Emperor Kanmu

Japanese: 桓武天皇 - かんむてんのう

Year of death: 17th March 1941 (9th April 806)
Year of birth: Tenpyo 9 (737)
The first emperor of the Heian period. The eldest son of Emperor Kōnin and his wife Takano no Niigasa. Great-grandson of Emperor Tenchi. His name was Yamabe. His mother's family background was low, so he was not initially in a position to inherit the throne, but in 772, at the age of 36, Empress Kōnin's Princess Inoue was deposed for slander, and her son Prince Tato was also deposed as crown prince, and he was made crown prince in January of the following year. However, this was made possible by Fujiwara no Momokawa's "ingenious plan," which Kanmu later attributed to him. He ascended to the throne in April of 781, and made his younger brother Prince Sawara the crown prince. He was 45 years old at the time. At first, he acted with the understanding that he inherited the imperial line of Shōmu (or Tenmu in a broader sense), but a series of actions such as Hikami Kawatsugu that denied this arose, awakening him to the consciousness of the imperial line of Tenchi. So, he abandoned Heijo-kyo, as Fujiwara no Tanetsugu had advocated, and moved the capital to Nagaoka-kyo. Three years later, in 784, the third year of the Enryaku era, he chose the year of the "Koshikakurei" (the law that bans everything from changing), and carried out this plan. This move is also of great historical significance as it abandoned the long-standing capital of Yamato and moved the capital to Yamashiro. The move was also intended to suppress the power of the temples, and did not allow the relocation or construction of temples. However, in September of the following year, while staying at the old Heijo palace to see off his daughter, Princess Asahara, who had become the Saio of Ise, Tanetsugu, the central figure in the move and construction of the capital, was assassinated, and those involved were severely punished, but the project was dealt a major blow. However, this incident also inadvertently led to the dethronement of his younger brother Sawara, and the establishment of his son, Prince Andon (later Emperor Heizei), as crown prince. After that, Empress Otomurou and his wife Tabiko died one after the other, and in particular in 786, Prince Andon's poor health was judged to be the result of a curse from Sawara by divination, so he decided to abandon the capital at Nagaoka, following the advice of Wake no Kiyomaro, and in 787 he chose Utamura, Kazuno County, Yamashiro Province, as the site for a new capital, and began construction. On October 22, 788, he again chose Niji, which coincided with the "Xinyou Revolution," and moved there from Nagaoka-kyo. In an imperial decree the following November, he named the new capital Heian-kyo and renamed Yamashiro Province Yamashiro Province. He personally inspected the construction site on many occasions and proceeded with the capital construction project much more proactively and cautiously than when Nagaoka was constructed. On the other hand, he also carried out three strategies for the Tohoku region from 787 onwards, taking over the tasks of Emperor Konin, and during this time Sakanoue no Tamuramaro played a major role. From around the 23rd year of the Enryaku period (804), Kanmu often fell seriously ill, and in December 804, he had his trusted aides Fujiwara no Otsugu and Sugano Masamichi discuss the matter, known as the "Tokusei Soron," and he ended his management of the Emishi and the capital construction project. This is considered to have been a dramatic end to the situation, a first-rate performance by Kanmu. This is why it is said that he "focused on politics and did not like literature." However, the dispatch of the Japanese envoys to Tang China in 804, accompanied by Saicho and Kukai, is significant in that it brought about the prosperity of Tang-style culture, which would later reach its peak during the Saga period. Kanmu's assessment in the "Nihon Koki" is that "Although the expenses for the construction of the capital and military were high, he built the foundation for all eternity." The imperial mausoleum was originally located in Utano (Ukyo Ward, Kyoto City), but due to its proximity to Kamo Shrine, it was changed to Kashiwarayama Mausoleum (Fushimi Ward). Because his mother was a descendant of a royal family that had come from overseas, he placed great importance on the men and women of the Baekje royal family, calling them "my maternal relatives," and he also placed many women from that family in the harem, which became a factor in bringing about changes to the harem system.

(Takinami Sadako)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：大同1.3.17(806.4.9)
生年：天平9(737)
平安時代最初の天皇。光仁天皇と夫人高野新笠との長男。天智天皇の曾孫。名は山部。母の家柄が低かったため,当初皇位継承者という立場にはなかったが,宝亀3(772)年,36歳に至って,光仁皇后井上内親王が厭魅の罪で廃后,次いでその子他戸親王も廃太子されるにおよび,翌年1月立太子された。ただしこの立太子は藤原百川が「奇計」を用いて実現したもので,のちのち桓武はこれを多としている。天応1(781)年4月に即位,同母弟早良親王を皇太子に立てた。時に45歳。当初,みずからは聖武(広義には天武)系の皇統を受け継いだとの認識をもって行動するが,これを否定する氷上川継などの動きが相次いで起こり,天智系の皇統意識に目覚めさせられている。そこで行ったのが藤原種継の進める平城京の放棄=長岡京遷都で,3年後の延暦3(784)年,万事が改まるという「甲子革令」の年を選んでこれを断行した。この遷都は長らく続いた大和宮都を放棄した「山背」遷都という点でも歴史的意義は大きい。またこの遷都には寺院勢力の抑制も意図されており,寺院の移転や造営を認めていない。しかし翌4年9月,伊勢斎王となった娘の朝原内親王を送るため平城旧宮に滞在していた留守中,遷都=造都の中心人物種継が暗殺され関係者を厳しく処断したが,事業は大打撃を受けることになる。もっともこの事件は,はからずも弟の早良を廃太子に追いやり,子の安殿親王(のちの平城天皇)の立太子を実現するきっかけともなった。その後皇后乙牟漏,夫人旅子などが相次いで没し,特に11年,安殿親王の病弱が早良の祟りと占いに出たことなどから,和気清麻呂の建策に従い長岡棄都を決意,12年新京の地として山背国葛野郡宇太村を選んで造都に着手,13年10月22日,このときも「辛酉革命」に当たる日次を選び長岡京より遷っている。翌11月の詔で,新京を平安京と命名するとともに山背国を山城国と改めている。その後における造都事業は自身でたびたび工事現場を視察するなど,長岡造都時に比べるとはるかに積極的かつ慎重に進めている。一方東北経略も光仁朝の課題を引き継ぐ形で7年以降3次にわたって実施しているが,この間における坂上田村麻呂の果たした役割が大きい。延暦23(804)年を過ぎたころからしばしば重病となり,24年12月,ともに腹心の藤原緒嗣と菅野真道に議論させた,いわゆる「徳政相論」を承けて蝦夷経営と造都事業を打ち切ったが,これは事態を文字通り劇的に終結させた桓武一流のパフォーマンスであったとみられる。「政事に心を用い,文華は好まなかった」といわれるゆえんである。もっとも23年,最澄や空海を伴った遣唐使の発遣は,のち嵯峨朝に至ってピークに達する唐風文化の隆盛をもたらしたという点で重要である。「造都,軍事による出費は多かったが,万世の基礎を築いた」というのが『日本後紀』に記す桓武評である。山陵は当初宇多野(京都市右京区)とされたが賀茂神社に近いことから柏原山陵(伏見区)に改められた。母が渡来王族の後裔であったことから百済王氏の男女を重用して「朕の外戚」と呼び,またその一族の女性を多数後宮に入れたが,これが後宮制度の変化をもたらす要因となった。<参考文献>村尾次郎『桓武天皇』

(瀧浪貞子)

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