Editing Emperor Yūryaku

{{Infobox royalty
| name           = Emperor Yūryaku<br>{{nobold|{{lang|ja|雄略天皇}}}}
| succession     = [[Emperor of Japan]]
| image          = Tennō Yūryaku detail.jpg
| caption        = Woodblock print of Yūryaku hunting [[Japanese boar|Wild Boars]] by [[Adachi Ginkō]], 1896
| reign          = 456 – 479 (traditional)<ref name="lineofs">{{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=March 27, 2024}}</ref>
| coronation     =
| predecessor    = [[Emperor Ankō|Ankō]]
| successor      = [[Emperor Seinei|Seinei]]
| posthumous name = [[Posthumous name#Chinese-style (Han-style) shigō|Chinese-style ''shigō'']]:<br/>Emperor Yūryaku ({{lang|ja|雄略天皇}})<br/><br/>[[Posthumous name#Japanese-style shigō|Japanese-style ''shigō'']]:<br/>Ōhatsuse Wakatakeru no Mikoto ({{lang|ja|大泊瀬幼武尊天皇}})
| spouse         = [[Kusaka no Hatabi no hime|Kusaka-no-hatabihime]]<ref name="Fane1">{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VHgtAQAAMAAJ&q=Y%C5%ABryaku|title=Yuryaku (457–479)|work=The Imperial Family of Japan|author=Ponsonby-Fane, Richard|publisher=Ponsonby Memorial Society|year=1915|pages=13–16|author-link=Richard Ponsonby-Fane}}</ref>
| issue          = [[Emperor Seinei]]
| issue-link     = #Consorts and children
| issue-pipe     = among others...
| royal house    = [[Imperial House of Japan]]
| father         = [[Emperor Ingyō]]<ref name=descent>{{cite web|url=https://reichsarchiv.jp/%E5%AE%B6%E7%B3%BB%E3%83%AA%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88/%E5%A4%A9%E7%9A%87%E5%AE%B6#emp021|title=Genealogy|website=Reichsarchiv|date=30 April 2010 |access-date=March 27, 2024|language=ja}}</ref>
| mother         = [[Oshisaka no Ōnakatsuhime]]<ref name="Fane.M">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VHgtAQAAMAAJ&q=Yuryaku|chapter=Table of Emperors Mothers|title=The Imperial Family of Japan|author=Ponsonby-Fane, Richard|publisher=Ponsonby Memorial Society|year=1915|page=xiii|author-link=Richard Ponsonby-Fane}}</ref>
| birth_date     = 417–418{{efn|Yūryaku's birth year is mentioned as either 417 or 418 AD.<ref name=descent/><ref name="Longford">{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y9wDAQAAIAAJ&q=Yuriaku+417|chapter=List of Emperors: II. The Dawn of History and The great Reformers|author=[[Joseph Henry Longford]]|title=Japan|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|year=1923|page=304}}</ref><ref name="Henshall">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tmYYAgAAQBAJ&q=418-479|title=Historical Dictionary of Japan to 1945|author=Kenneth Henshall|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=2013|page=488|isbn=9780810878723}}</ref>}}
| birth_place    =
| death_date     = 479 (aged 61–62){{efn|According to [[Delmer Brown]], the ''Nihon Shoki'' states that Yūryaku lived to be 104.<ref name="Brown">{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w4f5FrmIJKIC&pg=PA258|title=A Translation and Study of the Gukanshō, an Interpretative History of Japan Written in 1219|chapter=(22) Emperor Yūryaku|author=[[Delmer M. Brown|Brown, Delmer M.]]|publisher=Gukanshō|year=1979|page=258|isbn=978-0-520-03460-0 }}</ref> This age differs from the ''Kojiki'' which gives an "advanced age" of 124.<ref name="Kojikiage">{{cite web|url=https://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj169.htm|title=Sect. CLXII - Emperor Yūryaku (Part XIII - His Age and Place of Burial)|author=Basil Hall Chamberlain|work=A translation of the "Kojiki" or Records of ancient matters|publisher=R. Meiklejohn and Co.|year=1882}}</ref> [[Edmond Papinot]] gives an age of 62 for Yūryaku which matches the "417" birth year given by other sources.<ref name="Fane1"/>}}
| death_place    = Hatsuse no Asakura Palace
| burial_place   = {{Nihongo||丹比高鷲原陵|''Tajihi no Takawashi-no-hara no misasagi''}} (Habikino, Osaka)
|}}

{{Nihongo|'''Emperor Yūryaku'''|雄略天皇|Yūryaku-tennō}} (417/18 – 479) was the 21st [[Emperor of Japan]], according to the traditional [[List of Emperors of Japan|order of succession]].<ref name="Titsingh">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA27|title=Annales des empereurs du japon|author=Titsingh, Isaac.|publisher=Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland|language=fr|year=1834|pages=27–28|author-link=Isaac Titsingh}}</ref><ref name="kunaicho">{{cite web|url=http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/ryobo/guide/021/|title=雄略天皇 (21)|work=[[Imperial Household Agency]] (Kunaichō)|language=ja|access-date=March 27, 2024}}</ref> According to the ''[[Kojiki]]'', this Emperor is said to have ruled from the Thirteenth Day of the Eleventh Month of 456 ([[Sexagenary cycle|Heishin]]) until his death on the Seventh Day of the Eight Month of 479 ([[Sexagenary cycle|Kibi]]). He is the first archaeologically verifiable Japanese emperor.<ref name="Yuryakuex">{{Cite book |last=Hirabayashi |first=Akihito |title=雄略天皇の古代史 |date=30 June 2021 |publisher=Shigakusha |isbn=978-4909868046}}</ref>

==Protohistoric narrative==
The Japanese have traditionally accepted this sovereign's historical existence, and a mausoleum (misasagi) for Yūryaku is currently maintained. The following information available is taken from the [[Pseudohistory|pseudo-historical]] ''[[Kojiki]]'' and ''[[Nihon Shoki]]'', which are collectively known as {{Nihongo|''Kiki''|記紀}} or ''Japanese chronicles''. These chronicles include legends and myths, as well as potential historical facts that have since been [[Tall tale|exaggerated and/or distorted]] over time. It is recorded in the ''Kiki'' that Yūryaku was born to {{Nihongo|''Oshisaka no Ōnakatsuhime''|忍坂大中姫}} sometime in 417 or 418 AD, and was given the name {{Nihongo|Ōhatsuse no Wakatakeru{{efn|This name literally means "Wakatake (Young Warrior) of Great Hatsuse", where "Hatsuse" is the old name for [[Sakurai, Nara]].}}|大泊瀬稚武皇子}}.<ref name="Longford"/><ref name="Fane.M"/><ref name="Aston1">{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lJ5OAQAAIAAJ&q=Yuriaku|title=The Emperor Oho-Hatsuse Wakatake|author=[[William George Aston]]|work=Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697. (Volume 1)|publisher=London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner|year=1896|pages=333–372}}</ref> As the fifth and youngest son of [[Emperor Ingyō]] he was never given the title of "Crown Prince" due to his two older living brothers.{{efn|Emperor Ankō never had direct-blood related children of his own.}}

===Ascension===
Ōhatsuse was thrown into a fit of rage when he learned that his brother [[Emperor Ankō]] was assassinated in 456 AD.<ref name="Aston1"/> He then immediately became suspicious of his two elder brothers as conspirers. Ōhatsuse's first action was to question Prince Shirahiko regarding what could have happened. Shirahiko allegedly knew Ōhatsuse was up to no good, so he sat silently{{efn|[[William George Aston]] notes that the Kojiki "relates these events quite differently". Both brothers are shown to be vocal there in defending themselves.<ref name="Kojikibrothers">{{cite web|url=https://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj153.htm|title=Sect. CXLVL - Emperor Anko (Part III - Prince Oho Hatsuse Slays Princes Kuro-Biko and Shiro-Biro)|author=Basil Hall Chamberlain|work=A translation of the "Kojiki" or Records of ancient matters|publisher=R. Meiklejohn and Co.|year=1882}}</ref>}} which prompted Ōhatsuse to kill him both individually with a sword.<ref name="Aston1"/> He then turned his rage towards the boy assassin {{ill|Mayowa no Ōkimi|ja|眉輪王|vertical-align=sup}} (Prince Mayowa), and his other brother Kurohiko by burning him to death.<ref name="Aston1"/> This just left [[Emperor Richū]]'s eldest son Prince [[Ichinobe no Oshiwa]] in contention for the throne. 

