Emperor Kaika[a] (開化天皇, Kaika-tennō), also known as Wakayamato Nekohiko Ōbibi no Mikoto (若倭根子日子大毘毘命) in the Kojiki, and Wakayamato Nekohiko Ōbibi no Sumeramikoto (稚日本根子彦大日日天皇) in the Nihon Shoki was the ninth legendaryemperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.[4][5] Very little is known about this Emperor due to a lack of material available for further verification and study. Kaika is known as a "legendary emperor" among historians as his actual existence is disputed. Nothing exists in the Kojiki other than his name and genealogy. Kaika's reign allegedly began in 158 BC. He had one wife and three consorts whom he fathered five children with. After his death in 98 BC, one of his sons supposedly became Emperor Sujin.[3][6]
Legendary narrative
In the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, only Kaika's name and genealogy were recorded. The Japanese have traditionally accepted this sovereign's historical existence, and an Imperial misasagi or tomb for Kaika is currently maintained; however, no extant contemporary records have been discovered that confirm a view that this historical figure actually reigned. Kaika was born sometime in 208 BC, and is recorded as being the second son of Emperor Kōgen.[2] His empress mother was named Utsushikome, who was the daughter of Oyakuchisukune.[citation needed] Before he was enthroned sometime in 158 BC, his pre-ascension name was Prince Nikohiko Ō-hibi no Mikoto.[6] The Kojiki records that he ruled from the palace of Sakaihara-no-miya (軽之堺原宮, and in the Nihon Shoki as 軽境原宮) at Karu in what would come to be known as Yamato Province.[5] Emperor Kaika had a chief wife (empress) named Ikagashikome, along with three consorts of which he fathered five children with. Kaika ruled until his death in 98 BC; his second son was then enthroned as the next emperor.[6] His son/heir to the throne was posthumously named Sujin by later generations, and is the first emperor that historians say might have actually existed.[7]
Known information
Official tomb of Emperor Kaika in Nara.
The existence of at least the first nine Emperors is disputed due to insufficient material available for further verification and study.[8] Kaika is thus regarded by historians as a "legendary Emperor", and is considered to have been the eighth of eight Emperors without specific legends associated with them.[b] The name Kaika-tennō was assigned to him posthumously by later generations.[10] His name might have been regularized centuries after the lifetime ascribed to Kaika, possibly during the time in which legends about the origins of the imperial dynasty were compiled as the chronicles known today as the Kojiki.[9] While the actual site of Kaika's grave is not known, the Emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorialShintoshrine (misasagi) in Nara. The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Kaika's mausoleum, and its formal name is Kasuga no Izakawa no saka no e no misasagi.[3][4]
Like Emperor Kōshō and Emperor Kōrei, there is a possibility that "Kaika" could have lived instead in the 1st century (AD). Historian Louis Frédéric notes this idea in his book Japan Encyclopedia where he says "more likely early AD", but this remains disputed among other researchers.[6][11] The first emperor that historians state might have actually existed is Emperor Sujin, the 10th emperor of Japan.[7] Outside of the Kojiki, the reign of Emperor Kinmei[c] (c. 509 – 571 AD) is the first for which contemporary historiography is able to assign verifiable dates.[14] The conventionally accepted names and dates of the early Emperors were not confirmed as "traditional" though, until the reign of Emperor Kanmu[d] between 737 and 806 AD.[9]
^ a bBrown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida (1979). A Translation and Study of the Gukanshō, an Interpretative History of Japan Written in 1219. University of California Press. p. 252. ISBN 9780520034600.
^ a bYoshida, Reiji. (March 27, 2007). "Life in the Cloudy Imperial Fishbowl". The Japan Times Online. Japan Times. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
^Kelly, Charles F. "Kofun Culture". www.t-net.ne.jp. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
^ a b cAston, William George. (1896). Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697, Volume 2. The Japan Society London. pp. 109, 148–149. ISBN 9780524053478.
^Brinkley, Frank (1915). A History of the Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the end of the Meiji Era. Encyclopaedia Britannica Company. p. 21. Posthumous names for the earthly Mikados were invented in the reign of Emperor Kanmu (782–805), i.e., after the date of the compilation of the Records and the Chronicles.
^Miller, R. A. (2003). "Journal of Asian History". Journal of Asian History. 37 (2): 212–214. JSTOR 41933346. Review of Japan Encyclopedia
^Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Nihon Ōdai Ichiran (in French). Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. pp. 34–36.
^Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida (1979). A Translation and Study of the Gukanshō, an Interpretative History of Japan Written in 1219. University of California Press. pp. 261–262. ISBN 9780520034600.
^Hoye, Timothy. (1999). Japanese Politics: Fixed and Floating Worlds. Prentice Hall. p. 78. ISBN 9780132712897. According to legend, the first Japanese Emperor was Jimmu. Along with the next 13 Emperors, Jimmu is not considered an actual, historical figure. Historically verifiable Emperors of Japan date from the early sixth century with Kimmei.
^Philippi, Donald L. (2015). Kojiki. Princeton University Press. pp. 104–112.
