Emperor Ingyō

Template:Short description Template:Infobox royalty Template:Nihongo was the 19th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.<ref name="kunaicho">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Titsingh">Template:Cite book</ref> Both the Kojiki, and the Nihon Shoki (collectively known as the Kiki) recorded events that took place during Ingyō's alleged lifetime. No firm dates can be assigned to this Emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 410 to 453.<ref name="Fane1915-2">Template:Cite web</ref>

While the location of Ingyō's grave (if any) is unknown, he is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto tomb.

Protohistoric narrative

The Japanese have traditionally accepted this sovereign's historical existence, and a mausoleum (misasagi) for Ingyō is currently maintained. The following information available is taken from the pseudo-historical Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, which are collectively known as Template:Nihongo or Japanese chronicles. These chronicles include legends and myths, as well as potential historical facts that have since been exaggerated and/or distorted over time. It's recorded in the Kiki that Ingyō was born to Template:Nihongo somewhere between 373 and 375 AD and was given the name Template:Nihongo.<ref name="Aston1"/><ref name="Fane1915"/> He was the fourth son of Emperor Nintoku, making him the youngest brother of Richū and Hanzei. After the death of his brother Hanzei in 410 AD Oasazuma was approached by ministers who had unanimously chosen him as the next Emperor. Oasazuma declined the offer stating that his brothers had "despised him as a fool". He also called himself "unlucky" as he claimed to be suffering from an unmentioned paralyzing illness.<ref name="Aston1"/><ref name="Fane1915-2"/>

After more than two years had passed, Oasazuma was finally persuaded by his favorite concubine Oshisaka no Ōnakatsuhime to accept the throne.<ref name="Fane1915-2"/> Oasazuma was formally enthroned as Emperor Ingyō and his concubine became the next Kōgō. Sometime in early 414 an envoy was sent to Silla and procured a physician for the ailing Emperor. The physician attributed the problem to Ingyō's legs and was able to cure him in August of that year.<ref name="Aston1"/><ref name="Fane1915-2"/> In 415 AD, Ingyō reformed the system of family and clan names. This had been an ongoing issue as many families either gave false names or used a clan title with a ranking they hadn't earned.<ref name="Aston1"/> In the middle of 416 AD, an earthquake hit Japan which disrupted the "temporary" burial process of Emperor Hanzei.<ref name="Aston1"/>

Sometime in the winter of 418 AD, empress Oshisaka no Ōnakatsuhime unintentionally introduced her husband to her younger sister at a banquet. Emperor Ingyō fell deeply in love and sent a messenger afterwards to summon her.<ref name="Aston1"/><ref name="Fane1915-2"/> He learned that the woman's name was "Otohime" ("youngest princess"), but was given the designation of "Sotohori Iratsume" ("clothing pass maiden"Template:Efn) by local men for her beauty.<ref name="Aston1"/> Otohime initially refused to comply as she didn't want to hurt her sister's feelings. Not wanting to face punishment for disobeying, the messenger stayed with Otohime until she agreed to come.<ref name="Aston1"/> Oshisaka was not pleased by this and refused to let Otohime into the Imperial palace. Ingyō thus built Otohime a separate residence nearby where he often sneaked off to.<ref name="Aston1"/><ref name="Fane1915-2"/>

Empress Oshisaka no Ōnakatsuhime bore Ingyō a total of nine children (5 sons and 4 daughters). In 434 AD Ingyō chose to name his first son Kinashi no Karu as Crown Prince.<ref name="Aston1"/> This was unknowingly a controversial choice as Kinashi was later accused of an incestuous relationship with his sister, Princess Karu no Ōiratsume.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Ingyō couldn't punish his son due to the title he had bestowed upon him, so instead chose an indirect approach by banishing his daughter Karu no Ōiratsume to Iyo.<ref name="Aston1"/> When Emperor Ingyō died sometime in 453 AD, the king of Silla grieved so much that he presented Japan with 80 musicians to comfort Ingyo's soul.<ref>Nihonshoki, Vol. 13, Story of Ingyō</ref> Kinashi no Karu meanwhile faced a challenge as his younger brother Anaho was favored to be heir apparent.<ref name="Aston1"/>

Historical assessment

File:Ichinoyama Kofun, haisho.jpg

Ichinoyama Kofun in Fujiidera.

Ingyō is regarded by historians as a ruler during the early 5th century whose existence is generally accepted as fact.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Scholar Francis Brinkley lists Emperor Ingyō under "Protohistoric sovereigns" whose reign was overshadowed by an affair and scandal regarding his son.<ref name="Brinkley">Template:Cite book</ref> Other scholars identify Ingyō with King Sai in the Book of Song. This would have been a king of Japan (referred to as Wa by contemporary Chinese scholars) who is said to have sent messengers to the Liu Song dynasty at least twice, in 443 and 451. However, there is no record in the Kiki of messengers being sent.

