Editing Emperor Bidatsu

{{Short description|30th Emperor of Japan (reigned 572-585)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Emperor Bidatsu<br>{{nobold|{{lang|ja|敏達天皇}}}}
| title        = [[Okimi|Great King of Yamato]]
| succession   = [[Emperor of Japan]]
| image        = Emperor Bidatsu.jpg
| caption      = 
| reign        = 30 April 572 – 14 September 585
| coronation   = 
| cor-type     = Japan
| predecessor  = [[Emperor Kinmei|Kinmei]]
| successor    = [[Emperor Yōmei|Yōmei]]
| posthumous name = [[Posthumous name#Chinese-style (Han-style) shigō|Chinese-style ''shigō'']]:<br/>Emperor Bidatsu ({{lang|ja|敏達天皇}})<br/><br/>[[Posthumous name#Japanese-style shigō|Japanese-style ''shigō'']]:<br/>Nunakuranofutotamashiki no Sumeramikoto ({{lang|ja|渟中倉太珠敷天皇}})
| spouses      = [[Hirohime]]<br>[[Nukatabe]] (later Empress Suiko)
| issue        = See [[#Genealogy|below]]
| royal house  = [[Imperial House of Japan]]
| father       = [[Emperor Kinmei]]
| mother       = [[Ishi-hime]]
| religion     = [[Shinto]]
| birth_date   = 538
| birth_place  = 
| death_date   = {{death date and age|585|9|14|538|df=yes}}
| death_place  = 
| burial_place = {{Nihongo||河内磯長中尾陵|''Kawachi no Shinaga no naka no o no misasagi''}} (Osaka)
}}

{{Nihongo|'''Emperor Bidatsu'''|敏達天皇|Bidatsu-tennō|extra=538 – 14 September 585}} was the 30th [[emperor of Japan]],<ref name="kunaicho">[[Imperial Household Agency]] (''Kunaichō''), [http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/ryobo/guide/030/index.html 敏達天皇 (30)]; retrieved 2013-1-31.</ref> according to the [[List of emperors of Japan|traditional order of succession]].<ref>[[Delmer M. Brown|Brown, Delmer]]. (1979). [https://books.google.com/books?id=w4f5FrmIJKIC&pg=PA262 ''Gukanshō,'' pp. 262–263]; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki. pp. 124–125; [[Isaac Titsingh|Titsingh, Isaac]]. (1834). [https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&dq=nipon%20o%20dai%20itsi%20ran&pg=PA36 ''Annales des empereurs du Japon'', pp. 36–37]; [[Louis-Frédéric|Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric]]. (2002). "Traditional order of Tennō" in ''Japan encyclopedia,'' pp. 962–963.</ref>

The years of reign of Bidatsu start in [[Asuka period|572 and end in 585]]; however, there are no certain dates for this emperor's life or reign.<ref>Nussbaum, [https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=PA962 "Traditional order of Tennō" at pp. 962–963]; excerpt, "dates&nbsp;... should be treated with caution up to Emperor Bidatsu Tennō, the thirtieth on the list."</ref> The names and sequence of the early emperors were not confirmed as "traditional" until the reign of [[Emperor Kanmu]], who was the 50th [[monarch]] of the [[Imperial House of Japan|imperial dynasty]].<ref>[[William George Aston|Aston, William George]]. (1896). [https://books.google.com/books?id=1IJrNAKBpycC&pg=PA109 ''Nihongi,'' p. 109 n1].</ref>

==Traditional narrative==
Historians consider details about the life of Emperor Bidatsu to be possibly legendary, but probable.<ref name="kelly">Kelly, Charles F. [http://www.t-net.ne.jp/~keally/kofun.html  "Kofun Culture"], [http://www.t-net.ne.jp/~keally/index.htm  ''Japanese Archaeology''.] 27 April 2009; retrieved 2013-1-31.</ref> The name Bidatsu''-tennō'' was created for him [[Posthumous name|posthumously]] by later generations.

In the ''[[Nihon Shoki]]'', he is called {{Nihongo|Nunakura no Futotamashiki|渟中倉太珠敷}}.

