name Anaho (穴穂).[3][10] While he was the third son of Emperor Ingyō, the title of "Crown Prince" was not bestowed upon him in his father's lifetime.

War between Anaho and Kinashi

After Emperor Ingyō’s death in 453 AD, Crown Prince Kinashi no Karu faced a mounting problem. The incestuous relationship with his sister, Princess Karu no Ōiratsume had caused the public to shun him and his retainers refused to follow.[3][10] Karu chose to take up arms against his younger brother Anaho (穴穂) as his retainers had instead given their allegiance to him.[10][11] Prince Anaho (穴穂) responded with a force of his own which prompted Karu to flee and take refuge at a noble family's residence.[10][11] From this point on, the Kiki splits narratives that converge again with the same fatal outcome. In the Nihon Shoki's version of events, Kinashi no Karu takes his final stand at the residence where he commits an honorary suicide.[10] The Nihon Shoki does not say what happened to Princess Karu no Ōiratsume other than her being banished to Iyo by Emperor Ingyō during his lifetime for incest. In the Kojikis version of events, Kinashi no Karu surrenders to his younger brother and is banished to Iyo. Karu no Ōiratsume follows him to Iyo afterwards and the two commit suicide together.[3][12]

Reign

Prince Anaho (穴穂) was enthroned as Emperor Ankō towards the end of 453 AD. During this time the capital was moved to Isonokami (located in Yamoto) where the new emperor had his palace.[10] One of Ankō's first decisions was to arrange a marriage between his younger brother, Prince Ōhatuse no Wakatakeru (大泊瀬稚武皇子), and Hatahihime, who was a sister of his uncle Prince Ookusaka (大草香皇子).[3][13]

Ankō was assassinated in his third year of reign by Mayowa no Ōkimi (Prince Mayowa), in retaliation for the execution of Mayowa's father.[14]

His wife was Princess Nakashi (中磯皇女), Emperor Richu’s daughter. He did not have other consorts or any children.

Known information

Ankō was a 5th-century monarch and the first generally agreed upon historical ruler of Japan.[15]

Emperor Ankō is the earliest generally agreed upon historical ruler of all or a part of Japan.[15]

The reign of Emperor Kinmei (c. 509 – 571 AD), the 29th Emperor,[16] is the first for which contemporary historiography is able to assign verifiable dates;[17] however, the conventionally accepted names and dates of the early Emperors were not to be confirmed as "traditional" until the reign of Emperor Kanmu (737–806), the 50th sovereign of the Yamato dynasty.[18]

Ankō's contemporary title would not have been tennō, as most historians believe this title was not introduced until the reign of Emperor Tenmu. Rather, it was presumably Sumeramikoto or Amenoshita Shiroshimesu Ōkimi (治天下大王), meaning "the great king who rules all under heaven". Alternatively, Ankō might have been referred to as ヤマト大王/大君 or the "Great King of Yamato".

The actual site of Ankō's grave is not known.[9] The Emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine at Nara Prefecture.

The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Ankō's mausoleum. It is formally named Sugawara no Fushimi no nishi misasagi.[19]

Consorts and children

Empress (Kōgō) : Princess Nakashi (中磯皇女), Emperor Richu's daughter

  • Memorial Shinto shrine and mausoleum honoring Emperor Ankō
    Memorial Shinto shrine and mausoleum honoring Emperor Ankō

See also
Japanese Imperial kamon — a stylized chrysanthemum blossom

Notes
  1. There is a consensus among historians that Emperor Ankō was born in 400 AD.[2][3][4][5] Alternately, there are sources that also use the year 401 AD.[6][7]

References
  1. "Genealogy of the Emperors of Japan" (PDF). Kunaicho.go.jp. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 22, 2011. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  2. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon (in French). Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. p. 26–27.
  3. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard (1915). "Ankō (454–456)". The Imperial Family of Japan. Ponsonby Memorial Society. p. 12–13.
  4. Brown, Delmer M. (1979). "(21) Emperor Ankō". A Translation and Study of the Gukanshō, an Interpretative History of Japan Written in 1219. Gukanshō. p. 258.
  5. Joseph Henry Longford (1923). "List of Emperors: II. The Dawn of History and The great Reformers". Japan. Houghton Mifflin. p. 304.
  6. "Genealogy". Reichsarchiv (in Japanese). Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  7. Kenneth Henshall (2013). Historical Dictionary of Japan to 1945. Scarecrow Press. p. 488. ISBN 9780810878723.
  8. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard (1915). "Table of Emperors Mothers". The Imperial Family of Japan. Ponsonby Memorial Society. p. xiii.
  9. "安康天皇 (20)". Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō) (in Japanese). Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  10. William George Aston (1896). "The Emperor Anaho: Ankō Tenno". Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697. (Volume 1). London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner. pp. 328–332.
  11. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882). "Sect. CXLII - Emperor Ingyō (Part VI - War Between Prince Karu and Prince Anaho)". A translation of the "Kojiki" or Records of ancient matters. R. Meiklejohn and Co.
  12. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882). "Sect. CXLIII - Emperor Ingyō (Part VII - Death of Prince Karu and Princess So-Tohoshi)". A translation of the "Kojiki" or Records of ancient matters. R. Meiklejohn and Co.
  13. Francis Brinkley (1915). "Chapter XII: The Protohistoric Sovereigns". A History of the Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era. Encyclopædia Britannica. p. 111–112.
  14. Aston, William. (1998). Nihongi, Vol. 1, pp. 328–333.
  15. Kelly, Charles F. (27 April 2009). "Kofun Culture". Japanese Archaeology. Archived from the original on October 10, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  16. Titsingh, pp. 34–36; Brown, pp. 261–262; Varley, pp. 123–124.
  17. Hoye, Timothy. (1999). Japanese Politics: Fixed and Floating Worlds, p. 78; excerpt, "According to legend, the first Japanese Emperor was Jinmu. Along with the next 13 Emperors, Jinmu is not considered an actual, historical figure. Historically verifiable Emperors of Japan date from the early sixth century with Kinmei.
  18. Aston, William. (1896). Nihongi, pp. 109.
  19. Ponsonby-Fane, p. 419.

Further reading
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