^Atsushi, Kadoya; Tatsuya, Yumiyama (20 October 2005). "Ōkuninushi". Encyclopedia of Shinto. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
^Herbert, J. (2010). Shinto: At the Fountainhead of Japan. Routledge Library Editions: Japan. Taylor & Francis. p. 402. ISBN 978-1-136-90376-2. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
^Atsushi, Kadoya (21 April 2005). "Ōnamuchi". Encyclopedia of Shinto. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
^ a bThe Emperor's Clans: The Way of the Descendants, Aogaki Publishing, 2018.
^ a b c d e f g h i jVarley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns. Columbia University Press. p. 89. ISBN 9780231049405.
^Atsushi, Kadoya (28 April 2005). "Kotoshironushi". Encyclopedia of Shinto. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
^Sendai Kuji Hongi, Book 4 (先代舊事本紀 巻第四), in Keizai Zasshisha, ed. (1898). Kokushi-taikei, vol. 7 (国史大系 第7巻). Keizai Zasshisha. pp. 243–244.
^Chamberlain (1882). Section XXIV.—The Wooing of the Deity-of-Eight-Thousand-Spears.
^ a b cPonsonby-Fane, Richard (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Ponsonby Memorial Society. p. 29 & 418.
^ a b cBrown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida (1979). A Translation and Study of the Gukanshō, an Interpretative History of Japan Written in 1219. University of California Press. p. 251. ISBN 9780520034600.
^『図説 歴代天皇紀』p42-43「綏靖天皇」
^ a b c d eAnston, p. 144 (Vol. 1)
^Grapard, Allan G. (2023-04-28). The Protocol of the Gods: A Study of the Kasuga Cult in Japanese History. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-91036-2.
^Tenri Journal of Religion. Tenri University Press. 1968.
^Takano, Tomoaki; Uchimura, Hiroaki (2006). History and Festivals of the Aso Shrine. Aso Shrine, Ichinomiya, Aso City.: Aso Shrine.
^Anston, p. 143 (Vol. 1)
^ a b c dAnston, p. 144 (Vol. 1)
^Watase, Masatada [in Japanese] (1983). "Kakinomoto no Hitomaro". Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten 日本古典文学大辞典 (in Japanese). Vol. 1. Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten. pp. 586–588. OCLC 11917421.
^ a b cAston, William George. (1896). Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697, Volume 2. The Japan Society London. pp. 150–164. ISBN 9780524053478.
^ a b c"Kuwashi Hime • . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史". . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
^ a b cAnston, p. 149 (Vol. 1)
^Louis-Frédéric, "Kibitsu-hiko no Mikoto" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 513.
^Ujiya, Tsutomu (1988). Nihon shoki. Grove Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-8021-5058-5.
^Aston, William George. (1896). Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697, Volume 2. The Japan Society London. p. 109 & 149–150. ISBN 9780524053478.
^ a b c dShimazu Norifumi (March 15, 2006). "Takeshiuchi no Sukune". eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
^Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida (1979). A Translation and Study of the Gukanshō, an Interpretative History of Japan Written in 1219. University of California Press. p. 248 & 253. ISBN 9780520034600.
^Henshall, Kenneth (2013-11-07). Historical Dictionary of Japan to 1945. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7872-3.
^"Mimakihime • . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史". . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
^Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida (1979). A Translation and Study of the Gukanshō, an Interpretative History of Japan Written in 1219. University of California Press. p. 248 & 253–254. ISBN 9780520034600.
^ a bHenshall, Kenneth (2013-11-07). Historical Dictionary of Japan to 1945. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7872-3.
^"Sahobime • . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史". . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
^ a bMemoirs of the Research Department of the Toyo Bunko (the Oriental Library), Issues 32-34. Toyo Bunko. 1974. p. 63. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
^ a b"Yasakairihime • . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史". . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
^ a bKenneth Henshall (2013). Historical Dictionary of Japan to 1945. Scarecrow Press. p. 487. ISBN 9780810878723.
^ a bMemoirs of the Research Department of the Toyo Bunko (the Oriental Library), Issues 32-34. Toyo Bunko. 1974. pp. 63–64. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
^Brown Delmer et al. (1979). Gukanshō, p. 253; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, pp. 95-96; Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, p. 10.
^Kidder, Jonathan E. (2007). Himiko and Japan's Elusive Chiefdom of Yamatai: Archaeology, History, and Mythology. University of Hawaii Press. p. 344. ISBN 9780824830359.
^ a b cPackard, Jerrold M. (2000). Sons of Heaven: A Portrait of the Japanese Monarchy. FireWord Publishing, Incorporated. p. 45. ISBN 9781930782013.
^ a bAston, William. (1998). Nihongi, Vol. 1, pp. 224–253.
^文也 (2019-05-26). "仲姫命とはどんな人?". 歴史好きブログ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-01-19.
^日本人名大辞典+Plus, 朝日日本歴史人物事典,デジタル版. "仲姫命(なかつひめのみこと)とは? 意味や使い方". コトバンク (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-01-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^"Nunasoko Nakatsuhime • . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史". . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
^Aston, William. (1998). Nihongi, Vol. 1, pp. 254–271.
Further reading
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. ISBN 978-0-520-03460-0; OCLC 251325323
Chamberlain, Basil Hall. (1920). The Kojiki. Read before the Asiatic Society of Japan on April 12, May 10, and June 21, 1882; reprinted, May, 1919. OCLC 1882339
Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Nihon Ōdai 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. ISBN 978-0-231-04940-5; OCLC 59145842