Emperor Kōshō

Template:Short description Template:Infobox royalty

Template:Nihongo, also known as Template:Nihongo was the fifth legendary emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.<ref name="kunaicho">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Brown 251">Template:Cite book</ref> Very little is known about this Emperor due to a lack of material available for further verification and study. Kōshō 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. Kōshō's reign allegedly began in 475 BC, he had one wife and two sons. After his death in 393 BC, his second son supposedly became the next emperor.<ref name="Fane">Template:Cite book</ref>

Legendary narrative

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(陵) or tomb for Kōshō is currently maintained; however, no extant contemporary records have been discovered that confirm a view that this historical figure actually reigned. Kōshō is believed to be the oldest son of Emperor Itoku, and his wife Amanotoyototsu-hime. His mother was the daughter of Okishimimi-no-kami.<ref name="Fane"/><ref name="Varley 90">Template:Cite book</ref> The Kojiki records that he ruled from the palace of Template:Nihongo at Waki-no-kami in what would come to be known as Yamato Province.<ref name="Brown 251"/><ref name="Varley 90"/> Kōshō allegedly had a wife named Yosotarashi-hime, and fathered two children with her. His reign lasted from 475 BC until his death in 393 BC, his second son then took the throne and would later be referred to as Emperor Kōan.

Known information

The existence of at least the first nine Emperors is disputed due to insufficient material available for further verification and study.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Kōshō is thus regarded by historians as a "legendary Emperor", and is considered to have been the fourth of eight Emperors without specific legends associated with them.Template:Efn The name Kōshō-tennō was assigned to him posthumously by later generations, and literally means "filial manifestation".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> His name might have been regularized centuries after the lifetime ascribed to Kōshō, 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="aston"/> While the actual site of Kōshō's grave is not known, the Emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) in Gose.<ref name="kunaicho"/> The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Kōshō's mausoleum. It is formally named Waki-no-kami no Hakata no yama no e no misasagi.<ref name="Fane"/> There is a possibility that this figure could have lived instead in the 1st century (AD), however more research is needed to make any further conclusions.<ref>Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Kōshō Tennō" in Template:Google books.</ref>

The first emperor that historians state might have actually existed is Emperor Sujin, the 10th emperor of Japan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Outside of the Kojiki, the reign of Emperor Kinmei Template:Efn (Template:Circa – 571 AD) is the first for which contemporary historiography is able to assign verifiable dates.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The conventionally accepted names and dates of the early Emperors were not confirmed as "traditional" though, until the reign of Emperor Kanmu Template:Efn between 737 and 806 AD.<ref name="aston"/>