Genealogy
Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his imina)[2] was Masara Shinnō (正良親王).[3]
He was the second son of Emperor Saga and the Empress Tachibana no Kachiko.
Ninmyō had nine Empresses, Imperial consorts, and concubines (kōi); and the emperor had 24 Imperial sons and daughters.[4]
Events of Ninmyō's life
Ninmyō ascended to the throne following the abdication of his uncle, Emperor Junna.
- Tenchō 10, on the 28th day of the 10th month (833):In the 10th year of Junna-tennō's reign (淳和天皇10年), the emperor abdicated; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by a his adopted son. Masara-shinnō was the natural son of Emperor Saga, and therefore would have been Junna's nephew.[4] Shortly thereafter, Emperor Ninmyo is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’).[5]
Shortly after Ninmyo was enthroned, he designated an heir. He named as Prince Tsunesada, a son of former Emperor Junna, as the Cown Prince.[6]
- Jōwa 2, on the 21st day of the 3rd month (835): Kūkai (known posthumously as Kōbō-Daishi) died. This monk, scholar, poet, and artist had been the founder of the Shingon or "True Word" school of Buddhism.[6]
In 842 after a coup d'état that crown prince was replaced with Ninmyō's first son, Prince Michiyasu later Emperor Montoku whose mother was the Empress Fujiwara no Junshi, a daughter of sadaijin Fujiwara no Fuyutsugu. It is supposed there was a political intrigue planned by Ninmyō and Fujiwara no Yoshifusa, the second son of Fuyutsugu and uncle of the new crown prince.
In his lifetime, Ninmyō could not have anticipated that his third son, Prince Tokiyasu, would eventually ascend the throne in 884 as Emperor Kōkō.[7]
- Kajō 3, on the 21st day of the 3rd month (850): Emperor Ninmyō died at the age of 41. He was sometimes posthumously referred to as "the Emperor of Fukakusa," because that was the name given to his tomb[8]
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 eras.-- kugyō of Ninmyō-tennō (in French)
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 Ninmyō's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:
- Sadaijin, Fujiwara no Otsugu (藤原緒嗣), 773-843.[4]
- Sadaijin, Minamoto no Tokiwa (源常), 812-854.[4]
- Udaijin, Kiyohara no Natsuno (清原夏野), 782-837.[4]
- Udaijin, Fujiwara no Mimori (藤原三守), d. 840.[4]
- Udaijin, Minamoto no Tokiwa (源常)
- Udaijin, Tachibana no Ujikimi (橘氏公), 783-847.[4]
- Udaijin, Fujiwara no Yoshifusa (藤原良房), 804-872.[6]
- Naidaijin (not appointed)
- Dainagon
Eras of Ninmyō's reign
The years of Ninmyō's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.[9]
Consorts and Children
Nyōgo (Tai-Kōtaigō): Fujiwara no Junshi (藤原順子) (809-871), daughter of Fujiwara no Fuyutsugu (藤原冬嗣)
Nyōgo: Fujiwara no Takushi (藤原沢子) (?-839), daughter of Fujiwara no Fusatsugu (藤原総継)
- Imperial Prince Muneyasu (宗康親王) (828-868)
- Imperial Prince Tokiyasu (時康親王) (Emperor Kōkō) (830-887)
- Imperial Prince Saneyasu (人康親王) (831-872)
- Imperial Princess Shinshi (新子内親王) (?-897)
Nyōgo: Fujiwara no Teishi/Sadako (藤原貞子) (?-864), daughter of Fujiwara no Mimori (藤原三守)
- Imperial Prince Nariyasu (成康親王) (836-853)
- Imperial Princess Shinshi (親子内親王) (?-851)
- Imperial Princess Heishi (平子内親王) (?-877)
Nyōgo: Tachibana no Kageko (橘影子) (?-864), daughter of Tachibana no Ujikimi (橘氏公)
Koui: Ki no Taneko (紀種子) (?-869), daughter of Ki no Natora (紀名虎)
