Japan 7

JAPANESE IMPERIAL

GENEALOGY

(The Nara Period)

707 - 715 Genmei Yamatoneko Amatsu Mishiro Toyokuni Narihime no Tennō, Forty-Third Emperor of Japan. Born Abe no Himemiko, in 659. She married her cousin Kusakabe no Miko, son of Emperor Tenmu (see above), who had been heir to the throne, but died. Her son later became Emperor Monmu, and it was his dying wish that his mother should be Emperor after him. The eras of her reign were: Keiun (707-708), Wado (708-715) and Reiki (715). In her reign, the capital was moved to Nara, where it would remain for the next seventy years, a large campaign was launched against the Emishi in the east, a number of changes were made to provincial boundaries, weights and measures were standardised, coins of silver and copper were first introduced and the price of rice was fixed. She abdicated in 715 in favour of her daughter (The heir apparent, her grandson, was still too young).

715 - 724 Genshō Tennō, Forty-Fourth Emperor of Japan. Born Hidaka Naishinnō in 680, she had reached the First Princely rank by 715. She succeeded her mother as Emperor in 715, because the heir apparent, her nephew, Shomu, was still too young to succeed. The eras of her reign were: Reiki (715-717) and Yōrō (717-724).

724 - 749 Shomu Ameshirushikuni Oshihiraki Toyosakurahiko no Tennō, Fourty-Fifth Emperor of Japan. Born 701, he was made heir apparent in 714, slowly taking on more duties throughout his aunt's reign until he acceded to the throne in 724. He was the first Emperor to have a mother from the Fujiwara clan; in later centuries all Empresses would come from this clan. The eras of his reign were: Jinki (724-729) and Tenpyō (729-749). In his reign, 5000 scrolls of Buddhist scripture were brought from Tang China and the famous Tōdaiji Temple was built at Nara. He abdicated in favour of his daughter in 749 and became a Buddhist Priest, with the name Shōman. He married Fujiwara no Kōmyō , daughter of Fujiwara no Fubito (see FUJIWARA). He died in 756, but had issue, including:

749 - 758 Kōken Tennō (Shōtoku), Fourty-Sixth & Forty-Eighth Emperor of Japan. Born 717, she was a fervant Buddhist, supposedly dipping her hand into molten bronze to demonstrate her desire for enlightenment. Her father abdicated in her favour in 749, and she spent some time trying to find a successor from the descendants of Emperor Tenmu. The eras of her reign were: Tenpyō Kanpō / Tenpyō Shōhō (749-757) and Tenpyō Hōji (757-758). She eventually abdicated in favour of Junnin, but continued to control things from behind the scenes. When her puppet Emperor started to act independently she deposed him and returned to the throne as Empress Shōtoku.

758 - 764 Junnin Tennō, Forty-Seventh Emperor of Japan. Born Ōi Ō in 733, a son of Prince Toneri and grandson of Emperor Tenmu, he was chosen by the Empress Koken to serve as her puppet Emperor. The only era of his reign was Tenpyō Hōji (758-764). He came under the control of Fujiwara no Nakamaro, with whom Koken clashed and she eventually had him deposed and exiled to Awaji Island. He died there in 765.

764 - 770 Shōtoku Tennō (Kōken), Fourty-Sixth & Forty-Eighth Emperor of Japan. After Junnin was deposed, Koken returned to the throne, this time as Empress Shotoku. The eras of her second reign were: Tenpyō Hōji (764-765), Tenpyō Jingo (765-767), and Jingo Keiun (767-770). She came increasingly under the influence of the Buddhist Priest Dōkyō (d. 772), supposedly her lover, whom she appointed Hōō (Priest-Emperor) in 766. She attempted to fill the entire bureaucracy with Buddhist priests, which would have converted Japan into a Buddhist state. During her reign Saidaiji Temple was built at Nara. She died in 770.

770 -781 Kōnin Tennō, Fourty-Ninth Emperor of Japan. Born Shirakabe Ō in 708, he was a Major Counselor in Shotoku's reign. After Shotoku's death, he was chosen to succeed his distant cousin as Emperor, instead of the Buddhist Priest Dokyo, by a succession council composed mainly of members of the Fujiwara family. The eras of his reign were: Jingo Keiun (770), Hōki (770-780) and Tenō (781). From his reign onwards Emperors were essentially powerless figureheads under the control of the Fujiwara family (Delmar Brown). He married Takano no Niigasa, who died in 789, daughter of Takano no Otosugi, Ason. He abdicated in 781 and died later that year. He had issue, including: