Emperor Seimu

Seimu
Emperor of Japan
Reign	131–191 (traditional)[1]
Predecessor	Keikō
Successor	Chūai
Born	84
Died	191 (aged 106–107)
Burial	Saki no Tatanami no misasagi (Nara)
Father	Emperor Keikō
Mother	Yasakairihime

Emperor Seimu (成務天皇, Seimu-tennō) was the 13th emperor of Japan,^[2] according to the traditional order of succession.^[3] Historians consider Emperor Seimu to be a legendary person,^[4] and the name Seimu-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

Seimu is almost certainly a legend; but the Kojiki and Nihonshoki record his name.^[7]

Events of Seimu's life

The limited information about Seimu does not imply that no such person ever existed. Very little 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 Seimu.^[7]

The actual site of his grave is not known. According to the Imperial Household Agency, this emperor is venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) at Nara.^[2]

Related pages

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

References

The chrysanthemum symbol of the Japanese emperor and his family.

1. "Genealogy of the Emperors of Japan" at Kunaicho.go.jp; retrieved 2013-8-28.
2. Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō), 成務天皇 (13); retrieved 2011-10-19.
3. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, pp. 14-15; Varley, Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, pp. 99-100; 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 2011-10-19.
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. 188-214.
8. Titsingh, pp. 34-36; Brown, pp. 261-262; Varley, pp. 123-124.

Preceded by Emperor Keikō

Legendary Emperor of Japan: Seimu 131-191 (traditional dates)

Succeeded by Emperor Chūai