Emperor Ankan

Emperor of Japan

Emperor Ankan (安閑天皇, Ankan-tennō) was the 27th emperor of Japan,[1] according to the traditional order of succession.[2] Historians consider details about the life of Emperor Ankan to be possibly legendary, but probable.[3] The name Ankan-tennō was created for him posthumously by later generations.

Ankan
Emperor of Japan
Reignlegendary
PredecessorKeitai
SuccessorSenka
Bornlegendary
Diedlegendary
Burial
Furuchi no Takaya no oka no misasagi (Osaka)

No certain dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign.[4] The conventionally accepted names and sequence of the early emperors were not to be confirmed as "traditional" until the reign of Emperor Kammu, who was the 50th monarch of the Yamato dynasty.[5]

Traditional history change

According to Kojiki Ankan was the elder son of Emperor Keitai.

Ankan died childless, and the throne passed to his brother, who would become known as Emperor Senka.

Events of Ankan's life change

Very little is known about the events of Ankan's life and reign. Only limited information is available for study prior to the reign of the 29th monarch, Emperor Kimmei.[6]

Ankan attained the Imperial throne when his father, Emperor Keitai, abdicated in his favor.

The construction of state granaries in large numbers throughout Japan was a demonstration of the broad reach of Imperial power and concerns.[7]

 
The mausoleum (misasagi) of Emperor Ankan in Osaka Prefecture.

His death ended his reign after only four years.

After his death change

This emperor's official name after his death (his posthumous name) was regularized many centuries after the lifetime which was ascribed to Ankan.[8]

According to the Imperial Household Agency, the emperor's final resting place is in an earthen tumulus (kofun). Ankan is venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) which is associated with the burial mound.[1]

Related pages change

References change

 
The chrysanthemum symbol of the Japanese emperor and his family.
  1. 1.0 1.1 Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō), 安閑天皇 (27); retrieved 2011-10-18.
  2. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, p. 33; Brown, Delmer. (1979). Gukanshō, pp. 314-315; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, p. 120; Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2002). "Traditional order of Tennō" in Japan encyclopedia, pp. 962-963.
  3. Kelly, Charles F. "Kofun Culture," Japanese Archaeology. April 27, 2009; retrieved 2011-10-18.
  4. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, p. 30.
  5. Aston, William George. (1896). Nihongi, pp. 109.
  6. Titsingh, pp. 34-36; Brown, pp. 261-262; Varley, pp. 123-124.
  7. Mason, Joseph. (2002). The Meaning of Shinto, p. 172.
  8. Aston (1998), pp. 146-147.
Preceded by
Emperor Keitai
Legendary Emperor of Japan
Ankan

531-536
(traditional dates)
Succeeded by
Emperor Senka