Princess Iitoyo

Princess Iitoyo
飯豊青皇女
Kitahanauchi Otsuka Kofun where she is believed to be buried.[1]
Empress of Japan (possibly)
Reign484–485 (de facto)
PredecessorEmperor Seinei (traditional)
SuccessorEmperor Kenzō (traditional)
BornIitoyo-hime
440[a]
Died485[2][5]
Burial
Kitahanauchi Otsuka Kofun
Posthumous name
Chinese-style shigō:
Princess Iitoyo (Iitoyo-hime) (飯豊青皇女)

Chinese-style shigō:
Empress Iitoyo (Iitoyo-tennō) (飯豊天皇)

Japanese-style shigō:
Oshinumi-no-iitoyo-no-ao
HouseImperial House of Japan
FatherEmperor Richū or
Ichinobe no Oshiwa
MotherKuro-hime (黒媛)[6] or
Hae-hime (荑媛)

Iitoyo (飯豊青皇女, 440–485) was a Japanese imperial princess and allegedly empress regnant for a short period between Emperor Seinei and Emperor Kenzō.[b]

Traditional narrative

The Japanese have traditionally accepted this royal's historical existence, and a mausoleum (misasagi) for Iitoyo is currently maintained. The following information available is taken from the pseudo-historical Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, which are collectively known as Kiki (記紀) or Japanese chronicles. These chronicles include legends and myths, as well as potential historical facts that have since been exaggerated and/or distorted over time. Princess Iitoyo was born sometime in 440 AD and is also referred to as "Aomi no Himemiko" (青海皇女).[2][8][9] While both chronicles agree that Iitoyo descended from Emperor Richū, the exact degree of this relationship is told differently. According to the Kojiki, Iitoyo was born to Kuro-hime (黒媛) and was the younger sister of the imperial prince Ichinobe no Oshiwa.[6] This would make her a daughter of Emperor Richū and aunt of the princes Woke and Oke.[10] Alternatively, the Nihon Shoki states that Iitoyo was the daughter of Ichinobe no Oshiwa and his wife Hae-hime (荑媛), which would make her a sister of Woke and Oke and a grandchild of Emperor Richū.[11]

Both of the chronicles (Kiki) are in agreement that after the death of the 20th Emperor Ankō (r. 453–456[c]), his brother murdered all rivals who could claim the throne and then ruled as the 21st Emperor Yūryaku (r. 456 – 479[c]). Notably, his victims included his cousin Prince Ichinobe no Oshiwa, who was the eldest son and crown prince of Emperor Richū.[12][13] Oshiwa's sons Woke and Ōke fled to the countryside after his murder and sought refuge under the care of a muraji.[4] Many years passed before Iitoyo's name first appeared in the chronicles in the history of the 22nd Emperor Seinei (r. 479–484[c]) (Yūryaku's son and successor). Because Seinei had no children and otherwise no close relatives, another suitable heir to the throne from the lineage of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu had to be sought.

The chronicles once again fork the narrative regarding when Woke and Ōke were found. According to the Kojiki, this search ended after Emperor Seinei's death with the discovery of Princess Iitoyo at the Tsunosashi Shrine in Katsuragi.[1][14] She then appears to have taken over as regent until the governor of Harima province sent a message to the capital that he had found Princes Woke and Ōke.[15] Iitoyo then gave the order to bring her nephews to her in the palace, where after some debate Ōke ceded the throne to Woke, who became Emperor Kenzō.[15][16]

Alternatively, the Nihon Shoki states that two grandsons of Emperor Richū were eventually found and adopted by Emperor Seinei.[17] Sometime in 482 AD, Prince Oke was appointed as Crown Prince while Woke was made a Royal Prince.[17][4] Seinei's death sometime in 484 AD (possibly January) came with a problem as his two adopted sons were described by the Kojiki to be very courteous towards each other.[15] Although Prince Oke had been appointed heir, he ceded the throne to his brother Prince Woke, who in turn ceded it back.[4] The two debated the issue for about a year while Princess Iitoyo was allegedly made regent.[4][17][18]

Princess Iitoyo's death in 485 AD and burial place is only recorded in the Nihon Shoki.[11] In this continuing narrative Prince Ōke ceded the "Empire" to Prince Woke who finally accepted the throne as Emperor Kenzō.[3][4] Iitoyo was allegedly buried in a (misasagi) on Mount Haniguchi in Katsuraki.[11]

Historical assessment

It is unknown if before modern scholars, she was viewed as a regent or monarch in her own right.[7]

She is referred to as "Empress [Regnant] Iitoyo" (飯豊天皇 Iitoyo-tennō) in the Fusō Ryakuki and the Honchō Kōin Jōun-roku, a 12th-century and a 15th-century collection of historical texts, respectively.[19][7]

After Empress Jingū, Princess Iitoyo is the second woman described in the chronicles as having governed the country for a certain period of time. But she is generally not recognized as a ruling empress by historians and she does not appear in the official list of emperors of Japan. In the 1219 Japanese historical work Gukanshō, written by the Buddhist monk Jien, Iitoyo was a reigning empress, based on the following explanation:

"Since the two brothers were unbending in deferring to each other, their young sister followed Seine on the throne as a reigning empress in the second month of the year in which Seine died. But she herself died in the 12th month of that same year. Perhaps that it is why we do not find her reign listed in the ordinary Imperial chronologies and why people know nothing at all about her. She was called Empress Iitoyo and it is said that her reign was in the kinoe-ne year of the 60-year cycle." - Jien: Gukanshō

Iitoyo's name was entered as Empress Tsunuzashi in the list of emperors by Ernest Mason Satow in the Japanese Chronological Tables (1874).