Ōhatsuse was resentful that Ankō had formally wished to transfer the kingdom to Ichinobe. Both the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki describe how Ōhatsuse took Prince Ichinobe and his younger brother Prince Mima out hunting and "treacherously" killed them.<ref name="Aston1"/><ref name="Kojikibrothers2">{{cite web|url=https://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj155.htm|title=Sect. CXLVIII - Emperor Anko (Part V - Prince Oho-Hatsuse Slays Prince Oshiha)|author=Basil Hall Chamberlain|work=A translation of the "Kojiki" or Records of ancient matters|publisher=R. Meiklejohn and Co.|year=1882}}</ref> The sons of Prince Ichinobe fled to [[Harima Province|Harima]] and went into hiding, later becoming [[Emperor Kenzō]] and [[Emperor Ninken]]. Ōhatsuse (later known as Emperor Yūryaku) was then enthroned sometime afterwards in November 456.<ref name="Aston1"/> The new emperor subsequently made ''Asakura no Miya'' at [[Sakurai, Nara]] the location of his imperial palace.<ref name="Brown"/><ref name="koch">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LZkCAAAAMAAJ&dq=Hirotaka++no+miya&pg=PA13|title=Japan; Geschichte nach japanischen Quellen und ethnographische Skizzen|author=W. Koch|publisher=W. Baensch|page=13|year=1904|language=German}}</ref> [[Emperor Richū]]'s widow [[Kusaka no Hatabi no hime]] was appointed Empress with three concubines in March 457.<ref name="Aston1"/>

===Reign===
According to the ''Kiki'', Emperor Yūryaku's reign was full of tyranny and cruelty. He allegedly ordered a girl to "have her four limbs stretched on a tree and be roasted to death" due to misplaced affection. Another account states that he killed one of his servants during a hunt because his servant did not understand how to cut up animal meat. Yūryaku also allegedly removed a high official to a distant post so he could help himself to the man's wife.<ref name="Brinkley">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HOJxAAAAMAAJ&q=Y%C5%ABryaku|title=A History of the Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era|chapter=Chapter XII: The Protohistoric Sovereigns|author=[[Francis Brinkley]]|publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|year=1915|pages=112–116}}</ref> The Emperor arbitrary and capriciously killed so many men and women that he was referred to as '''Emperor of Great Wickedness''' by the public.<ref name="Fane1"/><ref name="Brinkley"/> However, it is noted that Yūryaku improved his behavior after being admonished by the empress.<ref name="NIJL2024">{{cite web|url=https://www.nijl.ac.jp/pages/onlinejournal/sjlc/images/sjlc07_tojima.pdf|title=Congenital Anomalies in Ancient Japan as Deciphered in the Nihon shoki (Chronicles of Japan)|author1=Tojima Sayaka|author2=Yamada Shigehito|publisher=National Institute of Japanese Literature|year=2024|page=34 & 40–41}}</ref> On a more positive side, Yūryaku greatly encouraged agriculture during his reign and had his consort plant mulberry trees and cultivate silkworms.<ref name="Fane1"/><ref name="Brinkley"/> The Emperor was also known as a poet, and someone who enjoyed arts and crafts as expert handicraftsmen were commissioned from [[Baekje]] (Korea).<ref name="Brinkley"/><ref name="EYPoet">Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkokai (1969). ''The Manyōshū,'' p. 317.</ref> While the Empress herself never bore Yūryaku any children, he had three sons and two daughters with his concubines.<ref name="Fane1"/><ref name="Aston1"/>

