Emperor Nintoku

Nintoku
Emperor of Japan
Reign	legendary
Born	legendary
Died	legendary
Buried	Mozu no Mimihara no naka no misasagi (Osaka)
Predecessor	Ōjin
Successor	Richū

Emperor Nintoku (仁徳天皇, Nintoku-tennō^?) was the 16th emperor of Japan,^[1] according to the traditional order of succession.^[2]

No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 313–399.^[3]

Legendary narrative

Nintoku is considered to have ruled the country during the late-fourth century and early-fifth century, but there is a paucity of information about him. There is insufficient material available for further verification and study.

According to Nihon Shoki, he was the fourth son of Emperor Ōjin and his mother was Nakatsuhime no Mikoto, a great-granddaughter of Emperor Keikō. He was also the father of Emperors Richū, Hanzei, and Ingyō.

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

Events of Nintoku's life

Although the Nihon Shoki states that Nintoku ruled from 313–399, modern research suggests those dates are likely inaccurate.^[4]

The achievements of Nintoku's reign which are noted in Nihon Shoki include:

• constructed a thorn field bank called Namba no Horie to prevent a flood in Kawachi plains and for development. It is assumed that this was Japan's first large-scale engineering works undertaking.
• established a thorn field estate under the direct control of the Imperial Court (まむたのみやけ)
• constructed a Yokono bank (horizontal parcel, Ikuno-ku, Osaka-shi).^[5]

Consorts and Children

Empress(first): Princess Iwa (磐之媛命), poet and daughter of Katsuragi no Sotsuhiko (葛城襲津彦)

• Prince Ooe no Izahowake (大兄去来穂別尊) Emperor Richū
• Prince Suminoe no Nakatsu (住吉仲皇子)
• Prince Mizuhawake (瑞歯別尊) Emperor Hanzei
• Prince Oasatsuma wakugo no Sukune (雄朝津間稚子宿禰尊) Emperor Ingyō

Empress(second): Yatanohimemiko (八田皇女), daughter of Emperor Ōjin

Himuka no Kaminagahime (日向髪長媛), daughter of Morokata no Kimi Ushimoroi (諸県君牛諸井)

• Prince Ookusaka (大草香皇子)
• Princess Kusaka no hatabihime no Himemiko (草香幡梭姫皇女)

Uji no Wakiiratsume (宇遅之若郎女), daughter of Emperor Ōjin

Kurohime (黒日売), daughter of Kibi no Amabe no Atai (吉備海部直)

Nintoku's tomb

Daisen-Kofun, the tomb of Emperor Nintoku, Osaka

Daisen-Kofun (the biggest tomb in Japan) in Sakai, Osaka is considered to be his final resting place. The actual site of Nintoku's grave is not known.^[1]

The Imperial tomb of Nintoku's consort, Iwa-no hime no Mikoto, is said to be located in Saki-cho, Nara City.^[6] Both kofun-type Imperial tombs are characterized by a keyhole-shaped island located within a wide, water-filled moat. Imperial tombs and mausolea are cultural properties; but they are guarded and administered by the Imperial Household Agency (IHA), which is the government department responsible for all matters relating to the emperor and his family. According to the IHA, the tombs are more than a mere repository for historical artifacts; they are sacred religious sites. IHA construes each of the Imperial grave sites as sanctuaries for the spirits of the ancestors of the Imperial House.^[4]

Nintoku is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) at Osaka. The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as his mausoleum. It is formally named Mozu no Mimihara no naka no misasagi.^[7]

See also

• Emperor of Japan
• List of Emperors of Japan
• Imperial cult
• Five kings of Wa

Notes

Japanese Imperial kamon — a stylized chrysanthemum blossom

1. ^ ^{a b} Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō): 仁徳天皇 (16)
2. ^ Varley, Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, pp. 110-111; Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, pp. 22-24. at Google Books
3. ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, p. 36.
4. ^ ^{a b} Parry, Richard Lloyd. "Japan guards the emperors' secrets; Ban on digs in ancient imperial tombs frustrates archaeologists," The Independent (London). 12 November 1995.
5. ^ Aston, William. (1998). Nihongi, Vol. 1, pp. 254-271.
6. ^ Iwa-no hime no Mikoto's misasagi -- map (upper right)
7. ^ Ponsonby-Fane, p. 419.

References

• Aston, William George. (1896). Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner. OCLC 448337491
• Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). Gukanshō: The Future and the Past. Berkeley: University of California Press. 10-ISBN 0-520-03460-0; 13-ISBN 978-0-520-03460-0; OCLC 251325323
• Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887
• Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Nihon Odai Ichiran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691
• Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns. New York: Columbia University Press. 10-ISBN 0-231-04940-4; 13-ISBN 978-0-231-04940-5; OCLC 59145842

External links

• Encyclopedia of Daisen Kofun (in Japanese)

Regnal titles
Preceded by Emperor Ōjin	Emperor of Japan: Nintoku 313–399 (traditional dates)	Succeeded by Emperor Richū

Coordinates: 34°33′50″N 135°29′15″E / 34.56389°N 135.4875°E / 34.56389; 135.4875

Persondata
Name	Nintoku
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