His palace in [[Yamato Province]] was called Osada no Miya of Iware.<ref name="brown262"/>

==Events of Bidatsu's life==
In the 15th year of [[Emperor Kinmei]]’s reign, Bidatsu was named Crown Prince.<ref name="brown262"/>

In the {{Nihongo|32nd year of Kimmei''-tennō''&apos;s reign|欽明天皇32年|extra=572}}, the old Emperor died, and the succession was received by his second son. Soon after, Emperor Bidatsu is said to have acceded to the throne.<ref>Titsingh, [https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&dq=nipon%20o%20dai%20itsi%20ran&pg=PA36 p. 36]; Varley, p. 44; n.b., the distinct act of ''senso'' is unrecognized prior to [[Emperor Tenji]]; and all sovereigns except [[Empress Jitō|Jitō]], [[Emperor Yōzei|Yōzei]], [[Emperor Go-Toba|Go-Toba]], and [[Emperor Fushimi|Fushimi]] have ''senso'' and ''sokui'' in the same year until the reign of [[Emperor Go-Murakami]]; compare [[Imperial Household Agency]] (''Kunaichō''), [http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/e-about/seido/seido06-ph.html  Ceremony of Accession (''Sokui-no-Rei'')]; retrieved 2013-1-31.</ref>

Bidatsu'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, Bidatsu might have been referred to as {{Nihongo2|ヤマト大王/大君}} or the "Great King of Yamato".

Bidatsu's reign was marked by power struggles about Buddhism. The two most important men in the court of Bidatsu were [[Soga no Umako]] and [[Mononobe no Moriya]].<ref>Titsingh, [https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&dq=nipon%20o%20dai%20itsi%20ran&pg=PA36 p. 36].</ref> Soga supported the growth of Buddhism, and Moriya wanted to stop it.<ref>Brown, [https://books.google.com/books?id=w4f5FrmIJKIC&pg=PA262 pp. 262–263].</ref>

Bidatsu sought to re-establish relations with [[Korea]]n Kingdoms and, according to ''[[Nihon Shoki]]'', his court successfully established relations with [[Baekje]] and [[Silla]], two of the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea]].{{citation needed|date=January 2013}}

The Emperor died from a disease which afflicted him with sores, apparently the first royal victim of smallpox in Japan.<ref>Hopkins, Donald R. (2002). [https://books.google.com/books?id=z2zMKsc1Sn0C&pg=PA106 ''The Greatest Killer'', p. 106], citing Aston (1896). [https://books.google.com/books?id=66aTvdFOqs0C&dq=Emperor%27s+disease+having+become+more+and+more+inveterate%2C+he+died+in+the+Great&pg=RA1-PA104  ''Nihongi'', Vol. II. p. 104].</ref>

The actual site of Bidatsu's [[grave (burial)|grave]] is known.<ref name="kunaicho"/> The Emperor is traditionally venerated at a [[memorial]] [[Shinto]] [[shrine]] (''misasagi'') at Osaka.

The [[Imperial Household Agency]] designates this location as Bidatsu's [[mausoleum]]. It is formally named ''Kawachi no Shinaga no naka no o no misasagi''.<ref>[[Richard Ponsonby-Fane|Ponsonby-Fane, Richard]]. (1959) ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 419.</ref>

==Genealogy==
He was the second son of [[Emperor Kinmei]]. His mother, Ishi-hime, was a daughter of [[Emperor Senka]].<ref name="brown262">Brown, [https://books.google.com/books?id=w4f5FrmIJKIC&pg=PA262 p. 262].</ref>

Although he had many children, none of them would ever become Emperor.<ref>Ponsonby-Fane, p. 46.</ref> According to ''[[Gukanshō]]'', Bidatsu had four empresses and 16 Imperial children (6 sons and 10 daughters).<ref name="brown262"/>

Bidatsu's first empress, Hirohime, died in the fifth year of his reign. To replace her, he elevated one of his consorts, Princess Nukatabe, to the rank of empress. Nukatabe was his half-sister by their father Kinmei. Later she ascended to the throne in her own right and is today known as [[Empress Suiko]].

He was succeeded first by one of his brothers, [[Emperor Yōmei]], then by another, [[Emperor Sushun]], and then Empress Suiko, his sister and wife, before his grandson, [[Emperor Jomei]], eventually took the throne.