In the 22nd year of his reign (477 AD) Yūryaku moved a shrine dedicated to [[Toyouke-hime]] from [[Tanba Province|Tanba]] to [[Ise Province|Ise]] (modern day [[Ise, Mie]]).<ref name="Fane1"/>{{efn|British academic and author [[Richard Ponsonby-Fane]] notes that "his majesty caused the temple of Toyoukeohokami to be moved from Tanba to Yamada in Ise." Originally the village around the Inner Shrine was named Uji, and the village around the Outer Shrine was named Yamada. These two villages were [[Ise, Mie#History|later merged]] during the [[Meiji era]].}} This newly founded shrine named {{nihongo||外宮|''Gekū''}} is now a part of the [[Ise Shrine]] complex. According to "{{Nihongo|2=止由気宮儀式帳|3=Toyukegū gishikichō|1=Toyuke Shrine Book of Rituals}}" (written in 884 AD), the goddess Toyouke originally came from Tamba.<ref>{{cite book|title=Yaoyorozu no kamigami : Nihon no shinreitachi no purofiru|last=Tobe|first= Tamio|author-link=:ja:戸部民夫|publisher=[[:ja:新紀元社|Shinkigensha]]|series=Truth in fantasy (Tokyo, Japan), 31|year=1997|pages=91, 109–111|language=ja|trans-title=Eight million gods and goddesses in Japan : their profiles as divine spirits in Japan}}</ref> It records that Emperor Yūryaku was told by [[Amaterasu]] in his dream that she alone was not able to supply enough food, so that Yūryaku needed to bring {{Nihongo|2=等由気大神|3=Toyuke-no-Ōkami}}, or the goddess of divine meals, from Hijino Manai in ancient [[Tanba Province]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Nihon no kamigami no jiten : Shinto saishi to yaoyorozu no kamigami|last1=Sonoda |first1=Minoru|author-link=:ja:薗田稔|last2=Mogi |first2=Sakae|publisher=[[:ja:学研ホールディングス|Gakken]]|series= Books esoterica, 2.; New sight mook|language=ja|pages=68, 69|year=1997|oclc=42978057|isbn=9784056016291}}</ref>

Yūryaku appointed his son {{Nihongo|Prince Shiraka|白髪皇子}} as heir apparent in 478 AD before dying in the following year.<ref name="Aston1"/> The ''[[Nihon Shoki]]'' mentions that Yūryaku lived to be 104, while the [[Kojiki]] gives his age as 124.<ref name="Brown"/><ref name="Kojikiage"/> His son Shiraka was later enthroned as [[Emperor Seinei]] in 480 AD.

===Folklore===
In [[Shinto]] folklore, events during Yūryaku's reign include meeting the Kami "Hitokotonushi" while hunting on Mount Katsuraki in 460 AD. The Kami appeared to him as a tall man whose face and demeanor resembled the Emperor's. After introductions Hitokotonushi joined Yūryaku as the two hunted deer until sunset. He then escorted the Emperor "as far as the waters of Kume."<ref name="AstonHito"">{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lJ5OAQAAIAAJ&q=Yuriaku|title=The Emperor Oho-Hatsuse Wakatake|author=[[William George Aston]]|work=Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697. (Volume 1)|publisher=London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner|year=1896|page=342}}</ref> Another encounter with a Kami occurred in 463 AD through an invitation to the thunder god of {{Nihongo|Mimuro hill|御室山|Mimuro-yama}} to the Imperial Palace.<ref name="AstonMimuro"">{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lJ5OAQAAIAAJ&q=Yuriaku|title=The Emperor Oho-Hatsuse Wakatake|author=[[William George Aston]]|work=Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697. (Volume 1)|publisher=London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner|year=1896|page=347}}</ref> The Emperor sent his royal messenger Chiisakobe no muraji Sugaru ,who carried a halberd with a red banner that symbolized his authority. Sugaru enlisted the help of priests to enshrine the kami into a portable carriage, to be brought in the Emperor's presence, as a great serpent.<ref name="AstonMimuro""/> Things took a turn for the worse as Yūryaku had neglected beforehand to practice proper ritual purification and religious abstinence. The thunder kami showed his displeasure through a thundering menacing appearance which caused the Emperor to flee into the interior of his palace.<ref name="AstonMimuro""/> The great serpent was returned to Mimuro, and the Emperor made many offerings to appease the angry deity.<ref name="AstonMimuro""/>{{efn|This story also appears in "Shinto, the Ancient Religion of Japan" as well as several other books.}}

==Historical assessment==
Yūryaku is regarded by historians as a ruler during the [[5th century]] whose existence is generally accepted as fact.<ref name="Yuryakuex"/><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=April 2, 2024}}</ref> Scholar [[Francis Brinkley]] lists Emperor Yūryaku under "Protohistoric sovereigns" where he remarks that while some historians have described him as an "austere" man, "few readers of his annals will be disposed to endure such a lenient verdict."<ref name="Brinkley"/> He also added that the year 475 AD marks the first "absolute agreement between the dates given in Japanese history and those given in Korean...."<ref name="Brinkley"/> This in turn has caused critics to admit the trustworthiness of Japanese history in the late [[5th century]].<ref name="Brinkley"/> Scottish Orientalist scholar and journalist [[James Murdoch (Scottish Orientalist)|James Murdoch]] regards Yūryaku as a "much maligned person who was a strong if somewhat ferocious ruler."<ref name="Fane1"/> British academic and author [[Richard Ponsonby-Fane]] noted that the Emperor is described as a "mighty hunter" as its recorded that the God "Hitokotonushi" accompanied him in the chase.<ref name="Fane1"/>

