Emperor Kenzō

Kenzō
Emperor of Japan
Reign	485–487 (traditional)[1]
Predecessor	Seinei
Successor	Ninken
Born	450
Died	487 (aged 36–37)
Burial	Kataoka no Iwatsuki no oka no kita no misasagi (Nara)
House	Yamato
Father	Ichinobe-no Oshiwa

Kenzō (顕宗天皇,, Kenzō-tennō) was the 23rd emperor of Japan,^[2] according to the traditional order of succession.^[3] Historians consider details about the life of Emperor Kenzō to be possibly legendary, but probable.^[4] The name Kenzō-tennō was created for him posthumously by later generations.

No certain dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign.^[5] 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.^[6]

Traditional history

Kenzō was a grandson of Emperor Richū; and he was adopted as heir by the childless Emperor Seinei.^[7]

Events of Kenzō's life

Very little is known about the events of Kenzō's life and reign. Only limited information is available for study prior to the reign of the 29th monarch, Emperor Kimmei.^[8]

After his death

This emperor's official name after his death (his posthumous name) was regularized many centuries after the lifetime which was ascribed to Kenzō.^[9]

According to the Imperial Household Agency, Kenzō final resting place is in an earthen tumulus (kofun). This emperor is venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) which is associated with the burial mound.^[2]

Related pages

• Emperor of Japan
• List of emperors of Japan
• Japanese imperial family tree
• Kofun period

References

The chrysanthemum symbol of the Japanese emperor and his family.

1. "Genealogy of the Emperors of Japan" at Kunaicho.go.jp; retrieved 2013-8-29.
2. Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō), 顕宗天皇 (23); retrieved 2011-10-16.
3. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, pp. 29-30; Brown, Delmer et al. (1979) Gukanshō, p. 259; Varley, Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, p. 116; Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric et al. (2002). "Traditional order of Tennō" in Japan encyclopedia, pp. 962-963.
4. Kelly, Charles F. "Kofun Culture," Japanese Archaeology. April 27, 2009; retrieved 2011-10-16.
5. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, p. 30.
6. Aston, William George. (1896). Nihongi, pp. 109.
7. Aston, William. (1998). Nihongi, Vol. 1, pp. 373-377.
8. Titsingh, pp. 34-36; Brown, pp. 261-262; Varley, pp. 123-124.
9. Aston (1998), pp. 146-147.

Preceded by Emperor Seinei

Legendary Emperor of Japan Kenzō 485-487 (traditional dates)

Succeeded by Emperor Ninken