Emperor Annei

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Annei
Emperor of Japan
Reignlegendary
PredecessorSuizei
SuccessorItoku
Bornlegendary
Diedlegendary
Burial
Unebi-yama no hitsujisaru Mihodo no i no e no no misasagi (Nara)

Emperor Annei (安寧天皇, Annei-tennō) was the 3rd emperor of Japan,[1] according to the traditional order of succession.[2] Historians consider Emperor Annei to be a legendary person,[3] and the name Annei-tennō was created for him posthumously by later generations.

No firm 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]

The Gukanshō records that he ruled from the palace of Ukena-no-miya at Katashiro in Kawachi in what will come to be known as Yamato province.[6]

Traditional history[change | change source]

Annei is almost certainly a legend. The Kojiki records only his name and genealogy. The Nihonshoki includes Annei as the second of "eight undocumented monarchs" (欠史八代,, Kesshi-hachidai).[7]

The Gukanshō records that Annei was either the eldest son[6] or the only son of Emperor Suizei.[4]

During reign of Emperor Annei, the capital of Japan was at Katashiha, Kawachi.[8]

Events of Annei's life[change | change source]

The mausoleum (misasagi) of Emperor Annei in Nara Prefecture.

The absence of information about Annei 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 (509?-571).[9]

The spirit (kami) of Emperor Annei and the events of his life are enshrined at Annei-tennō-sha at Shirakashi in Yamato province.[10]

After his death[change | change source]

This emperor's official name after his death (his posthumous name) was regularized many centuries after the lifetime which was ascribed to Annei.[11]

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.[1]

Related pages[change | change source]

References[change | change source]

The chrysanthemum symbol of the Japanese emperor and his family.
  1. 1.0 1.1 Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō), 安寧天皇 (3); retrieved 2011-10-19.
  2. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, p. 4; Brown, Delmer M. (1979). Gukanshō, p. 251; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, p. 89; Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2002). "Traditional order of Tennō" in Japan encyclopedia, pp. 962-963.
  3. Kelly, Charles F. "Kofun Culture," Japanese Archaeology. April 27, 2009; retrieved 2011-10-19.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, p. 29.
  5. Aston, William George. (1896). Nihongi, pp. 109.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Brown, p. 251.
  7. Aston, pp. 138-141.
  8. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1915). The Imperial Family of Japan, p. 2.
  9. Titsingh, pp. 34-36; Brown, pp. 261-262; Varley, pp. 123-124.
  10. Ponsonby-Fane, p. 127.
  11. Aston, pp. 141-142.
Preceded by
Emperor Suizei
Legendary Emperor of Japan
Annei

549-511 BC
(traditional dates)
Succeeded by
Emperor Itoku