The Emperor's interest in poetry is amongst the more well-documented aspects of his character and reign. Poems attributed to him are included in the ''[[Man'yōshū]]'', and a number of his verses are preserved in the ''Kojiki'' and the ''Nihonshoki''.<ref name="EYPoet"/> Archaeological research has also confirmed that large keyhole-shaped tombs belonging to the chiefs of local ruling families disappeared from around the end of the 5th century when Yūryaku reigned.<ref>{{cite book|title=Understanding the Nihonshoki and Songshu: The Mysterious Fourth Generation Machine and the Five Kings of Wa|author=Yoshiyuki Takioto|publisher=Seishun Publishing Co., Ltd., Seishun Shinsho Intelligence|year=2018|page=164|isbn=978-4-413-04548-3}}</ref>

A modern-day cognitive analysis "as deciphered in the Nihon shoki" was conducted in 2024 by the [[National Institute of Japanese Literature]]. In this analysis Emperor Yūryaku was included as an example of "impulsive murder and the tendency to become enraged." Factors such as "the disproportion between the triggering events", "the violence expressed by the emperor on such occasions (quite extreme in degree)", and the "frequent occurrence of such descriptions" were then considered for a conclusion. It is suggested that Emperor Yūryaku may have had an "[[intermittent explosive disorder]], a type of [[Impulse-control disorder]]."<ref name="NIJL2024"/>

Outside of the ''Kiki'', the reign of [[Emperor Kinmei]]{{efn|The 29th Emperor<ref name="Titsingh"/><ref name="Brown2">{{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=248, 261–262|isbn=9780520034600}}</ref>}} ({{circa|509}}&nbsp;– 571 AD) is the first for which contemporary historiography has been 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|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.|isbn=9780132712897}}</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 House of Japan|imperial dynasty]]}} between 737 and 806 AD.<ref name="aston109 & 217-223"/>

===Great King of Yamato===
[[File:Inariyama sword.JPG|thumb|right|[[Inariyama Sword]]]]
During this moment in history, the calendar system of the [[Nihon Shoki]] changes from before and after Yūryaku's reign. As his name is mentioned at the beginning of the [[Man'yōshū]] and [[Nihon Ryōiki]], this is seen as a historical turning point.<ref>{{cite book|title=Emperor Yuryaku and His Era|author=Arikiyo Saeki|publisher=Yoshikawa Kobunkan|year=1988|page=6–8|isbn=978-4-642-02145-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Kojiro Naoki talks about the ancient times 6: The formation of ancient states: from the Yuryaku dynasty to the Keitai and Kinmei dynasties|author=Kojiro Naoki|publisher=Yoshikawa Kobunkan|year=2009|pages=15–23|isbn=978-4-642-07887-0}}</ref> Previously [[Wakoku|the Japanese archipelago]] had been a confederation of powerful ruling families from various regions. This appeared to have  changed with the appearance of Emperor Yuryaku as the autocratic rule of the [[Okimi|Great King]] was established and a centralized system centered on the Great King began.<ref>{{cite book|title=Understanding the Nihonshoki and Songshu: The Mysterious Fourth Generation Machine and the Five Kings of Wa|author=Yoshiyuki Takioto|publisher=Seishun Publishing Co., Ltd., Seishun Shinsho Intelligence|year=2018|page=160|isbn=978-4-413-04548-3}}</ref> This is further supported by a major discovery that occurred in 1968 when the iron [[Inariyama Sword|Inariyama burial-mound sword]] was extracted from a tomb. In 1978, [[X-ray]] analysis revealed a gold-inlaid inscription that comprises at least 115 Chinese characters. The given year on the sword is denoted as "''xin-hai''" ("Year of the Metal Pig") according to the Chinese [[sexagenary cycle]], in which the name of the year is recycled every 60 years. While this year is generally regarded in Japan to correspond to 471 AD, at least one historian suggests that 531 is a more likely date.<ref>{{cite book|title=A History of Writing in Japan|author=Seeley, Christopher|publisher=Brill Academic Publishers|year=1991|pages=19–23|isbn=90-04-09081-9}}</ref> 

