Emperor Yūryaku

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Emperor Yūryaku (雄略天皇, Yūryaku-tennō?) (c. 418 - Seventh Day of the Eight Month of 479 (Kibi)[1]) was the 21st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. [2] No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign. Yūryaku is considered to have ruled the country during the mid-5th century, but there is a paucity of information about him. Scholars can only lament that, at this time, there is insufficient material available for further verification and study.

According to the Kojiki he is said to have ruled from the Thirteenth Day of the Eleventh Month of 456 (Heishin)[1] until his death on the Seventh Day of the Eight Month of 479 (Kibi).[1]

According to Kojiki and Nihonshoki, Yūryaku was named Prince Ohatsuse Wakatake (大泊瀬 幼武) at birth. Swords unearthed from some kofuns indicate his name was Waka Takeru (Ōkimi). Yuryaku is just a name posthumously assigned to him by a much later era. He was the fifth and youngest son of Emperor Ingyō. After his elder brother Emperor Ankō was murdered, he won the struggle against his other brothers and became the new emperor. His title at his own lifetime was certainly not tennō, but presumably Ōkimi and/or Sumeramikoto (治天下大王 - amenoshita shiroshimesu ōkimi, or sumera no mikoto, Great King who rules all under heaven) and/or king of Yamato (ヤマト大王/大君 - yamato ōkimi, Great King of Yamato). He had three wives (including his consort Kusahahatahi). His successor, Prince Shiraka (Emperor Seinei), was his son by his wife Kazuraki no Karahime.

Yūryaku is believed to be referred to as Bu (武, In Japanese, it is read as Take or Takeru) in contemporary Chinese records. These records state that Bu began his rule before 477, was recognized as the ruler of Japan by the Liu Song, Southern Qi, and Liang dynasties, and continued his rule through 502. Bu sent messengers to the Song dynasty in 477 and 478.[3]

Yūryaku is remembered as a patron of sericulture.[4]

[edit] Poetry

This Japanese sovereign's predilection for poetry is amongst the more well-documented aspects of his character and reign. Poems attributed to this 5th century monarch are included in the Manyōshū, and a number of his verses are preserved in the Kojiki and the Nihonshoki.[4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c All dates are given in the traditional lunisolar calendar used in Japan until 1873.
  2. ^ Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, pp. 27-28; Varley, Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, pp. 113-115.
  3. ^ Aston, William. (1998). Nihongi, Vol. 1, pp. 333-372.
  4. ^ a b Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkokai (1969). The Manyōshū, p. 317.


[edit] See also


Preceded by
Emperor Ankō
Emperor of Japan:
Yūryaku

456-479
(traditional dates)
Succeeded by
Emperor Seinei