Emperor Junnin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Emperor Junnin (淳仁天皇 Junnin Tennō) (733-765) was the 47th imperial ruler of Japan from 758 to 764, according to the traditional order of succession. His name at birth was Prince Ōi. In the older Japanese documents, he was usually referred as Haitei (廃帝), the unthroned emperor and the posthumous name of Emepror Junnin was given by Emperor Meiji.

[edit] Life

He was the seventh son of Prince Toneri, a son of Emperor Temmu. His father died when he was at the age of three, and he was given no rank nor office of the court.

His fate was changed in 757 when Empress Kōken, his second cousin, appointed him to her crown prince instead of Prince Funado who had been appointed to this position by the will of the Emperor Shōmu. In 758 he became emperor on the abdication of Koken.

Six years later she forced him to abdicate and reclaimed the throne. Though he technically reigned, he did not feature on the official List of Japanese Emperors until the late nineteenth century; he had very little power and was a mere figurehead. He died (or was assassinated) while in exile. In some older Japanese documents, he was usually referred as Haitei (廃帝), the unthroned emperor.

In 1870 he was titled the Emperor Junnin officially by Emperor Meiji along with Emperor Kobun and Emperor Chukyo.