Editing Empress Jitō (section)

==Traditional narrative==
[[File:Poem-by-Empress-Jito-by-Utagawa-Kuniyoshi.png|thumb|Illustrated poem by Empress Jitō]]

Empress Jitō was the daughter of [[Emperor Tenji]]. Her mother was Ochi-no-Iratsume, the daughter of Minister Ō-omi Soga no Yamada-no Ishikawa Maro. She was the wife of Tenji's full brother [[Emperor Tenmu]], whom she succeeded on the throne.<ref name="v137">Varley, H. Paul. ''Jinnō Shōtōki,'' p. 137.</ref>

Empress Jitō's given name was {{nihongo|Unonosarara or Unonosasara|鸕野讚良}}, or alternately Uno.<ref name="b270">Brown, D. (1979). ''Gukanshō'', p. 270.</ref>

===Events of Jitō's reign===
Jitō took responsibility for court administration after the death of her husband, Emperor Tenmu, who was also her uncle.  She acceded to the throne in 687 in order to ensure the eventual succession of her son, Kusakabe-shinnō.  Throughout this period, Empress Jitō ruled from the [[Fujiwara Palace]] in Yamato.<ref name="v137"/> In 689, Jitō prohibited ''[[Sugoroku]]'',<ref>''[[Nihon Shoki]]'', Volume 30</ref> in 690 at [[enthronement]] she performed special [[ritual]] then gave [[pardon]] and in 692 she travelled to [[Ise Grand Shrine|Ise]] against the counsel of minister Miwa-no-Asono-Takechimaro.<ref>''[[Nihon Shoki]]'', Volume, 30</ref>

Prince Kusakabe was named as crown prince to succeed Jitō, but he died at a young age.  Kusakabe's son, Karu-no-o, was then named as Jitō's successor.  He eventually would become known as [[Emperor Monmu]].<ref name="v137"/>

Empress Jitō reigned for eleven years. Although there were seven other reigning empresses, their successors were most often selected from amongst the males of the paternal Imperial bloodline, which is why some conservative scholars argue that the women's reigns were temporary and that male-only succession tradition must be maintained in the 21st century.<ref name="jt2007">[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070327i1.html "Life in the Cloudy Imperial Fishbowl"], ''Japan Times''. March 27, 2007.</ref>  [[Empress Genmei]], who was followed on the  throne by her daughter, [[Empress Gensho|Empress Genshō]], remains the sole exception to this conventional argument.

In 697, Jitō [[Daijō Tennō|abdicated]] in Monmu's favor; and as a retired sovereign, she took the post-reign title ''[[daijō-tennō]]''.  After this, her imperial successors who retired took the same title after abdication.<ref name="v137"/>

Jitō continued to hold power as a [[cloistered rule]]r, which became a persistent trend in Japanese politics.

[[Image:TenmuJitoTomb.jpg|thumb|right|[[Memorial]] [[Shinto]] [[shrine]] and mausoleum honoring Empress Jitō]]
The actual site of Jitō's [[grave (burial)|grave]] is known.<ref name="kunaicho"/>  This empress is traditionally venerated at a [[memorial]] [[Shinto]] [[shrine]] (''misasagi'') at Nara.

The [[Imperial Household Agency]] designates this location as Jitō's [[mausoleum]].  It is formally named ''Ochi-no-Okanoe no misasagi''.<ref>Ponsonby-Fane, p. 420.</ref>

===''Kugyō''===
''Kugyō'' (公卿) is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the [[Emperor of Japan]] in pre-[[Meiji period|Meiji]] eras.

In general, this elite group included only three to four men at a time.  These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background would have brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career.  During Jitō's reign, this apex of the  ''[[Daijō-kan]]'' included:
* ''[[Daijō-daijin]]'', Takechi-shinnō (the 3rd son of Emperor Tenmu)<ref name="b270"/>
* ''[[Sadaijin]]''
* ''[[Udaijin]]''
* ''[[Naidaijin]]''