Titles and dating

There is no evidence to suggest that the title tennō was used during the time to which Ingyō's reign has been assigned. Rather, it was presumably Template:Nihongo, meaning "the great king who rules all under heaven". An alternate title could have also been Template:Nihongo2 "Great King of Yamato". The name Ingyō-tennō was more than likely assigned to him posthumously by later generations.<ref name="name">Template:Cite book</ref> His name might have been regularized centuries after the lifetime ascribed to Ingyō, possibly during the time in which legends about the origins of the imperial dynasty were compiled as the chronicles known today as the Kojiki.<ref name="aston109 & 217-223">Template:Cite book</ref>

Outside of the Kiki, the reign of Emperor Kinmei Template:Efn (Template:Circa – 571 AD) is the first for which contemporary historiography has been able to assign verifiable dates.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The conventionally accepted names and dates of the early Emperors were not confirmed as "traditional" though, until the reign of Emperor Kanmu Template:Efn between 737 and 806 AD.<ref name="aston109 & 217-223"/>

Events during reign

Early on in his reign, Emperor Ingyō chose to send envoys to Korea for medical assistance. Brinkley took note of this and stated that Korea was evidently regarded as the "home of healing science". He also attributed the "many other" arts which were borrowed from China.<ref name="Brinkley"/> In regard to reforms, Sholar William George Aston notes in his translation of the Nihon Shoki that when Ingyō reformed the system of family and clan names, it would have only applied to dominant caste. At the time the general populace of Japan kept their personal names and "cared little for geopolitics".<ref name="Aston1"/> Emperor Ingyō's later affair with "Otohime" is regarded as important by Brinkley as it illustrates the manners and customs at the time. He also suggests that the "atmosphere of loose morality" was in part responsible for Kinashi no Karu's incestuous relationship.<ref name="Brinkley"/>

It is agreed upon by Basil Hall Chamberlain's translation of the Kojiki, and Aston's translation of the Nihon Shoki that Prince Kinashi no Karu was probably appointed crown prince during his father's lifetime.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At the time, marriage between children of the same father had always been allowed as long as the mothers involved were different. Marriage of children of the same mother of whom Kinashi no Karu was guilty of was considered incest.<ref name="Brinkley"/> Aston notes in his translation of the Nihon Shoki that it's doubtful Karu no Ōiratsume was banished by her father. Historically women have always been more lightly punished than men for the same offense, and "the particular character of the fault in this case makes such a discrimination all the more reasonable".<ref name="Aston1"/>

Francis Brinkley comments that four facts present themselves during Emperor Ingyō's reign: "Men wore wristbands and garters to which grelots were attached, that a high value was set for pearls, that metal was used for the construction of great man's gates, and the first earthquake is said to have been experienced in 416 AD". The latter of these things allegedly leveled the Imperial Palace at Kyoto from the severity of the Earth's tremors.<ref name="Hammer">Template:Cite book</ref> Modern sources have since questioned the reliability of this "first earthquake", opting instead to recognize another that took place in Nara prefecture on May 28, 599 during the reign of Empress Suiko.<ref name="Hammer"/>

Gravesite

While the actual site of Ingyō's grave is not known, this regent is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine in Fujiidera Osaka.<ref name="kunaicho"/><ref>Template:Cite book </ref> The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Ingyō's mausoleum/kofun-type Imperial tomb. Formally, this tomb is called Template:Nihongo, but is also given the name Template:Nihongo. Another burial candidate for Emperor Ingyō's is the Template:Nihongo, which is also located in Fujiidera.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Ingyō is also enshrined at the Imperial Palace along with other emperors and members of the Imperial Family at the Three Palace Sanctuaries.

Consorts and children

Spouse/Concubine

Position	Name	Father	Issue<ref name=descent>Template:Cite web</ref>
Empress (Kōgō)	Template:Nihongo<ref name="Aston2">Template:Cite web</ref>	Prince Template:Nihongo<ref name=descent/>	Template:Template:Nihongo Template:Template:Nihongo Template:Template:Nihongo Template:Template:Nihongo Template:Template:Nihongo Template:Template:Nihongo Template:Template:Nihongo Template:Template:Nihongo Template:*Template:Nihongo
Concubine (Hi)	Template:Nihongo Template:Efn	Prince Template:Nihongo<ref name=descent/>	None

Issue

Status	Name<ref name=descent/><ref name="Kojikigen">Template:Cite web</ref>	Comments
Prince	Template:Nihongo<ref name=descent/>	Prince Kinashi was later defeated by Prince Anaho (see below)
Princess	Template:Nihongo<ref name=descent/>
Prince	Template:Nihongo<ref name=descent/>	Prince Sakai allegedly died sometime in 456 AD.
Prince	Template:Nihongo<ref name=descent/>	Emperor Ingyō's 3rd son later became Emperor Ankō.
Princess	Template:Nihongo	"Princess Karu" and "Otohime" are synonymous in the Kojiki.<ref name="Kintsuhime"/>
Prince	Template:Nihongo	Yatsuri's lifespan was allegedly 401 to 456 AD.
Prince	Template:Nihongo	Emperor Ingyō's 5th son later became Emperor Yūryaku.
Princess	Template:Nihongo
Princess	Template:Nihongo

Notes

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References

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