The person buried in the tomb is given the name "Wowake", who was thought to be an influential warrior in the region. King Waka Takiru in the transcription is thought to be the same person as Ōhatsuse-wakatakeru-no-mikoto as mentioned in the ''[[Nihon Shoki]]'', an alias of Emperor Yūryaku.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Emergence of Japanese Kingship|author=[[Joan R. Piggott]]|publisher=Stanford University Press|year=1997}}</ref> As each inscription contains the name of an official position, this suggests that a system similar to the [[Bemin]] was already in place.<ref>{{cite book|title=Kojiro Naoki talks about the ancient times 6: The formation of ancient states: from the Yuryaku dynasty to the Keitai and Kinmei dynasties|author=Kojiro Naoki|publisher=Yoshikawa Kobunkan|year=2009|pages=82–85|isbn=978-4-642-07887-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Emperor Yuryaku and His Era|author=Arikiyo Saeki|publisher=Yoshikawa Kobunkan|year=1988|pages=113–114|isbn=978-4-642-02145-6}}</ref> While the [[Eta Funayama Sword]] also apparently mentions the name "Waka Takiru", many characters on that sword are illegible possibly due to polishing by a Japanese sword sharpener at the end of the [[Taisho period]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tobunken.go.jp/ccr/pdf/34/pdf/03401.pdf|title=Regarding plasma preservation treatment of inlaid artifacts|author=((Conservation Science No. 34 (Conservation Science Research Center)))|publisher=Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties|year=1995|language=Japanese}}</ref> If Yūryaku's name can be corroborated to this sword then it can be interpreted that the power of the Great King had already extended from [[Kyushu]] to [[Eastern Old Japanese|Togoku]] by the latter half of the 5th century.<ref>{{cite book|title=Detailed explanation of Japanese history|publisher=Yamakawa Publishing|year=2008|page=29|isbn=978-4-634-02522-6}}</ref>

There is no evidence to suggest that the title ''tennō'' (meaning "emperor") was used during the time to which Yūryaku's reign has been assigned. Instead, his title could have possibly been {{Nihongo|''Sumeramikoto'' or ''Amenoshita Shiroshimesu Ōkimi''|治天下大王}}, meaning "the great king who rules all under heaven", or {{Nihongo2|ヤマト大王/大君}} "Great King of Yamato". The name Yūryaku''-tennō'' was more than likely assigned to him [[Posthumous name|posthumously]] by later generations.<ref name="name">{{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=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.''|author-link=Francis Brinkley}}</ref> His name might have been regularized centuries after the lifetime ascribed to Yūryaku, 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">{{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=Aston, William George.|publisher=The Japan Society London|year=2008|orig-date=1896|page=109 & 217–223|isbn=9780524053478 |author-link=William George Aston}}</ref>

===King Bu===
[[File:History of Korea-476.PNG|thumb|200px|Goguryeo in 476 AD]]
It's theorized that Emperor Yūryaku may be synonymous with [[Bu of Wa|King Bu]] (武) as written in the Chinese records. According to the [[Book of Song]], Bu dispatched envoys to [[Emperor Shun of Song]] ([[Liu Song dynasty|a Southern Chinese dynasty]]) in both 477 and 478 AD. The first envoy was to inform the Chinese emperor that [[Kō of Wa|King Kō]] ([[Emperor Ankō]]) had died, and his older brother had become king.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vaSzIi_HQlsC|title=Gateway to Japan: Hakata in War and Peace, 500-1300|author=Bruce L. Batten|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|year=2006|pages=17–18|isbn=978-0-8248-3029-8 }}</ref> It is written that he called himself "King of [[Wa (name of Japan)|Wa]]", and the military commander of several different Kingdoms.<ref>{{cite book|title=East Asian Ethnic History 1 Official History of the Toiden|author=((Toyo Bunko 264))|publisher=Heibonsha|year=1974|page=309-313}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Wakokuden: Japan depicted in official Chinese history|publisher=Kodansha Academic Library|year=2010|page=117-123}}</ref> Its written that in the following year Emperor Shun appointed Bu the title of ''Grand'' ''Peacekeeper-General of the East''. The full context of this latter passage describes how Bu's ancestors conquered countries, and expanded their power to the east and west. It describes how they crossed [[Korea Strait|the sea]] to the north and reached the southern part of the [[Korean Peninsula]]. Although the kings of Wa repeatedly requested that the Emperors of the Song dynasty recognize their military control over [[Baekje]], their efforts were denied. The reason for this is thought to be that the Song dynasty placed importance on Baekje, which was located in a strategically important area. By not offering recognition the Song Emperors could put the [[Northern Wei]] in check, and avoid opposition from [[Goguryeo]] which was in conflict with Wa.<ref>{{cite book|title=Emperor Yuryaku and His Era|author=Arikiyo Saeki|publisher=Yoshikawa Kobunkan|year=1988|pages=26–27|isbn=978-4-642-02145-6}}</ref> Scholar [[Francis Brinkley]] notes that the power of the [[Koma clan]] (supported by the Liu Song dynasty) in Goguryeo increased steadily during this time. Brinkley suggests that Emperor Yūryaku's attempts to establish close relations with the Chinese Emperor seem to be from a desire to isolate Korea, which ended in failure.<ref name="Brinkley"/>

