Editing Emperor Kōan

{{Short description|6th Emperor of Japan}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Emperor Kōan<br>{{nobold|{{lang|ja|孝安天皇}}}}
| succession   = [[Emperor of Japan]]
| image        = Tennō Kōan thumb.jpg
| caption      = 
| reign        = 393 BC – 291 BC (traditional)<ref>{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110322210732/http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/e-about/genealogy/img/keizu-e.pdf|archivedate=March 22, 2011|url=http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/e-about/genealogy/img/keizu-e.pdf|title=Genealogy of the Emperors of Japan|work=Kunaicho.go.jp|access-date=May 8, 2019}}</ref>
| coronation   = 
| cor-type     = Japan
| predecessor  = [[Emperor Kōshō|Kōshō]]
| successor    = [[Emperor Kōrei|Kōrei]]
| posthumous name = [[Posthumous name#Chinese-style (Han-style) shigō|Chinese-style ''shigō'']]:<br/>Emperor Kōan ({{lang|ja|孝安天皇}})<br/><br/>[[Posthumous name#Japanese-style shigō|Japanese-style ''shigō'']]:<br/>Yamato-tarashihiko-kuni-oshihito no Sumeramikoto ({{lang|ja|日本足彦国押人天皇}})
| spouse       = {{ill|Oshihime|ja| %E6%8A%BC%E5%AA%9B}}
| issue        = {{plainlist|
*[[:ja:大吉備諸進命|Ōkibinomorosusumi-no-Mikoto]]
*[[Emperor Kōrei]]
}}
| royal house  = [[Imperial House of Japan]]
| father       = [[Emperor Kōshō]]
| mother       = [[Yosotarashi-hime]]
| religion     = [[Shinto]]
| birth_date   = 427 BC<ref name="Henshall">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tmYYAgAAQBAJ&q=K%C5%8Dan+427&pg=PA487|title=Historical Dictionary of Japan to 1945|author=Kenneth Henshall|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=2013|page=487|isbn=9780810878723}}</ref>
| birth_place  = 
| death_date   = 291 BC (aged 136)<ref name="Age"/>
| death_place  = 
| burial_place = {{Nihongo||玉手丘上陵|''Tamate no oka no e no misasagi''}} (Gose)|
}}
 
{{Nihongo|'''Emperor Kōan'''|孝安天皇|Kōan-tennō}}, also known as {{Nihongo||大倭帯日子国押人命|''Yamatotarashihikokunioshihito no Mikoto''}} was the sixth [[legend|legendary]] [[emperor of Japan]], according to the traditional [[List of Emperors of Japan|order of succession]].<ref name="kunaicho">{{cite web|url=http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/ryobo/guide/006/index.html|title=孝安天皇 (6)|work=[[Imperial Household Agency]] (Kunaichō)|language=ja|access-date=May 10, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Brown 251&252">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w4f5FrmIJKIC&q=Emperor+Koan|title=A Translation and Study of the Gukanshō, an Interpretative History of Japan Written in 1219|author=[[Delmer Brown|Brown, Delmer M.]] and Ichirō Ishida|publisher=University of California Press|year=1979|pages=251–252|isbn=9780520034600}}</ref> Very little is known about this Emperor due to a lack of material available for further verification and study. Kōan 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. Kōan's reign allegedly began in 393 BC, he had one wife and two sons and reigned for more than 100 years until his death in 291 BC at the age of 137. One of his sons then supposedly became the [[Emperor Kōrei|next emperor]].<ref name="Fane">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SLAeAAAAMAAJ&q=Koan|title=''The Imperial House of Japan''|author=[[Richard Ponsonby-Fane|Ponsonby-Fane, Richard]]|publisher=Ponsonby Memorial Society|year=1959|page=30 & 418}}</ref> Emperor Kōan is traditionally accepted as the final emperor of the [[Jōmon period]], which ended in 300 BC.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.15184/aqy.2016.115|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/F1469BF53172B3C30B7E9B5F9B67C701/S0003598X16001150a.pdf/hunting-dogs-as-environmental-adaptations-in-jomon-japan.pdf|title=Hunting dogs as environmental adaptations in Jōmon Japan|journal=Antiquity|volume=90|issue=353|pages=1166–1180|year=2016 |last1=Perri|first1=Angela R.|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Legendary narrative== <!--The legendary story and accounts go in this section-->
In the ''[[Kojiki]]'' and ''[[Nihon Shoki]]'', only his name and genealogy were recorded. The Japanese have traditionally accepted this sovereign's historical existence, and an Imperial ''misasagi'' or tomb for Kōan is currently maintained; however, no extant contemporary records have been discovered that confirm a view that this historical figure actually reigned.  He is believed to be son of Emperor Kōshō; and his mother is believed to have been Yosotarashi-no-hime, who was the daughter of Okitsuyoso, and ancestress of the Owari.<ref name="Varley 90">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tVv6OAAACAAJ|title=Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns|author=[[H. Paul Varley|Varley, H. Paul.]]|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=1980|page=90|isbn=9780231049405}}</ref> The ''Kojiki'' records Kōan was the second son of [[Emperor Kōshō]], and that he ruled from the palace of {{Nihongo||葛城室之秋津島宮|[[Akitsushima-no-miya]]|extra=and in the ''[[Nihon Shoki]]'' as {{Nihongo2|室秋津島宮}}}} at Muro in what would come to be known as [[Yamato Province]].<ref name="Brown 251&252"/><ref name="Varley 90"/> Kōan was allegedly an emperor who reigned for more than a hundred years, and lived to the age of 137 (according to the Kojiki).<ref name="Age">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P1OZUmnLTdoC&q=emperor+K%C5%8Dan+age&pg=PA30|title=Political Thought in Japanese Historical Writing: From Kojiki (712) to Tokushi Yoron (1712)|author=John S. Brownlee|publisher=Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press|date=August 14, 1991|page=30|isbn=9780889209978}}</ref> He allegedly had a wife named Yosotarashi-hime, and fathered two children with her. Kōan's reign lasted from 392 BC until his death in 291 BC, one of his sons then took the throne and would later be referred to as [[Emperor Kōrei]].

