Editing Emperor Kinmei (section)

==Traditional narrative==
Kinmei'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 {{Nihongo|''Sumeramikoto'' or ''Amenoshita Shiroshimesu Ōkimi''|治天下大王}}, meaning "the great king who rules all under heaven". Alternatively, Kinmei might have been referred to as {{Nihongo2|ヤマト大王/大君}} or the "Great King of Yamato".

===Events of Kinmei's life===
Because of several chronological discrepancies in the account of Emperor Kinmei in the ''[[Nihon Shoki]]'', some believe that he was actually ruling a rival court to that of Emperors [[Emperor Ankan|Ankan]] and [[Emperor Senka|Senka]]. Nevertheless, according to the traditional account, it was not until the death of Emperor Kinmei's older brother Emperor Senka that he gained the throne.

According to this account, Emperor Senka died in 539 at the age of 73;<ref>Varley, p. 121.</ref> and succession passed to the third son of [[Emperor Keitai]]. This Imperial Prince was the next youngest brother of Emperor Senka. He would come to be known as Emperor Kinmei. He established his court at {{Nihongo|[[Shikishima no Kanazashi Palace]]|磯城嶋金刺宮}} in [[Yamato Province|Yamato]].<ref name="brown262">Brown, [https://books.google.com/books?id=w4f5FrmIJKIC&pg=PA261    p. 262].</ref>

The Emperor's chief counselors were:
* ''[[Omi (title)|Ōomi]]'' (Great Imperial chieftain): Soga no Iname no Sukune, also known as [[Soga no Iname]].<ref name = "brown262"/>
* ''[[muraji|Ōmuraji]]'' (Great Deity chieftain): Monotobe Okoshi no Muraji, also known as [[Mononobe no Okoshi]].<ref name = "brown262"/>
* ''[[muraji|Ōmuraji]]'' (Great Deity chieftain): [[Ōtomo no Kanamura|Ōtomo Kanamura Maro]], also known as Otomo no Kanamura.<ref name="brown262"/>

Although the imperial court was not moved to the [[Asuka, Nara|Asuka]] region of Japan until 592, Emperor Kinmei's rule is considered by some to be the beginning of the [[Asuka period]] of [[Yamato period|Yamato]] Japan, particularly by those who associate the Asuka period primarily with the introduction of [[Buddhism]] to Japan from [[Baekje]].

According to the ''Nihon Shoki'', Emperor Kinmei received a bronze statue of [[Gautama Buddha]] as a gift from the king of [[Baekje]] King [[Seong of Baekje|Song Myong]] (聖明王, ''Seimei Ō'') along with a significant envoy of artisans, monks, and other artifacts in 552. (However, according to the [[Jōgū Shōtoku Hōō Teisetsu]], Buddhism was introduced in 538.) This episode is widely regarded as the official introduction of Buddhism to the country.

With the introduction of a new religion to the court, a deep rift developed between the [[Mononobe clan]], whose members supported the worship of [[kami|Japan's traditional deities]], and the Soga clan, whose members supported the adoption of Buddhism.

According to the ''Nihon Shoki'', Emperor Kinmei ruled until his death in 571 and was buried in the {{Nihongo|Hinokuma no Sakai Burial Mound|桧隈坂合陵}}. An alternate stronger theory holds that he was actually buried in the {{Nihongo|Misemaruyama Tumulus|見瀬丸山古墳}}, located in {{Nihongo|Kashihara City|橿原市}}.

The Emperor is traditionally venerated at a [[memorial]] [[Shinto]] [[shrine]] (''misasagi'') at Nara. The [[Imperial Household Agency]] designates the Nara location as Kinmei's [[mausoleum]].<ref name="kunaicho"/> It is formally named ''Hinokuma no saki Ai no misasagi''.<ref>Ponsonby-Fane, p. 419.</ref> However, the actual sites of the [[grave (burial)|graves]] of the early Emperors are unclear, according to some historians and archaeologists.