The other two recorded instances regarding King Bu are mentioned in the books of [[Book of Qi|Qi]], and [[Book of Liang|Liang]]. As compared to the former mention in 478 AD, these are not considered to be reliable.<ref name="Kawachi">{{cite book|title=The Five Kings of Wa: Throne Succession and East Asia in the Fifth Century|author=Haruto Kawachi|publisher=Chuoko Shinsho|year=2018|page=207-228|isbn=978-4-121-02470-1}}</ref> Japanese historian Mori Kimiaki points out that both of these appointments coincide with the founding year of their respective dynasties. This is thought to be an administrative matter, and it is not clear whether King Bu (Yūryaku) himself requested it or not.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Five Kings of Wa: 5th Century East Asia and the Statue of the Wa Kings|author=Mori Kimiaki|publisher=Yamakawa Publishing Co., Ltd.|year=2010|page=7-11|isbn=978-4-634-54802-2}}</ref> There is at least 1 theory that supports the envoy being sent to [[Southern Qi]] in 479 as being factual. This is solely based though, on the description in the title of {{Nihongo|''Shoban Shokugu Illustrated Scrolls''|諸番職貢図巻}} included in {{Nihongo|''Ainichi Ginro Sho Ga Zuroku''|愛日吟盧書画続録}}.<ref name="Kawachi"/> The fourth and final appointment allegedly made by King Bu (Yūryaku) falls outside of his recorded lifetime. As the ''Kiki'' states that Emperor Yūryaku died in 479, the last given year of 502 AD would be implausible.

===Gravesite===
While the actual site of Yūryaku's [[grave (burial)|grave]] is not known, this regent is traditionally venerated at a [[memorial]] [[Shinto shrine]] (''misasagi'') in [[Habikino, Osaka]]. As designated by the [[Imperial Household Agency]] as Yūryaku's [[mausoleum]], its formal name is ''Tajihi no Takawashi-no-hara no misasagi''.<ref name="kunaicho"/> Aside from this shrine in Osaka, there is another burial site named {{Nihongo|Kawachi Otsukayama Kofun|河内大塚山古墳}} where Yūryaku is a possible burial candidate. Those in doubt of this theory though, point to the construction style of the Kofun which may have begun several decades after Emperor Yūryaku's death. This has led some researchers to add [[Emperor Ankan]] as a burial candidate for the Kofun.<ref>{{cite book|title=Hiokiso Nishimachi Kiln System Haniwa and Kawachi Otsukayama Kofun|author=Yoshikazu Togawa|publisher=Haniwa Study Group|page=6|year=2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Wa Kingship and the Anterior and Posterior Mounds|author=Naofumi Kishimoto|publisher=Hakushobo|year=2020}}</ref> Yūryaku is also enshrined at the [[Imperial Palace, Tokyo|Imperial Palace]] along with other emperors and members of the Imperial Family at the [[Three Palace Sanctuaries]]. He is additionally deified at the {{Nihongo|[[Katsuragi Ichigoshu Shrine]]|葛城一言主神社}} in [[Gose, Nara]].