*Empress: {{Nihongo|[[Hirohime]]|広姫|extra=d.575}}, Prince Okinaga-no-Mate's daughter
**First Son: {{Nihongo|Prince Oshisako no Hikohito no Ōe|押坂彦人大兄皇子|extra=b.556}}
**{{Nihongo|Princess Sakanobori|逆登皇女}}
**{{Nihongo|Princess Uji|菟道皇女}}, [[Saiō]]
*Empress: {{Nihongo|Princess Nukatabe|額田部皇女}}, later [[Empress Suiko]], [[Emperor Kinmei]]'s daughter
**{{Nihongo|Princess Uji no Kaitako|菟道貝蛸皇女|extra=b.570}}, married to [[Prince Shōtoku]]
**{{Nihongo|Prince Takeda|竹田皇子}}
**{{Nihongo|Princess Oharita|小墾田皇|extra=b.572}}, married to Prince Oshisako-no-Hikohito-no-Ōe
**{{Nihongo|Princess Umori|鸕鶿守皇女}}
**{{Nihongo|{{ill|Prince Kazuraki|ja|葛城王 (敏達天皇の子)|vertical-align=sup}}|葛城王}}
**{{Nihongo|Prince Owari|尾張皇子}}, father of Tachibana-no-Oiratsume ([[Prince Shōtoku]]'s consort)
**{{Nihongo|Princess Tame|田眼皇女}}, married to [[Emperor Jomei]]
**{{Nihongo|Princess Sakurai no Yumihari|桜井弓張皇女}}, married to Prince Oshisako-no-Hikohito-no-Ōe, later married to Prince Kume ([[Emperor Yomei]]'s son)
*Consort: {{Nihongo|Kasuga-no-Ominako-no-Iratsume|春日老女子}}, Kasuga no Nakakimi no Omi's daughter
**{{Nihongo|Prince Naniwa|難波皇子|extra=560-587}}
**{{Nihongo|Prince Kasuga|春日皇子|extra=560-615}}
**{{Nihongo|Princess Kuwata|桑田皇女}}
**Third Son: {{Nihongo|Prince Ohomata|大派皇子|extra=b.585}}
*Concubine: {{Nihongo|Unako no Otoshi|菟名子}}, Ohoka no Obito no Okuma's daughter
**{{Nihongo|Princess Futohime|太姫}}, also {{Nihongo2|桜井皇女}}
**{{Nihongo|Princess Nukatehime|糠手姫皇女|extra=570-664}}, married to Prince Oshisako no Hikohito no Ōe

==See also==
* [[Emperor of Japan]]
* [[List of emperors of Japan]]
* [[Imperial cult]]

==Notes==

{{Reflist}}

==References==
* [[William George Aston|Aston, William George.]] (1896). [https://books.google.com/books?id=_oEfAAAAYAAJ  ''Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697''.] London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner.  {{OCLC|448337491}}
* [[Delmer Brown|Brown, Delmer M.]] and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). [https://books.google.com/books?id=w4f5FrmIJKIC&q=Gukansho  ''Gukanshō: The Future and the Past''.] Berkeley: University of California Press. {{ISBN|978-0-520-03460-0}};  {{OCLC|251325323}}
* Hopkins, Donald R. (2002). [https://books.google.com/books?id=z2zMKsc1Sn0C&q=The+greatest+killer  ''The Greatest Killer''.] Chicago: University of Chicago Press. {{ISBN|9780226351667}}; {{ISBN|9780226351681}};   {{OCLC|49305765}}
* [[Richard Ponsonby-Fane|Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon]]. (1959). [https://books.google.com/books?id=SLAeAAAAMAAJ&q=The+Imperial+House+of+Japan  ''The Imperial House of Japan''.] Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. {{OCLC|194887}}
* [[Isaac Titsingh|Titsingh, Isaac.]] (1834). [https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&q=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran  ''Annales des empereurs du Japon''] (''[[Nihon Ōdai Ichiran]]''). Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland.  {{OCLC|5850691}}
* [[H. Paul Varley|Varley, H. Paul.]] (1980). [https://books.google.com/books?id=tVv6OAAACAAJ ''Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns''.] New York: Columbia University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-231-04940-5}};  {{OCLC|59145842}}

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{{Emperors of Japan}}

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[[Category:Emperors of Japan]]
[[Category:538 births]]
[[Category:585 deaths]]
[[Category:People of Asuka-period Japan]]
[[Category:Buddhism in the Asuka period]]
[[Category:6th-century Japanese monarchs]]
[[Category:Deaths from smallpox in Japan]]