Empress Gemmei

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Empress Gemmei (also Empress Genmyō; 元明天皇 Genmei Tennō) (661 – December 7, 721¹) was the 43rd imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession, and the fourth woman to hold such a position. She was a daughter of Emperor Tenji and the wife of Crown Prince Kusakabe no Miko, who was the son of Emperor Temmu and Empress Jitō. Kusakabe was also Gemmei's first cousin and her nephew. After their son Emperor Mommu died in 707, she succeeded to the throne, in hopes of holding it until her grandson Emperor Shōmu reached maturity. However, in 715, Gemmei abdicated in favor of Mommu's sister Empress Genshō. Shōmu later succeeded Genshō.

In 708 she issued an rescript to move the capital of Japan from the Fujiwara Capital to the Heijō Capital, just west of the modern city center of Nara. The move took place in 710, thus giving the Nara period of Japanese history its name.

Empress Gemmei, along with court officials, is primarily responsible for the completion of the Kojiki in 712 A.D. Her father-in-law, Emperor Temmu's initial attempts in 680 A.D. failed to finalize the publication before his death in 686 A.D., until she continued the commission of the Kojiki during her reign.

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Japanese dates correspond to the traditional lunisolar calendar used in Japan until 1873. December 7, 721 of the Japanese calendar corresponds to December 29, 721 of the Julian calendar.