Emperor Sushun

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Emperor Sushun (崇峻天皇 Sushun-tennō, (d. 592?) was the 32nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 587 through 592.1

Genealogy

Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his imina)2 was Hatsusebe-shinnō, also known as Hatsusebe no Waka-sazaki.3

His name at birth was Hatsusebe no Miko (長谷部皇子). He was the twelfth son of Emperor Kimmei. His mother was Oane-no-kimi (小姉君?), a daughter of Soga no Iname4, who was the chief, or Ō-omi, of the Soga clan.

Sushun had one Empress and two Imperial children.5

Events of Sushun's life

He succeeded his half brother, Emperor Yōmei in 587, and lived in the Kurahashi Palace (Kurahashi no Miya) in Yamato.6

  • 587: In the 2nd year of Yōmei-tennō's reign (用明天皇2年), the emperor died, and despite a dispute over who should follow him as sovereign, the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by another son of Emperor Kimmei, one of Yōmei's younger brothers. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Sushun is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’).7

He came to the throne with the support of the Soga clan and Empress Suiko, his half sister and the widow of Emperor Bidatsu. Initially, the Mononobe clan, a rival clan of the Sogas, allied with Prince Anahobe, another son of Kimmei, and attempted to have him installed as emperor. Soga no Umako, who succeeded his father as Ōomi of the Soga clan, eventually killed Mononobe no Moriya, the head of the Mononobe clan, which led to its decline. Umako then installed Emperor Sushun on the throne.

As time went on, Sushun eventually became resentful of Umako's power, and wanted him deposed. It is said that one day, he saw a wild boar and proclaimed, "I want to kill Soga Umako like this wild boar." This angered Soga no Umako and, perhaps out of fear of being struck first, Umako had Sushun assassinated by Yamato no Aya no Ataikoma (東漢直駒?) in 592.

Emperor Sushun's reign lasted for five years before his death at the age of 72.4

References

  1. ^ Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon, pp. 38-39; Brown, Delmer et al. (1979). Gukanshō, p. 263; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, p. 126.
  2. ^ Brown, pp. 264. [Up until the time of Emperor Jomei, the personal names of the emperors (their imina) were very long and people did not generally use them. The number of characters in each name diminished after Jomei's reign.]
  3. ^ Aston, William. (2005). Nihongi, p. 112.
  4. ^ a b Varley, p. 126.
  5. ^ Brown, p. 263.
  6. ^ Brown, p. 263; Varley, p. 126.
  7. ^ Titsingh, p. 38; Brown, 263; Varley, p. 44. [A distinct act of senso is unrecognized prior to Emperor Tenji; and all sovereigns except Jitō, Yōzei, Go-Toba, and Fushimi have senso and sokui in the same year until the reign of Go-Murakami.]



Preceded by
Emperor Yōmei
Emperor of Japan:
Sushun

587-592
Succeeded by
Empress Suiko


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  • This page was last modified on 10 November 2008, at 09:54.

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