Emperor Kanmu

Kanmu
Emperor of Japan
Reign781-806
PredecessorKōnin
SuccessorHeizei
Born735
Died5 February 806(806-02-05) (aged 70)
Burial
Kashiwabara no misasagi (Kyoto)

Emperor Kanmu (桓武天皇, Kanmu-tennō; 737-806), also written as Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign started in 781 and ended in 806.

Kanmu was the first monarch of the Heian period of the history of Japan.

Traditional history

Before he became the monarch, this prince's personal name (imina) was Yamabe (山部).

Prince Yamabe was the eldest son of Prince Shirakabe (later known as Emperor Kōnin). According to the Shoku Nihongi (続日本紀), Yamabe's mother was a descendant of King Muryeong of Baekje.

Kanmu had 16 empresses and consorts, and 32 imperial sons and daughters. Among his sons were Emperor Heizei, Emperor Saga and Emperor Junna.

Events of Kanmu's life

Before he became the monarch, he was the Crown Prince for eight years.

During his reign, Kanmu tried to simplify the hierarchy and the functions of his government.

The capital of Japan was moved from Nara (Heijō-kyō) to Nagaoka (Nagaoka-kyō) in 784. The capital would be moved again in 794 to Kyoto (Heian-kyō).

Kanmu named Sakanoue no Tamuramaro (758-811) to lead a military expedition against the Emishi.

Timeline

After his death

According to the Imperial Household Agency, the mausoleum (misasagi) of Kammu is in Kyoto. The emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine at this location.

Eras of reign

The years of Kammu's reign are identified by more than one era name (nengō).

References

The chrysanthemum symbol of the Japanese emperor and his family.
  1. 1 2 Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō), 桓武天皇 (50); retrieved 2011-10-20.
  2. ↑ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, pp. 61–62.
  3. 1 2 Klaproth, Julius von (1834). Nipon o dai itsi ran: ou Annales des empereurs du Japon. Oriental Translation Fund. pp. 86–95.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Jien; Delmer Myers Brown, Ichirō Ishida (1979). 愚管抄: A Translation and Study of the Gukansho, an Interpretative History of Japan Written in 1219. University of California Press. p. 277. ISBN 978-0-520-03460-0.
  5. 1 2 Klaproth, Julius von (1834). Nipon o dai itsi ran: ou Annales des empereurs du Japon. Oriental Translation Fund. p. 86.
  6. ↑ Watts, Jonathan. "The emperor's new roots: The Japanese emperor has finally laid to rest rumors that he has Korean blood, by admitting that it is true," The Guardian (London). 28 December 2001; retrieved 2011-10-20.
  7. ↑ Jien; Delmer Myers Brown, Ichirō Ishida (1979). 愚管抄: A Translation and Study of the Gukansho, an Interpretative History of Japan Written in 1219. University of California Press. p. 278. ISBN 978-0-520-03460-0.
  8. 1 2 Jien; Delmer Myers Brown, Ichirō Ishida (1979). 愚管抄: A Translation and Study of the Gukansho, an Interpretative History of Japan Written in 1219. University of California Press. p. 279. ISBN 978-0-520-03460-0.
  9. ↑ Klaproth, Julius von (1834). Nipon o dai itsi ran: ou Annales des empereurs du Japon. Oriental Translation Fund. pp. 91–92.
  10. ↑ Jien; Delmer Myers Brown, Ichirō Ishida (1979). 愚管抄: A Translation and Study of the Gukansho, an Interpretative History of Japan Written in 1219. University of California Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-520-03460-0.
  11. ↑ Klaproth, Julius von (1834). Nipon o dai itsi ran: ou Annales des empereurs du Japon. Oriental Translation Fund. pp. 85–86.
  12. ↑ Varley, p. 44; a distinct act of senso is unrecognized prior to Emperor Tenji; and all sovereigns except Jitō, Yōzei, Go-Toba, and Fushimi have senso and sokui in the same year until the reign of Emperor Go-Murakami. Compare Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō), Ceremony of Accession (Sokui-no-Rei); retrieved 2011-12-23.
  13. ↑ Varley, p. 150.

Other websites

Media related to Emperor Kanmu at Wikimedia Commons

Preceded by
Emperor Kōnin		 Emperor of Japan
Kammu
781–806		 Succeeded by
Emperor Heizei