==Known information==
The existence of at least the first nine Emperors is disputed due to insufficient material available for further verification and study.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.t-net.ne.jp/~keally/kofun.html|title=Kofun Culture|author=Kelly, Charles F.|work=www.t-net.ne.jp|access-date=May 8, 2019}}</ref> Kōan is thus regarded by historians as a "legendary Emperor", and is considered to have been the fifth of [[Nihon Shoki#Kesshi Hachidai|eight Emperors without specific legends associated with them]].{{efn|Also known as the {{Nihongo|"eight undocumented monarchs"|欠史八代|''Kesshi-hachidai''}}.<ref name="aston">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_oEfAAAAYAAJ|title=Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697, Volume 2|author=[[William George Aston|Aston, William George.]]|publisher=The Japan Society London|date=1896|pages=109, 145–146|isbn=978-0-524-05347-8 }}</ref>}} The name Kōan''-tennō'' was assigned to him [[Posthumous name|posthumously]] by later generations.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/ahistoryjapanes00kikugoog|title=''A History of the Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the end of the Meiji Era''|author=[[Francis Brinkley|Brinkley, Frank]]|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica Company|year=1915|page=[https://archive.org/details/ahistoryjapanes00kikugoog/page/n33 21]|quote=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.''}}</ref> His name might have been regularized centuries after the lifetime ascribed to Kōan, possibly during the time in which legends about the origins of the [[Imperial House of Japan|imperial dynasty]] were compiled as the chronicles known today as the ''[[Kojiki]]''.<ref name="aston"/> The name "Kōan" is first credited to Japanese scholar and writer [[Ōmi no Mifune]], who allegedly came up with the name sometime in the latter half of the 8th century.<ref>''[[Britannica Kokusai Dai-Hyakkajiten]]'' article "[https://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%B7%A1%E6%B5%B7%E4%B8%89%E8%88%B9-38876#E3.83.96.E3.83.AA.E3.82.BF.E3.83.8B.E3.82.AB.E5.9B.BD.E9.9A.9B.E5.A4.A7.E7.99.BE.E7.A7.91.E4.BA.8B.E5.85.B8.20.E5.B0.8F.E9.A0.85.E7.9B.AE.E4.BA.8B.E5.85.B8 Ōmi no Mifune]". [[Britannica]].</ref>

Emperor Kōan's longevity is disputed as the [[List of the verified oldest people|oldest verified humans]] usually go into the mid to late 110s. While historian John S. Brownlee calls Kōan's alleged age of 137 at the time of his death "[[Longevity myths|too long]]", he also says that this is not unusual for mythical figures. He ends his narrative by saying that nobody in Japan was bothered by the longevity of the former emperors until the modern era.<ref name="Age"/> Regardless of his age, the actual site of Kōan's [[grave (burial)|grave]] is not known. Kōan is traditionally venerated at a [[memorial]] [[Shinto]] [[shrine]] (''misasagi'') in Tamade, [[Gose, Nara|Gose.]] The [[Imperial Household Agency]] designates this location as Kōan's [[mausoleum]], and its formal name is ''Tamate no oka no e no misasagi''.<ref name="kunaicho"/><ref name="Fane"/>