After Isaac Titsingh's translation of Nihon Ōdai Ichiran, which was written in 1625, Iitoyo was not counted among the official emperors as she had ruled for less than ten months, but she had been given a posthumous imperial name after her death (Japanese: 飯豊天皇, Empress Iitoyo). Iitoyo is also known under other posthumous names (Okurina) such as Empress Pagei and Empress Tsunuzachi. She is also recognized as a sovereign empress on various occasions, for which information can also be found in the Nihon Shoki, where the term bō is used for her death, which is otherwise reserved exclusively for emperors.

Historians have a variety of theories about her reign. According to one, Iitoyo may be identical to Queen Taiyoo, a successor to Himiko, who ruled Yamatai. The historian Shinobu Orikuchi sees her as the first ruling empress in the history of Japan, who combines the roles of the shaman and the sovereign. Mitakō Mihoo, on the other hand, believes that Iitoyo was a rival ruler at the time of the 26th Emperor Keitai (traditionally ruled 507–531) before he became ruler of a unified Yamato. Mizuno Yū even argues that the Emperors Seinei, Kenzō, and Ninken did not exist at all, and that Iitoyo reigned after Emperor Yūryaku for 15 years.

See also

Explanatory notes

  1. ^ Most scholars agree with the Nihon Shoki, where Princess Iitoyo is described as being the aunt of Princes Woke and Oke.[2][3][4]
  2. ^ She was most likely an empress regnant (at least in the traditional narrative) but has also been referred to as a "Placeholder Empress".[7]
  3. ^ a b c These dates are traditional.

References

  1. ^ a b "Imperial Mausoleum of Empress Iitoyo at the Hill of Hanikuchi". Guidoor. Archived from the original on February 20, 2025. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Edmond Papinot (1909). Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan. Librairie Sansaisha. p. 195.
  3. ^ a b Ponsonby-Fane, Richard (1915). "Kenso (485–487)". The Imperial Family of Japan. Ponsonby Memorial Society. p. 14.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Francis Brinkley (1915). "Chapter XIII: The Protohistoric Sovereigns (continued)". A History of the Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era. Encyclopædia Britannica. pp. 118–119.
  5. ^ Japan Society of London (1918). Transactions and Proceedings of the Japan Society, London, Volumes 16-18. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner and Company. p. 76.
  6. ^ a b Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882). "Sect. CXXXI - Emperor Richū (Part I - Genealogies)". A translation of the "Kojiki" or Records of ancient matters. R. Meiklejohn and Co.
  7. ^ a b c Harper, Cathy (December 8, 2022). "More than placeholders: The 'century of empresses' against modern succession laws". Melbourne Asia Review (12). Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  8. ^ William George Aston (1896). "Book XII: Richū Tenno". Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697. (Volume 1). London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner. p. 306.
  9. ^ "Genealogy". Reichsarchiv (in Japanese). April 30, 2010. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  10. ^ Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882). "Emperor Seinei (Part II - Princes Ohoke and Woke are Discovered". A translation of the "Kojiki" or Records of ancient matters. R. Meiklejohn and Co.
  11. ^ a b c William George Aston (1896). "Book XV: Kenzo Tenno". Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697. (Volume 1). London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner. p. 383.
  12. ^ William George Aston (1896). "The Emperor Oho-Hatsuse Wakatake". Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697. (Volume 1). London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner. pp. 333–372.
  13. ^ Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882). "Sect. CXLVIII - Emperor Anko (Part V - Prince Oho-Hatsuse Slays Prince Oshiha)". A translation of the "Kojiki" or Records of ancient matters. R. Meiklejohn and Co.
  14. ^ Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882). "Sect. CLXIII - Emperor Seinei (Part I - Search for a successor to him)". A translation of the "Kojiki" or Records of ancient matters. R. Meiklejohn and Co.
  15. ^ a b c Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882). "Emperor Seinei (Part II - Princes Ohoke and Woke are Discovered". A translation of the "Kojiki" or Records of ancient matters. R. Meiklejohn and Co.
  16. ^ Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882). "Emperor Seinei (Part IV - Prince Ohoke Cedes the Empire to Prince Woke". A translation of the "Kojiki" or Records of ancient matters. R. Meiklejohn and Co.
  17. ^ a b c William George Aston (1896). "Book XV: Seinei Tenno". Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697. (Volume 1). London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner. pp. 338 & 373–377.
  18. ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard (1915). "Seinei (480–484)". The Imperial Family of Japan. Ponsonby Memorial Society. p. 14.
  19. ^ Katō, Kenkichi (2001). "Iitoyo-ao no Ōjo" 飯豊青皇女. Encyclopedia Nipponica (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved November 5, 2021.

Bibliography

  • Louis-Frédéric (translated by Käthe Roth): Japan Encyclopedia, Harvard University Press 2005.
  • Ernest Mason Satow: Japanese Chronological Tables (et al.), Reprinted by Yedo 1874, Bristol: Ganesha 1998.
  • Ben-Ami Shillony: Enigma of the Emperors: Sacred subservience in Japanese History, Global Oriental 2005.
  • Joan R. Piggott: Chieftain Pairs and Corulers: Female Sovereignty in Early Japan, in: Hitomi Tonomura, Anne Walthall, Wakita Haruko (ed.): Woman and Class in Japanese History, Michigan Monograph Series in Japahese Studies, No. 25, Ann Arbor: Center for Japanese Studies, University Michigan
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