==Consorts and children==
===Spouse/Concubine===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Position || Name || Father || Issue<ref name=descent/>
|-
| Empress<br>(''[[Kōkyū|Kōgō]]'')
| {{Nihongo|[[Kusaka no Hatabi no hime]]{{efn|The [[Nihon Shoki]] refers to her as "Kusaka no Hatahi hime" and mentions "Tachi-bana-hime" as another given name.<ref name="Aston2familyinfo">{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lJ5OAQAAIAAJ&q=Yuriaku|title=The Emperor Oho-Hatsuse Wakatake|author=[[William George Aston]]|work=Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697. (Volume 1)|publisher=London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner|year=1896|page=337}}</ref>}}|草香幡梭姫皇女}}
| [[Emperor Nintoku]]
| align="center"| None
|-
| Consort<br>(''[[Kōkyū|Hi]]'')
| {{Nihongo|Katsuragi no Karahime|葛城韓媛}}<ref name="Aston2familyinfo"/>
| Katsuragi no Tsubura no Ōmi
| {{*}}{{Nihongo|[[Emperor Seinei|Prince Shiraka]]|白髪皇子}}<br>{{*}}{{Nihongo|Princess Taku-hata no Iratsume|栲幡姫皇女}}
|-
| Consort<br>(''[[Kōkyū|Hi]]'')
| {{Nihongo|Kibi no Wakahime|吉備稚媛|extra=d.479}}<ref name="Aston2familyinfo"/>
| Kibi no Kamitsumichi no Ōmi<ref name="Aston2familyinfo"/>
| {{*}}{{Nihongo|Prince Iwaki|磐城皇子}}<br>{{*}}{{Nihongo|Prince Hoshikawa no Wakamiya|星川稚宮皇子}}
|-
| Consort<br>(''[[Kōkyū|Hi]]'')
| {{Nihongo|Wani no Ōminagimi|和珥童女君}}<ref name="Aston2familyinfo"/>
| Kasuga no Wani no Ōmi Fukame
| {{*}}{{Nihongo|[[Princess Kasuga no Ōiratsume]]|春日大娘皇女}}
|}

===Issue===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Status || Name<ref name=descent/> || Comments
|-
| Prince
| {{Nihongo|[[Emperor Seinei|Prince Shiraka]]|白髪皇子}}
| Shiraka became the next Emperor (Seinei).
|-
| Princess
| {{Nihongo|Princess Taku-hata no Iratsume|栲幡姫皇女}}
| Also known as "Waka-tarashi-hime", she "attended to the sacrifices of the Great Deity of Ise" ([[Amaterasu]]).<ref name="Aston2familyinfo"/> Taku was also a [[Saiō]] princess and died sometime in 459 AD.
|-
| Prince
| {{Nihongo|Prince Iwaki|磐城皇子}}
| Iwaki died sometime between 479 and 481 AD.
|-
| Prince
| {{Nihongo|Prince Hoshikawa no Wakamiya|星川稚宮皇子}}
| Wakamiya died sometime in 479 AD.
|-
| Princess
| {{Nihongo|[[Princess Kasuga no Ōiratsume]]|春日大娘皇女}}
| Ōiratsume was later married to [[Emperor Ninken]].
|}

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

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==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}}
* Batten, Bruce Loyd. (2006). [https://books.google.com/books?id=vaSzIi_HQlsC&q=Gateway+to+Japan   ''Gateway to Japan: Hakata in war and peace, 500–1300.''] Honolulu:University of Hawaii Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8248-2971-1}}; {{ISBN|978-0-8248-3029-8}};   OCLC	254764602]
* [[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}}
* Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkokai (1969). ''The Manyōshū: The Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkokai Translation of One Thousand Poems.'' New York: [[Columbia University Press]]. {{ISBN|0-231-08620-2}}
* [[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}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080618090904/http://nihonshoki.wikidot.com/ Nihon Shoki] Online English Translations. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110823073040/http://nihonshoki.wikidot.com/scroll-14-yuryaku Scroll 14 - Emperor Yuryaku]

{{S-start}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Emperor Ankō]]}} 
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Emperors of Japan|Emperor of Japan]]:<br>Yūryaku|years=456 – 479<br>''(traditional dates)''}} 
{{s-aft|after=[[Emperor Seinei|Emperor&nbsp;Seinei]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Emperors of Japan}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yuryaku}}
[[Category:Emperors of Japan]]
[[Category:418 births]]
[[Category:479 deaths]]
[[Category:People of Kofun-period Japan]]
[[Category:5th-century Japanese monarchs]]
[[Category:Japanese male poets]]
[[Category:Man'yō poets]]
[[Category:5th-century Japanese poets]]