| Emperor Jomei | |
| Great King of Yamato | |
| Reign: | 629–641 |
| Succession: | Emperor of Japan |
| Predecessor: | Suiko |
| Successor: | Kōgyoku |
| Posthumous Name: | Chinese-style shigō
|
| Spouse: | Takara (later Empress Kōgyoku) |
| Issue: |
|
| Royal House: | Imperial House of Japan |
| Father: | Prince Oshisako-no-hikohito-no-Ōe |
| Mother: | Princess Nukate-hime |
| Birth Name: | Tamura (Japanese: 田村) |
| Birth Date: | 17 April 593 |
| Death Date: | 17 November 641 (aged 48) |
| Death Place: | Kudara no Miya |
| Place Of Burial: | Osaka no uchi no misasagi (Nara) |
was the 34th emperor of Japan,[1] according to the traditional order of succession.[2]
Jomei's reign spanned the years from 629 through 641.[3]
Before Jomei's ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (imina) was or .[4] As emperor, his name would have been Okinagatarashihi Hironuka Sumeramikoto (息長足日広額天皇).[5]
He was a grandson of Emperor Bidatsu, both paternally and maternally. His father was Prince Oshisakanohikohito-no-Ōe, his mother was Princess Nukate-hime, who was a younger sister of his father.[6]
He succeeded his great aunt, Empress Suiko. Suiko did not make it clear who was to succeed her after her death. Before her death in 629, she called Tamura and Prince Shōtoku's son, Prince Yamashiro-no-Ōe, and gave some brief advice to each of them. After her death the court was divided into two factions, each supporting one of the princes for the throne. Soga no Emishi, the head of Soga clan, supported Tamura. He claimed that Empress Suiko's last words suggested her desire that Tamura succeed her to the throne. Scholars then construed that the succession (senso)[7] was received by Tamura.[8] Shortly thereafter, he is said to have acceded to the throne (sokui) as Emperor Jomei.[9] Prince Yamashiro-no-Ōe was later attacked by the Soga clan and committed suicide along with his entire family.
Jomei's contemporary title would not have been tennō, as most historians believe this title was not introduced until the reigns of Emperor Tenmu and Empress Jitō. Rather, it was presumably Sumeramikoto (written the same way as tennō: 天皇) or Amenoshita Shiroshimesu Ōkimi (治天下大王), meaning "the great king who rules all under heaven". Alternatively, Jomei might have been referred to as (ヤマト大王/大君) or the "Great King of Yamato".
During Emperor Jomei's reign, Soga no Emishi seized several political initiatives. After Jomei's death, the throne was passed to his wife and niece, Empress Kōgyoku, and then to her younger brother, Emperor Kōtoku, before eventually being inherited by two of his sons, Emperor Tenji and Emperor Tenmu.
Emperor Jomei's reign lasted 13 years. In the 13th year of his reign (舒明天皇十三年), he died at the age of 49.[8]
The actual site of Jomei's grave is known. The emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) located in Sakurai, Nara. The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Jomei's mausoleum. It is formally named Osaka no uchi no misasagi.[10] It is commonly called . It is an . It is identified as the tomb of Emperor Jomei by the Imperial Household Agency[11] [12] and of the same form as the .[13] and of his wife Empress Kōgyoku buried in Kengoshizuka Kofun.[14] [15]
The Man'yōshū includes poems attributed to emperors and empresses, including "Climbing Kagu-yama and looking upon the land", which is said to have been composed by Emperor Jomei:
Countless are the mountains in Yamato,
But perfect is the heavenly hill of Kagu;
When I climb it and survey my realm,
Over the wide plain the smoke-wreaths rise and rise,
Over the wide lake the gulls are on the wing;
A beautiful land it is, the land of Yamato!
– Emperor Jomei[16]
Hi: Princess Tame (田眼皇女), Emperor Bidatsu’s daughter
Empress: Princess Takara (宝皇女) later Empress Kōgyoku, Prince Chinu's daughter (also Prince Oshisaka-no-Hikohito-no-Ōe's grand daughter and Emperor Bidatsu’s great grand daughter)
Bunin: Soga no Hote-no-iratsume (蘇我法提郎女), Soga no Umako‘s daughter
Court lady (Uneme): Kaya no Uneme (蚊屋采女), lower court lady from Kaya (蚊屋采女姉子)
Bunin: Awata no Kagushi-hime (粟田香櫛媛)
Bunin: Soga no Tetsuki-no-iratsume (蘇我手杯娘), Soga no Emishi‘s daughter
Unknown: