:Emperor Sujin

The Japanese have traditionally accepted this sovereign's historical existence, and a kofun (tumulus) for Sujin is currently maintained. There remains no conclusive evidence though that supports this historical figure actually reigning. The following information available is taken from the pseudo-historical {{Lang|ja-latn|Kojiki}} and {{Lang|ja-latn|Nihon Shoki}}, which are collectively known as {{Nihongo|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. The records state that Sujin was born sometime in 148 BC, and was the second son of Emperor Kaika. Sujin's mother was Ikagashikome no Mikoto, who was also a concubine of Sujin's grandfather Emperor Kōgen.{{efn|Ikagashikome (Ika-shiko-me) became Emperor Kaika's empress, but before that she had been a concubine to the previous Emperor (Kōgen). It is recorded that she bore a child with Kōgen, which makes this problematic as in order to be Sujin's mother she would have had to give birth again separated by a 50-year gap. Given her recorded age at the time, this scenario seems highly unlikely.}} Before he was enthroned sometime in 97 BC, his pre-ascension name was either Prince Mimakiirihikoinie no Mikoto, Mimakiiribikoinie no Sumeramikoto, or Hatsukunishirasu Sumeramikoto.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_oEfAAAAYAAJ|title=Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697, Volume 2|author=Aston, William George.|publisher=The Japan Society London|date=1896|pages=150–164|isbn=9780524053478|author-link=William George Aston}} The former name is used in the {{Lang|ja-latn|Kojiki}}, while the latter two are found in the {{Lang|ja-latn|Nihon Shoki}}. Sujin was enthroned sometime in 97 BC, and during the 3rd year of his reign it is the recorded that he moved the capital to {{Nihongo|Shiki|磯城}}, naming it the Palace of Mizu-gaki or {{Nihongo|Mizugaki-no-miya|瑞籬宮}}.{{efn|Historian Tsutomu Ujiya states that the location could have been in the vicinity of {{Nihongo|Kanaya|金屋}}, Sakurai, Nara}}

{{Further|Mount Miwa}}

The Kiki records that pestilence struck during the 5th year of Sujin's rule, killing half the Japanese population. The following year peasants abandoned their fields and rebellion became rampant. To help relieve the suffering of his people, the Emperor turned his attention towards the gods. At the time, both the sun goddess Amaterasu and the god {{Nihongo|Yamato-no-Okunitama|倭大国魂神}} were enshrined at the Imperial Residence. Sujin became overwhelmed with having to cohabit with these two powerful deities and set up separate enshrinements to house them. Amaterasu was moved to {{Nihongo|Kasanui village|笠縫邑}} in Yamato Province (Nara), where a Himorogi altar was built out of solid stone. Sujin placed his daughter {{Nihongo|{{Ill|Toyosukiiri-hime|ja|豊鍬入姫命}}|豊鍬入姫命}} in charge of the new shrine, and she would become the first Saiō.{{cite web | url=https://d-museum.kokugakuin.ac.jp/eos/detail/?id=8608 | title=Encyclopedia of Shinto詳細 }} Yamato-no-Okunitama (the other god) was entrusted to another daughter named {{Ill|Nunaki-iri-hime|lt=Nunakiirihime|ja|渟名城入姫命}}, but her health began to fail shortly afterward. It is recorded that Nunakiiri-hime became emaciated after losing all of her hair, which rendered her unable to perform her duties. These events still did not alleviate the ongoing plague sweeping the empire, so Sujin decreed a divination to be performed sometime during the 7th year of his reign. The divination involved him making a trip to the plain of Kami-asaji or {{Nihongo|Kamu-asaji-ga-hara|神浅茅原}}, and invoking the eight hundred myriad deities.

Sujin's aunt {{Nihongo|Yamatototohimomoso-hime|倭迹迹日百襲媛命}} (daughter of 7th Emperor Emperor Kōrei) acted as a miko, and was possessed by a god who identified himself as Ōmononushi. This god claimed responsibility for the plague, announcing that it would not stop until he was venerated. Although the Emperor propitiated to the god, the effects were not immediate. Sujin was later given guidance in the form of a dream to seek out a man named {{Nihongo|{{ill|Ōtataneko|ja|大田田根子命}}|太田田根子}} and appoint him as head priest. When he was found and installed, the pestilence eventually subsided, allowing five cereal crops to ripen. Out of an abundance of caution, the Emperor also appointed {{Nihongo|Ikagashikoo|伊香色雄}} as {{Nihongo|kami-no-mono-akatsu-hito|神班物者}}, or one who sorts the offerings to the gods. To this day the Miwa sect of the Kamo clan claim to be descents from {{ill|Ōtataneko|ja|大田田根子命}}, while Ikagashikoo was a claimed ancestor of the now extinct Mononobe clan.{{cite book|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj072.htm|title=[SECT. LXV.—EMPEROR SŪ-JIN (PART III: STORY OF OHO-TATA-NE-KO'S BIRTH)] (The Kojiki)|author=Chamberlain, Basil|publisher=Read before the Asiatic Society of Japan on April 12, May 10, and June 21, 1882, reprinted in 1919|page=219|author-link=Basil Chamberlain|quote=His Augustness Oho-tata-ne-ko ... was the ancestor of the Dukes of Miwa and of the Dukes of Kamo.}}

File:Rutas shido shogun.svg

In his 10th year of rule, Sujin instituted four of his Generals to the Four Cardinal Quarters in what would be known as the Shidō shogun. These areas (west, north/northwest, northeast, and east) were all centered around the capital in Yamato Province. Sujin instructed his generals (shogun) to quell those who would not submit to their rule.{{cite book|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj073.htm|title=[SECT. LXVI.—EMPEROR SŪ-JIN (PART IV.—WAR WITH KING TAKE-HANI-YASU).] (The Kojiki)|author=Chamberlain, Basil|publisher=Read before the Asiatic Society of Japan on April 12, May 10, and June 21, 1882, reprinted in 1919|page=220|author-link=Basil Chamberlain}} One of the four shoguns who had been sent to the northern region was named {{Nihongo|Ōhiko|大彦}}, who was also Emperor Kōgen's first son. One day a certain maiden approached Ōhiko and sang him a cryptic song, only to disappear afterwards. Sujin's aunt {{Nihongo|Yamatototohimomoso-hime|倭迹迹日百襲媛命}}, who was skilled at clairvoyance, interpreted this to mean that Take-hani-yasu-hiko (Ōhiko's half brother) was plotting an insurrection. Yamatototohimomoso-hime pieced it together from overhearing news that Take-hani-yasu-hiko's wife (Ata-bime) came to {{Nihongo|Mount Amanokaguya|天香久山}}, and took a clump of earth in the corner of her neckerchief.{{efn|Mount Amanokaguya is located in Kashihara, Nara.}}

Emperor Sujin gathered his generals in a meeting upon hearing the news, but the couple had already mustered troops to the west who were ready to attack the capital. The Emperor responded by sending an army under the command of general Isaseri-hiko no Mikoto to fight a battle that ended with a decisive Imperial victory. Ata-bime was killed in combat, and her husband fled back north. Sujin then sent general {{Nihongo|Hiko-kuni-fuku|彦国葺命}} north to Yamashiro Province to punish the rebel prince. There was ultimately an exchange of bowshots that resulted in Take-hani-yasu-hiko's death by an arrow through the chest. Eventually the Emperor would appoint 137 governors for the provinces under his Imperial rule as the empire expanded.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MquHCgAAQBAJ&q=kujiki+%2B+chichibu&pg=PA13|title=Chichibu: Japan's hidden treasure|author=Enbutsu, Sumiko|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|year=1990|page=13|isbn=978-0-8048-2131-5}} In his 12th year of rule, the Emperor decreed that a census be taken of the populace "with grades of seniority, and the order of forced labour". The tax system meanwhile was set up so taxes imposed were in the form of mandatory labor. These taxes were known as {{Nihongo|yuhazu no mitsugi|弭調|extra="bow-end tax"}} for men and {{Nihongo|tanasue no mitsugi|手末調|extra="finger-end tax"}} for women. During this period peace and prosperity ensued, and the Emperor received the title {{Nihongo|Hatsu kuni shirasu sumeramikoto|御肇国天皇|extra="The Emperor, the august founder of the country"}}.{{cite book|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj074.htm|title=[SECT. LXVII.—EMPEROR SŪ-JIN (PART V.—PEACE RESTORED AND TRIBUTE LEVIED).] (The Kojiki)|author=Chamberlain, Basil|publisher=Read before the Asiatic Society of Japan on April 12, May 10, and June 21, 1882, reprinted in 1919|page=224|author-link=Basil Chamberlain|quote=His Augustness Oho-tata-ne-ko ... was the ancestor of the Dukes of Miwa and of the Dukes of Kamo.}}

During the 48th year of Sujin's reign (50 BC), he summoned two of his sons saying that he loved them equally and could not make up his mind which to make his heir. He then asked his sons to describe the dreams they had recently, so he could divine their lot by interpreting them. The elder son's name was {{Nihongo|Toyoki|豊城命}}, and explained to his father that he dreamt of climbing Mt. Mimoro (Mount Miwa). While facing east, he said that he thrust his spear eight times and then waved his sword eight times skywards. The younger prince, whose name was {{Nihongo|Ikume|活目命}} dreamt of climbing Mimoro and spanning ropes on four sides. He went on to say how he chased the sparrows that ate the millet. Sujin accordingly chose his younger son Ikume to become the next Crown prince, while his older son Toyoki was chosen to govern the east. Toyoki ultimately became the ancestor of the Kamitsuke and Shimotsuke clans.

In the 60th year of Sujin's reign (38 BC), Sujin told his ministers that he wanted to look at divine treasures brought from the heavens by {{Nihongo|Takehinateru|建比良鳥命}} which were housed in the Izumo Shrine. {{Nihongo|Izumo Furune|出雲振根}} was the keeper of the treasures, but at the time was away on business in Tsukushi Province. Furune's younger brother {{Nihongo|Izumo Iiirine|出雲飯入根}}, accommodated the Imperial Edict on his behalf by sending his two younger brothers as carriers of these treasures to show the Emperor. When Furune returned, he was furious at Iiirine for parting with the treasures. He invited his younger brother to wade in a pool (named Yamuya) with him, where he used a sword-swapping intrigue. Furune exchanged his own wooden sword with his brother's real sword and commenced a battle which ended with Iiirine's death. When the Imperial court received news of the event, they dispatched two generals{{efn|{{Nihongo|Takenunakawawake|武渟川別}} (General of the East), and {{Nihongo|Kibitsuhiko|吉備津彦命}} (General of the West)}} to slay Izumo Furune.

Towards the end of his reign in (36 BC), both the {{Lang|ja-latn|Kojiki}} and {{Lang|ja-latn|Nihon Shoki}} records indicate that Sujin started to encourage the building of artificial ponds and canals. During this time, {{Nihongo|Yosami pond|依網池}} was built near {{Nihongo|Ōyosami Shrine|大依羅神社}} in Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka.{{efn|Yosami pond could have also been slightly south in the Ikeuchi area of Sakai, Osaka.{{cite book|title=Shintei Kojiki|author=Takeda, Yukichi|year=1977|publisher=Kadokawa|pages=94–99|isbn=4-04-400101-4}}}} Sujin is also credited with building {{Nihongo|Sakaori pond|酒折池}} which was said to be located in Karu (Kashihara, Nara). During his alleged lifetime, Sujin fathered twelve children with a chief wife (empress) and two consorts. When he died in 30 BC, his son Prince Ikumeirihikoisachi became the next emperor per Sujin's choice. Sujin's actual burial site is unknown, but is said to be at Mount Miwa.

File:Andonyama 001.jpg

While Emperor Sujin is the first emperor whom historians state might have actually existed, he is not confirmed as an actual historical figure. Like his predecessors, his reign is disputed due to insufficient material available for further verification and study.{{cite web|url=http://www.t-net.ne.jp/~keally/kofun.html|title=Kofun Culture|author=Kelly, Charles F.|work=www.t-net.ne.jp|access-date=May 17, 2019}} Sujin's possible lifespan has been suggested to be as early as the 1st century AD, to as late as the fourth century AD, this is well past his conventionally assigned reign of 97 BC – 30 BC. Like Emperor Kōshō, Emperor Kōrei, and Emperor Kaika, historian Louis Frédéric notes an idea in his book Japan Encyclopedia that Sujin could have lived in the 1st century (AD). This remains disputed though, especially among researchers who have been critical of his book.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=PA910|title=Japan Encyclopedia|author=Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=2002|page=910|author-link=Louis-Frédéric|isbn=9780674017535}}{{cite journal|author=Miller, R. A.|title=Journal of Asian History|journal = Journal of Asian History|volume = 37|issue = 2|pages = 212–214|year=2003|quote=Review of Japan Encyclopedia|jstor = 41933346}} If Sujin did in fact exist, then he may have been the founder of the imperial dynasty.{{Cite book|last=Shillony|first=Ben-Ami|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OO55DwAAQBAJ&dq=scholars+agree+Sujin&pg=PA15|title=The Emperors of Modern Japan|date=2008-10-15|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-474-4225-7|pages=15|language=en}} Historian Richard Ponsonby-Fane suggests that Sujin may have been the first emperor to perform a census and establish and regularize a system of taxation.

In either case (fictional or not), the name Sujin-tennō was assigned to him posthumously by later generations.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/ahistoryjapanes00kikugoog|title=A History of the Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the end of the Meiji Era|author=Brinkley, Frank|publisher=Britannica.Com|year=1915|page=[https://archive.org/details/ahistoryjapanes00kikugoog/page/n33 21]|quote=Posthumous names for the earthly Mikados were invented in the reign of Emperor Kanmu (782–805), i.e., after the date of the compilation of the Records and the Chronicles.|author-link=Francis Brinkley}} His name might have been regularized centuries after the lifetime ascribed to Sujin, possibly during the time in which legends about the origins of the imperial dynasty were compiled as the chronicles known today as the {{Lang|ja-latn|Kojiki}}. Sujin's longevity was also written down by later compilers, who may have unrealistically extended his age to fill in time gaps.{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Japan/09 Domestic History |volume= 15 |last= Brinkley |first= Francis |author-link= Francis Brinkley | pages = 252–273; see page 253, lines 7 and 8 |quote= The reign of the 10th emperor, Sūjin, lasted from 98 to 30 B.C. During his era the land was troubled by pestilence and the people broke out in rebellion; calamities....... }} While the actual site of Sujin's grave is not known, the Emperor is traditionally venerated at the Andonyama kofun in Tenri, Nara. The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as the kofun (tumulus), and its formal name is Yamanobe no michi no Magari no oka no e no misasagi''. Sujin's kofun is one of six that are present in the area; the mounds are thought to have built sometime between 250 and 350 AD.{{cite book|title=History of Japan, Volume 1|author=Brown, Delmer M.|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1993|page=114|isbn=0-521-22352-0}}

Outside of the {{Lang|ja-latn|Kojiki}}, the reign of Emperor Kinmei{{efn|The 29th Emperor{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&q=nipon%20o%20dai%20itsi%20ran&pg=PA34|title=Nihon Ōdai Ichiran|author=Titsingh, Isaac.|publisher=Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland|language=fr|year=1834|pages=34–36|author-link=Isaac Titsingh}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w4f5FrmIJKIC&pg=PA261|title=A Translation and Study of the Gukanshō, an Interpretative History of Japan Written in 1219|author=Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida|publisher=University of California Press|year=1979|pages=261–262|isbn=9780520034600}}}} ({{circa|509}} – 571 AD) is the first for which contemporary historiography is able to assign verifiable dates.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=axRyAAAAMAAJ&q=According+to+legend%2C+the+first+Japanese+Emperor+was+Jimmu.+Along+with+the+next+13+Emperors%2C+Jimmu+is+not+considered+an+actual%2C+historical+figure.+Historically+verifiable+Emperors+of+Japan+date+from+the+early+sixth+century+with+Kimmei.|title=Japanese Politics: Fixed and Floating Worlds|author=Hoye, Timothy.|publisher=Prentice Hall|year=1999|page=78|quote=According to legend, the first Japanese Emperor was Jimmu. Along with the next 13 Emperors, Jimmu is not considered an actual, historical figure. Historically verifiable Emperors of Japan date from the early sixth century with Kimmei.|isbn=9780132712897}} The conventionally accepted names and dates of the early Emperors were not confirmed as "traditional" though, until the reign of Emperor Kanmu{{efn|Kanmu was the 50th sovereign of the imperial dynasty}} between 737 and 806 AD. The lineal ancestor of the current reigning emperor can be traced back to Emperor Kōkaku, who lived a thousand years later.

Empress: {{Nihongo|Mimaki-hime|御間城姫}}, Prince Ōhiko's daughter

• Third Son: {{Nihongo|Prince Ikumeirihikoisachi|活目入彦五十狭茅尊}}, later Emperor Suinin
• {{Nihongo|Prince Hikoisachi|彦五十狭茅命}}
• {{Nihongo|Princess Kunikata-hime|国方姫命}}
• {{Nihongo|Princess Chichitsukuyamato-hime|千千衝倭姫命}}
• {{Nihongo|Prince Yamatohiko|倭彦命|extra=d.57 BC}}
• {{Nihongo|Princess Ika-hime|伊賀比売命}}

Consort: {{Nihongo|Tootsuayumemaguwashi-hime|遠津年魚眼眼妙媛}}, Kii no Arakahatobe's daughter

