Emperor Ninmyō

Emperor of Japan

Emperor Ninmyō (仁明天皇, Ninmyō-tennō, 810-6 May 850) was the 54th emperor of Japan,[1] according to the traditional order of succession.[2] His reign started in 833 and ended in 850.[3]

Ninmyō
Emperor of Japan
Reign833-850
PredecessorJunna
SuccessorMontoku
Born809
Died6 May 850
Heian-kyō (Kyoto)
Burial
Fukakusa no misasagi (Kyoto)

Traditional history

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Before he became the monarch, this prince's personal name (imina) was Masara (正良).[4]

Ninmyō was the second son of Emperor Saga and the Empress Tachibana no Kachiko.

Ninmyō had nine Empresses, Imperial consorts, and concubines (kōi); and he had 24 Imperial sons and daughters.[5]

Events of Ninmyō's life

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Ninmyō was Crown Prince for 10 years.

  • 6 January 823 (Kōnin 10, 4th month, 19th day): At age 14, Prince Masara is named Junna's heir.
  • 22 March 833 (Tenchō 10, 28th day of the 2nd month): In the 10th year of Emperor Junna's reign, the emperor abdicated. The succession (senso) was received by his adopted son. Masara-shinnō was the natural son of Emperor Saga, and therefore would have been Junna's nephew.[5] Soon afterwards, Emperor Ninmyo is said to have acceded to the throne (sokui).[6] This was confirmed in ceremonies.[7]
  • 838-839 (Jōwa 5-6): Diplomatic mission to Tang China headed by Fujiwara no Tsunetsugu.[8]
  • 6 May 850 (Kashō 3, 21st day of the 3rd month): Emperor Ninmyō died at the age of 41.[9]

After his death

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Emperor Ninmyō is traditionally venerated at his tomb; the Imperial Household Agency designates Fukakusa Imperial Mausoleum (深草陵, Fukakusa no Misasagi), in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, as the location of Ninmyō's mausoleum.[1]

Ninmyō was sometimes posthumously referred to as "the Emperor of Fukakusa," because that was the location of his tomb.[10]

Eras of reign

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The years of Ninmyō's reign are identified by more than one era name (nengō).[11]

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References

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The chrysanthemum symbol of the Japanese emperor and his family
  1. 1.0 1.1 Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō), 仁明天皇 (54); retrieved 2011-10-26.
  2. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, pp. 64-65.
  3. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon, pp. 106-112; Brown, Delmer M. et al. (1979). Gukanshō, pp. 283-284; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, pp. 164-165;
  4. Brown, p. 282; Varley, p. 164.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Brown, p. 283.
  6. Titsingh, p. 106; Brown, p. 283.
  7. 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.
  8. Sansom, George Bailey. (1958). A History of Japan to 1334, pp. 134-135; Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Fujiwara no Tsunetsugu" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 211.
  9. Adolphson, Mikael et al. (2007). Heian Japan, centers and peripheries, p. 23; Brown, p. 284
  10. Brown, p. 284; Varley, p. 165.
  11. Titsingh, p. 106.

Other websites

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Preceded by
Emperor Junna
Emperor of Japan:
Ninmyō

833–850
Succeeded by
Emperor Montoku