Editing Empress Jitō

{{Short description|Empress of Japan from 686 to 697}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2012}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Empress Jitō<br/>{{nobold|{{lang|ja|持統天皇}}}}
| title        = 
| image        = Empress_Jito_by_Katsukawa_Shunsho.png
| caption      = Portrait of Empress Jitō by [[Katsukawa Shunshō]], 18th century
| succession   = [[Emperor of Japan|Empress of Japan]]
| reign        = 686–697
| coronation   = 
| cor-type     = Japan
| predecessor  = [[Emperor Tenmu|Tenmu]]
| successor    = [[Emperor Monmu|Monmu]]
| succession1  = [[Empress consort of Japan]]
| reign1       = 673–686
| reign-type1  = Tenure
| posthumous name = [[Posthumous name#Chinese-style (Han-style) shigō|Chinese-style ''shigō'']]:<br/>Empress Jitō ({{lang|ja|持統天皇}})<br/><br/>[[Posthumous name#Japanese-style shigō|Japanese-style ''shigō'']]:<br/>Takamanoharahiro-no-hime no Sumeramikoto ({{lang|ja|高天原広野姫天皇}})
| spouse       = [[Emperor Tenmu]]
| issue        = [[Prince Kusakabe]]
| royal house  = [[Imperial House of Japan]]
| father       = [[Emperor Tenji]]
| mother       = Soga no Ochi-no-iratsume
| birth_name   = Uno-no-sarara ({{lang|ja|鸕野讚良}})
| birth_date   = 645
| birth_place  = Japan
| death_date   = 13 January 703 (aged 57–58)
| death_place  = [[Fujiwara-kyō]], [[Japan]]
| burial_place = ''Hinokuma-no-Ōuchi no misasagi'' (檜隈大内陵)  (Nara)|
}}

{{nihongo|'''Empress Jitō'''|持統天皇|Jitō-[[tennō]]|645 – 13 January 703}}<ref>{{Cite book|title=Heroic with grace : legendary women of Japan|date=1991|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|others=Mulhern, Cheiko Irie.|isbn=0873325273|edition= 1st|location=Armonk, N.Y.|pages=58|oclc=23015480}}</ref> was the 41st [[emperor of Japan|monarch of Japan]],<ref name="kunaicho">[[Imperial Household Agency]] (''Kunaichō''): [http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/ryobo/guide/041/index.html  持統天皇 (41)]</ref> according to the traditional [[List of Emperors of Japan|order of succession]].<ref>Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan,'' p. 54.</ref>

Jitō's reign spanned the years from [[Jitō period|686 through 697]].<ref name="t59">Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). {{Google books|18oNAAAAIAAJ|''Annales des empereurs du Japon,'' p. 59.|page=59}}</ref>

In the [[history of Japan]], Jitō was the third of eight women to take on the role of [[Josei Tennō|empress regnant]].  The two female monarchs before Jitō were [[Empress Suiko|Suiko]] and [[Empress Kōgyoku|Kōgyoku]]/[[Empress Saimei|Saimei]]. The five women sovereigns reigning after Jitō were [[Empress Genmei|Genmei]], [[Empress Genshō|Genshō]], [[Empress Kōken|Kōken]]/[[Empress Shōtoku|Shōtoku]], [[Empress Meishō|Meishō]], and [[Empress Go-Sakuramachi|Go-Sakuramachi]].

==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]]''

==Non''-nengō'' period==
Jitō's reign is not linked by scholars to any era or nengō.<ref name="t59"/>  The Taika era innovation of naming time periods – ''nengō'' – languished until Mommu reasserted an imperial right by proclaiming the commencement of Taihō in 701.
* See [[Japanese era name|Japanese era name – ''"Non-nengo periods"'']]
* See [[Jitō period]] (687–697).

However, Brown and Ishida's translation of ''Gukanshō'' offers an explanation which muddies a sense of easy clarity:
:"The eras that fell in this reign were: (1) the remaining seven years of Shuchō [(686+7=692?)]; and (2) Taika, which was four years long [695–698]. (The first year of this era was ''kinoto-hitsuji'' [695].)  ... In the third year of the Taka era [697], Empress Jitō yielded the throne to the Crown Prince."<ref name="b270"/>

== Family ==
Empress Jitō,  known as Princess Uno-no-sarara (鸕野讃良皇女) in her early days, was born to [[Emperor Tenji]] and his concubine,  who held of Beauty ([[Kōkyū|Hin]]).She had two full siblings: [[Princess Ōta]] and Prince Takeru. Empress Jitō and her younger sister, Princess Ōta, shared the same husband, [[Emperor Tenmu]],  with whom both would have children.

*Husband: [[Emperor Tenmu]] (天武天皇, Tenmu tennō, c. 631 – October 1, 686), son of [[Emperor Jomei]] and [[Empress Kōgyoku]]
**Son: [[Prince Kusakabe|Crown Prince Kusakabe]] (草壁皇子,  662 – May 10, 689)

==Poetry==
The ''[[Man'yōshū]]'' includes poems said to have been composed by Jitō. This one was composed after the death of the [[Emperor Tenmu]]:<ref>Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkōkai, p.18. This waka is here numbered 42; in the ''Kokka Taikan'' (1901), Book II, numbered 159.</ref>

