Emperor Senka

Senka
Emperor of Japan
Reign	legendary
Predecessor	Ankan
Successor	Kimmei
Born	legendary
Died	539
Burial	Musa no Tsukisaka no e no misasagi (Nara)

Emperor Senka (宣化天皇, Senka-tennō) was the 28th emperor of Japan,^[1] according to the traditional order of succession.^[2] Historians consider details about the life of Emperor Senka to be possibly legendary, but probable.^[3] The name Senka-tennō was created for him posthumously by later generations.

No certain dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign.^[4] 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.^[5]

Traditional history

According to Kojiki, Senka was a son of Emperor Keitai.

When Emperor Ankan died childless, the throne passed to his brother Senka.

Events of Senka's life

Very little is known about the events of Senka's life and reign. Only limited information is available for study prior to the reign of the 29th monarch, Emperor Kimmei.^[6]

During this reign, Soga no Iname became the first verifiable "Great Minister" or Omi (also identified as Ō-omi).^[7]

The reign of Emperor Senka lasted for three years.

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 Senka.^[8]

According to the Imperial Household Agency, the emperor's final resting place is in an earthen tumulus (kofun). Senka is venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) which is associated with the burial mound.^[1]

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. Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō), 宣化天皇 (28); retrieved 2011-10-18.
2. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, pp. 33-34; Varley, Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, p. 121; Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric et al. (2002). "Traditional order of Tennō" in Japan encyclopedia, pp. 962-963.
3. Kelly, Charles F. "Kofun Culture," Japanese Archaeology. April 27, 2009; retrieved 2011-10-18.
4. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, p. 30.
5. Aston, William George. (1896). Nihongi, pp. 109.
6. Titsingh, pp. 34-36; Brown, pp. 261-262; Varley, pp. 123-124.
7. Titsingh, p. 33.
8. Aston (1998), pp. 146-147.

Preceded by Emperor Ankan

Legendary Emperor of Japan Senka 536-539 (traditional dates)

Succeeded by Emperor Kimmei