- Imperial Prince Tsuneyasu (常康親王) (?-869)
- Imperial Princess Shinshi/Saneko (真子内親王) (?-870)
Koui(deposed in 845): A daughter of Mikuni clan, Mikuni-machi (三国町)
- Sada no Noboru (貞登), given the family name 'Sada' from Emperor (Shisei Kōka, 賜姓降下) in 866
Court lady: Shigeno no Tsunako (滋野縄子), daughter of Shigeno no Sadanushi (滋野貞主)
- Imperial Prince Motoyasu (本康親王) (?-902)
- Imperial Princess Tokiko (時子内親王) (?-847), 2nd Saiin in Kamo Shrine 831-833
- Imperial Princess Jūshi (柔子内親王) (?-869)
Court lady: Fujiwara no Katoko (藤原賀登子), daughter of Fujiwara no Fukutomaro (藤原福当麻呂)
- Imperial Prince Kuniyasu (国康親王) (?-898)
Court lady: Fujiwara no Warawako (藤原小童子), daughter of Fujiwara no Michitō (藤原道遠)
- Imperial Princess Shigeko (重子内親王) (?-865)
Court lady: Princess Takamune (高宗女王), daughter of Prince Okaya (岡屋王)
- Imperial Princess Kyūshi (久子内親王) (?-876), 18th Saio in Ise Shrine 833-850
Court lady (Nyoju): Kudara no Yōkyō (百済永慶), daughter of Kudara no Kyōfuku (百済教復)
Court lady: A daughter of Yamaguchi clan (山口氏の娘)
- Minamoto no Satoru (源覚) (849-879)
(from unknown women)
- Minamoto no Masaru (源多) (831-888), Udaijin 882-888
- Minamoto no Suzushi (源冷) (835-890), Sangi 882-890
- Minamoto no Hikaru (源光) (846-913), Udaijin 901-913
- Minamoto no Itaru (源効)
References
- ^ Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon, pp. 106-112; Brown, Delmer et al. (1979). Gukanshō, pp.283-284; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, p. 164-165.
- ^ Brown, pp. 264. [Up until the time of Emperor Jomei, the personal names of the emperors (their imina) were very long and people did not generally use them. The number of characters in each name diminished after Jomei's reign.]
- ^ Brown, p. 282; Varley, p. 164.
- ^ a b c d e f g Brown, p. 283.
- ^ Titsingh, p. 106; Brown, pp. 283; 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 Go-Murakami.]
- ^ a b c Brown, pp. 284.
- ^ Titsingh, pp. 124-125; Brown, p. 289; Varley, pp. 171-175.
- ^ Brown, p. 284; Varley, p. 165.
- ^ Titsingh, p. 106.
- Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). [ Jien, c. 1220], Gukanshō (The Future and the Past, a translation and study of the Gukanshō, an interpretative history of Japan written in 1219). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-03460-0
- Titsingh, Isaac, ed. (1834). [Siyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652], Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon, tr. par M. Isaac Titsingh avec l'aide de plusieurs interprètes attachés au comptoir hollandais de Nangasaki; ouvrage re., complété et cor. sur l'original japonais-chinois, accompagné de notes et précédé d'un Aperçu d'histoire mythologique du Japon, par M. J. Klaproth. Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland....Click link for digitized, full-text copy of this book (in French)
- Varley, H. Paul , ed. (1980). [ Kitabatake Chikafusa, 1359], Jinnō Shōtōki ("A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki of Kitabatake Chikafusa" translated by H. Paul Varley). New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04940-4
See also
External links
Preceded by
Emperor Junna
Emperor of Japan:
Ninmyō
833-850
Succeeded by
Emperor Montoku
Monarchs of Japan
Legendary Period
Yamato Period
(Kofun Period)
Asuka Period
Nara Period
Heian Period