{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" style="margin:auto; border:1px solid black; background:#e7e8ff;"
|-  style="text-align:center; background:#d7a8ff;"
|Japanese||[[Rōmaji]]||English
|- valign=top
|
<poem style="margin-left: 2em;" lang="ja">
やすみしし 我が大君の
夕されば 見したまふらし
明け来れば 問ひたまふらし
神岳の 山の黄葉を
今日もかも 問ひたまはまし
明日もかも 見したまはまし
その山を 振り放け見つつ
夕されば あやに悲しみ
明け来れば
うらさび暮らし
荒栲の
衣の袖は
干る時もなし
</poem>
|
<poem style="margin-left: 2em;">''Yasumishishi waga ōkimi no''
''Yū sareba meshita furashi''
''Akekureba toita furashi''
''Kamuoka no yama no momichi to''
''Kyō mo ka mo toita mawamashi''
''Asu mo ka mo meshita mawamashi''
''Sono yama o furisakemitsutsu''
''Yū sareba aya ni kanashimi''
''Akekureba''
''Urasabikurashi''
''Aratae no''
''Koromo no sode wa''
''Furu toki mo nashi''
</poem>
|
<poem style="margin-left: 2em;">
Oh, the autumn foliage
Of the hill of Kamioka!<ref>Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkōkai, p. 18 n1; n.b., This would be the so-called Thunder Hill in the village of Asuka near Nara.</ref>
My good Lord and Sovereign
Would see it in the evening
And ask of it in the morning.
On that very hill from afar
I gaze, wondering
If he sees it to-day,
Or asks of it to-morrow.
Sadness I feel at eve,
And heart-rending grief at morn—
The sleeves of my coarse-cloth robe
Are never for a moment dry.
</poem>
|-
|colspan=2|
|}

One of the poems attributed to Empress Jitō was selected by [[Fujiwara no Teika]] for inclusion in the very popular anthology ''[[Hyakunin Isshu]]'':

{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" style="margin:auto; border:1px solid black; background:#e7e8ff;"
|-  style="text-align:center; background:#d7a8ff;"
|Japanese<ref name="HN">{{cite web|url=http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/japanese/hyakunin/hyakua.html |title=University of Virginia, ''Hyakunin Isshu'' on-line |publisher=Etext.lib.virginia.edu |access-date=2012-06-10}}</ref>||[[Rōmaji]]<ref name="HN"/>||English<ref name="HN"/>
|- valign=top
|
<poem style="margin-left: 1.6em;" lang="ja">
春過ぎて
夏来にけらし
白妙の
衣干すてふ
天の香具山
</poem>
|
<poem style="margin-left: 1.6em;">''Haru sugite''
''Natsu kinikerashi''
''Shirotae no''
''Koromo hosu chō''
''Ama no Kaguyama''
</poem>
|
<poem style="margin-left: 1.6em;">
The spring has passed
And the summer come again
For the silk-white robes
So they say, are spread to dry
On Mount Kaguyama
</poem>
|-
|colspan=2|
|}

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

==Notes==
[[File:Imperial Seal of Japan.svg|thumb|right|120px|[[Imperial Seal of Japan|Japanese Imperial kamon]] — a stylized [[chrysanthemum]] blossom]]
{{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}}
* 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}}
* MacCauley, Clay. (1900). "''[[Hyakunin-Isshu]]'': Single Songs of a Hundred Poets" in ''Transactions of the Asia Society of Japan''. Tokyo: Asia Society of Japan. [https://books.google.com/books?id=l7_-nSoIwfIC&q=koromode&pg=RA6-PA3 ...Click link for digitized, full-text copy (in English)]
* __________. (1901). ''Kokka taikan''. Tokyo: Teikoku Toshokan, Meiji 30–34 [1897–1901]. [reprinted ''Shinten kokka taikan'' (新編国歌大観), 10 vols. + 10 index vols., [[Kadokawa Shoten]], Tokyo, 1983–1992. {{ISBN|978-4-04-020142-9}}
* Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkōkai. (1940). ''Man'yōshū''. Tokyo: Iwanami shoten. [reprinted by [[Columbia University Press]], New York, 1965. {{ISBN|0-231-08620-2}}. Rprinted by [[Dover Publications]], New York, 2005. {{ISBN|978-0-486-43959-4}}
* [[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==
* Asuka Historical National Government Park: [http://www.asuka-park.go.jp/asuka_en/tumulus/tenmu.html  image of Mausoleum Emperor Tenmu and Empress Jitō] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225172323/http://www.asuka-park.go.jp/asuka_en/tumulus/tenmu.html |date=February 25, 2012 }}, exterior view

{{S-start}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Emperor Tenmu]]}} 
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Emperors of Japan|Empress of Japan]]:<br>Jitō|years=686–697}} 
{{s-aft|after=[[Emperor Monmu]]}}
{{s-roy}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Yamato Hime no Ōkimi]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Empress consort of Japan]]|years=673–686}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Empress Kōmyō|Fujiwara Asukabehime]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Emperors of Japan}}
{{Consorts of Japan}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jito}}
[[Category:645 births]]
[[Category:703 deaths]]
[[Category:7th-century Japanese women writers]]
[[Category:7th-century Japanese poets]]
[[Category:7th-century empresses consort]]
[[Category:7th-century empresses regnant]]
[[Category:7th-century Japanese monarchs]]
[[Category:Japanese empresses regnant]]
[[Category:Japanese women poets]]
[[Category:People of Asuka-period Japan]]
[[Category:Man'yō poets]]
[[Category:Hyakunin Isshu poets]]
[[Category:7th-century Japanese women]]
[[Category:7th-century Japanese people]]
[[Category:Emperor Tenmu]]
[[Category:Japanese emperors who abdicated]]
[[Category:Daughters of Japanese emperors]]