The first emperor that historians state might have actually existed is [[Emperor Sujin]], the 10th emperor of Japan.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2007/03/27/reference/life-in-the-cloudy-imperial-fishbowl/#.UhYzedK-2uI|title=Life in the Cloudy Imperial Fishbowl|newspaper=Japan Times|author=Yoshida, Reiji.|date=March 27, 2007|access-date=May 16, 2019}}</ref> Outside of the Kojiki, the reign of [[Emperor Kinmei]]{{efn|The 29th Emperor<ref name="Titsingh pp. 34-36">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&q=nipon%20o%20dai%20itsi%20ran&pg=PA34|title=Nihon Ōdai Ichiran|author=[[Isaac Titsingh|Titsingh, Isaac.]]|publisher=Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland|language=fr|year=1834|pages=34–36}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w4f5FrmIJKIC&pg=PA261|title=A Translation and Study of the Gukanshō, an Interpretative History of Japan Written in 1219|author=[[Delmer Brown|Brown, Delmer M.]] and Ichirō Ishida|publisher=University of California Press|year=1979|pages=261–262|isbn=9780520034600}}</ref>}} ({{circa|509}}&nbsp;– 571 AD) is the first for which contemporary historiography is able to assign verifiable dates.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=axRyAAAAMAAJ&q=According+to+legend%2C+the+first+Japanese+Emperor+was+Jimmu.+Along+with+the+next+13+Emperors%2C+Jimmu+is+not+considered+an+actual%2C+historical+figure.+Historically+verifiable+Emperors+of+Japan+date+from+the+early+sixth+century+with+Kimmei.|title=''Japanese Politics: Fixed and Floating Worlds''|author=Hoye, Timothy.|publisher=Prentice Hall|year=1999|page=78|isbn=9780132712897|quote=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.}}</ref> The conventionally accepted names and dates of the early Emperors were not confirmed as "traditional" though, until the reign of [[Emperor Kanmu]]{{efn|Kanmu was the 50th sovereign of the imperial dynasty}} between 737 and 806 AD.<ref name="aston"/>

==Consorts and children==
*Empress: {{Nihongo|{{ill|Oshihime|lt=Oshi-hime|ja| %E6%8A%BC%E5%AA%9B}}|押媛}}, {{ill|Ametarashihiko kunioshihito|lt=Prince Amatarashikunioshihito's|ja|%E5%A4%A9%E8%B6%B3%E5%BD%A6%E5%9B%BD%E6%8A%BC%E4%BA%BA%E5%91%BD}} daughter ([[Emperor Kōshō]]'s son)
** {{Nihongo|Prince Ōkibi no Morosusumi|大吉備諸進命}}
** {{Nihongo|Prince Ōyamatonekohikofutoni|大日本根子彦太瓊尊}}, later [[Emperor Kōrei]]
==Family tree==
{{Generations of Jimmu}}

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

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
[[File:Imperial Seal of Japan.svg|thumb|right|120px|[[Imperial Seal of Japan|Japanese Imperial kamon]] — a stylized [[chrysanthemum]] blossom]]
{{Reflist|1}}

==Further reading==
* [[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}}
* [[Basil Hall Chamberlain|Chamberlain, Basil Hall.]] (1920). [http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/index.htm ''The Kojiki.''] Read before the Asiatic Society of Japan on April 12, May 10, and June 21, 1882; reprinted, May, 1919.  {{OCLC|1882339}}
* [[Louis-Frédéric|Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric]] and Käthe Roth. (2005). [https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC  ''Japan encyclopedia.''] Cambridge: [[Harvard University Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0-674-01753-5}};  {{OCLC|58053128}}
* [[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). ''[[Nihon Ōdai Ichiran]]''; ou, [https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&q=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran  ''Annales des empereurs du Japon.'']  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}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Emperor Kōshō]]}} 
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Emperors of Japan|Legendary Emperor of Japan]]|years=393 BC&nbsp;– 291 BC<br>''(traditional dates)''}} 
{{s-aft|after=[[Emperor Kōrei]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Emperors of Japan}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koan, Emperor}}
[[Category:Legendary emperors of Japan]]
[[Category:Longevity myths]]
[[Category:People of Yayoi-period Japan]]