• {{Nihongo|{{ill |Prince Toyokiirihiko |ja|豊城入彦命|vertical-align=sup}}|豊城入彦命}}{{efn|The kami of Suijin's son, Toyoki-iri-hiko no mikoto, is venerated at Futarayama jinja in Utsunomiya, Shimotsuke Province.}} ancestor of Keno Clan (毛野君)
• {{Nihongo|{{Ill|Toyosukiiri-hime|lt=Princess Toyosukiiri-hime|ja|豊鍬入姫命}}|豊鍬入姫命}}, first Saiō

Consort: {{Nihongo|Owari-no-ōama-hime|尾張大海媛}}, Prince Tatehiroshinabi's daughter

• {{Nihongo|Prince Ōiriki|大入杵命}}, ancestor of {{Nihongo|Noto no kuni no Miyatsuko|能登国造}}
• {{Nihongo|Prince Yasakairihiko|八坂入彦命}}
• {{Nihongo|{{Ill|Nunaki-iri-hime|lt=Princess Nunakiirihime|ja|渟名城入姫命}}|渟名城入媛命}}
• {{Nihongo|Princess Toochiniirihime|十市瓊入媛命}}

{{Generations of Jimmu}}

• Emperor of Japan
• List of Emperors of Japan
• Imperial cult

{{Notelist}}

File:Imperial Seal of Japan.svg — a stylized chrysanthemum blossom]]

{{Reflist}}

{{Refbegin}}

(Nihongi / {{Lang|ja-latn|Nihon Shoki}})

→See under {{Lang|ja-latn|Nihon Shoki}} for fuller bibliography.

• {{cite book|last=Aston|first=William George|title=Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697|volume=1|place=London|publisher=Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner (for the Japan Society of London)|year=1896|isbn=9780524053478|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1IJrNAKBpycC&pg=PA299|author-link=William George Aston|oclc=448337491}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=_oEfAAAAYAAJ alt-link] English translation
• {{cite web|author=JHTI|publisher=UC Berkeley|title=Nihon Shoki|work=Japanese Historical Text Initiative (JHTI)|url=https://jhti.berkeley.edu/Nihon%20shoki.html|year=2002|access-date=2019-08-23}}, searchtext resource to retrieve kanbun text vs. English tr. (Aston) in blocs.
• {{cite book|last=Ujiya|first=Tsutomu (宇治谷孟)|title=Nihon shoki (日本書紀)|volume=上|publisher=Kodansha|year=1988|isbn= 978-0-8021-5058-5}}, modern Japanese translation.
• {{cite book|last=Chamberlain|first=Basil Hall|title=The Kojiki|publisher=Kadokawa|year=1919|author-link=Basil Hall Chamberlain|oclc=1882339}} [http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/index.htm sacred texts]
• {{cite book|last=Takeda|first=Yukichi (武田祐吉)|title=Shintei Kojiki (新訂 古事記)|publisher=Kadokawa|year=1977|isbn=4-04-400101-4}}, annotated Japanese.

(Secondary sources)

• Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). [https://books.google.com/books?id=w4f5FrmIJKIC&q=Gukansho Gukanshō: The Future and the Past.] Berkeley: University of California Press. {{ISBN|978-0-520-03460-0}}; {{OCLC|251325323}}
• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). [https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC Japan encyclopedia.] Cambridge: Harvard University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-674-01753-5}}; {{OCLC|58053128}}
• Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959). [https://books.google.com/books?id=SLAeAAAAMAAJ&q=The+Imperial+House+of+Japan The Imperial House of Japan.] Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. {{OCLC|194887}}
• Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Nihon Ōdai Ichiran; ou, [https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&q=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran Annales des empereurs du Japon.] Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. {{OCLC|5850691}}
• Varley, H. Paul. (1980). [https://books.google.com/books?id=tVv6OAAACAAJ Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns.] New York: Columbia University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-231-04940-5}}; {{OCLC|59145842}}

{{Refend}}

• {{cite web|author=Imperial Household Agency|author-link=Imperial Household Agency|url=http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/ryobo/guide/010/index.html|title=崇神天皇 (10)山邉道勾岡上陵(やまのべのみちのまがりのおかのえのみささぎ)|work=天皇陵|year=2004|access-date=May 24, 2019}}

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{{s-bef|before=Emperor Kaika}}

{{s-ttl|title=Legendary Emperor of Japan|years=97 BC – 30 BC
(traditional dates)}}

{{s-aft|after=Emperor Suinin}}

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{{Emperors of Japan}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sujin, Emperor}}

Category:Legendary emperors of Japan

Category:1st-century BC legendary monarchs

Category:1st-century BC Japanese monarchs

Category:People of Yayoi-period Japan

{{Miwa and Yamato Faith}}