Emperor Kinmei

Japanese: 欽明天皇 - きんめいてんのう

Year of death: 32nd year of Emperor Kinmei (571)
Year of birth: Unknown
A 6th century emperor. He is thought to have been born around the beginning of the 6th century. He was the daughter of Princess Teshiraka, the full sister of Emperor Keitai and Emperor Buretsu. Before ascending to the throne, he was recorded as Prince Tengoku-paikai Hironiwa. When asked to ascend to the throne after the death of Emperor Senka, he declined due to his young age, and instead recommended Princess Kasugano Yamada, the wife of Emperor Ankan, but as she refused, he ascended to the throne in 539. The Nihon Shoki records that after Keitai's death, Ankan, Senka, and Kinmei ascended to the throne in order of age, but the Baekje Honki, which was the basis for Keitai's obituary, records that both the crown prince and prince died. This has led to theories that Ankan and Senka fought and lost against Kinmei after Keitai's death (the Xinhai Incident), and that two courts existed side by side. According to the "Jōgū Shōtoku Hōō Tei-setsu" and the "Gangō-ji Garan Engi Heiruki Zaizai-chō," which give a different date for the official introduction of Buddhism from the "Nihon Shoki," Kinmei ascended to the throne the year after Keitai's death (532). During the reign of Emperor Kinmei, the greatest political issue was the international situation on the Korean peninsula. Silla was trying to strengthen its national power and invade the Gaya countries, while Baekje, which was also aiming to expand its influence into the Gaya region, tried to prevent Silla's invasion with the support of Wakoku. This was the so-called "Mimana Restoration Conference" held at the "Mimana Nihonfu." In the past, the leadership of Japan (Wakoku) was emphasized and it was cited as the basis for Wakoku's control of southern Korea, but recently an interpretation has been made that Wa no miya participated in a conference of Gaya countries that came together under the leadership of Baekje, and there is also a theory that the Nihonfu was not an institution of Wakoku, but an institution that the Gaya countries established to negotiate with Wakoku. However, the power of Silla could not be stopped, and on his deathbed, Kinmei left a will calling for the defeat of Silla and the restoration of Mimana. The introduction of Buddhism by King Seongmyeong of Baekje, and the dispatch of scholars of the Five Classics and engineers, were largely done in return for requests for support. The impact of the people who came to Japan at this time was great. One example is Baekje native Izu (who achieved success in collecting tax revenues by creating family registries and was given the surname of Baekje-shi), who was involved in the management of the Hakuji Tonkura established in Kibi (Okayama Prefecture) and created a cho-shi (family register). It is highly likely that he was buried in Misemaruyama Kofun (Kashihara City), the last huge keyhole-shaped tumulus in the Yamato region. <References> Suzuki Yasutami et al., "Why Did Gaya Fall?"

(Ohira Satoshi)

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

Japanese:

没年：欽明32(571)
生年：生年不詳
6世紀の天皇。生年は6世紀初めごろと考えられる。継体天皇と武烈天皇の同母姉・手白香皇女の子。即位前は天国排開広庭皇子と記される。宣化天皇死後の即位要請に対し,年少であることを理由に辞退,安閑天皇の皇后であった春日山田皇女を推したが,皇女が固辞したため539年即位したという。『日本書紀』では,継体死後,年齢の順に安閑,宣化,欽明と即位したと伝えるが,継体の死亡記事のもととなった『百済本記』は,太子,皇子も共に死んだと伝える。このことから,継体死後,安閑・宣化が欽明と争って破れた(辛亥の変)とする説や,二朝並立説が出されている。『日本書紀』と異なる仏教公伝年を伝える『上宮聖徳法王帝説』や『元興寺伽藍縁起并流記資財帳』によれば,欽明即位は継体の死んだ翌年(532)となる。欽明天皇の時代,最大の政治課題は朝鮮半島をめぐる国際情勢にあった。国力を増強させ,伽耶諸国に侵入しようとする新羅に対し,同じく伽耶地域への勢力拡大をめざしていた百済は,倭国の支援を得て新羅の侵入を阻止しようとした。これが,いわゆる「任那日本府」における任那復興会議である。かつて日本(倭国)の指導性が強調され,倭国の南部朝鮮支配の根拠として挙げられてきたが,最近では百済の指導のもとに結集した伽耶諸国の会議に倭臣が参加したとする解釈が出され,日本府についても,倭国の機関でなく,伽耶諸国が倭国と交渉するために置いた機関とする説もある。しかし,新羅の勢いは止められず,欽明は死に臨んで新羅を討って任那を復興するよう遺詔した。百済の聖明王の仏教伝達,五経博士や技術者派遣は支援要請に対する見返りという性格が強い。このとき渡来した人々の与えた影響は大きい。吉備(岡山県)に設置された白猪屯倉経営にかかわり,丁籍(戸籍)を作った百済人胆津(戸籍作成によって税収の実績を挙げ,白猪史の姓を賜っている)はその一例である。大和地方最後の巨大前方後円墳,見瀬丸山古墳(橿原市)に葬られた可能性が高い。<参考文献>鈴木靖民他『伽耶はなぜほろんだか』

(大平聡)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

<<: Kinmedai (golden-eyed snapper) - Kinmedai (English spelling) alfonsino

>>: Jin Ming Dynasty