Emperor Kōnin

Japanese: 光仁天皇 - こうにんてんのう

Year of death: Ten'o 1.12.23 (782.1.11)
Year of birth: Wadō 2.10.13 (709.11.18)
An emperor of the Nara period. His given name was Shirakabe. He was the sixth son of Emperor Tenchi's son Prince Shiki (Prince Shiki). His mother was Princess Oakhime, the daughter of posthumous Grand Minister of State Ki no Morohito. He had Prince Otobe with Princess Inoue, and Prince Yamabe (later Emperor Kanmu) and Prince Sawara with Takano no Niigasa. In 737 (Tenpyo 9), he was promoted from no rank to Junior Fourth Rank, Lower, and in 759 (Tenpyo Hoji 3), he reached Junior Third Rank. In the sixth year, he was appointed Chunagon, and in 766 (Tenpyo Jingo 2), he became Dainagon. With the death of Emperor Shotoku on August 4, 770 (Jingo Keiun 4), the succession to the throne through the bloodline of Emperor Tenmu, which had continued since the Jinshin War (672), came to an end. Prince Shirakabe was made crown prince by Fujiwara no Nagate and Momokawa, demoted Dokyo, ascended to the throne on October 1, and changed the era name to Hōki. He was 62 years old at the time. According to the Shoku Nihongi, before ascending to the throne, he watched as members of the imperial family were framed and deposed one after another, and avoided trouble by drinking heavily. During the reign of Emperor Kōnin, there were efforts to rebuild the Ritsuryo system, which had become bloated and tilted due to the repeated political struggles of the Nara period, such as reducing and reorganizing the bureaucratic organization (reorganizing and abolishing non-official and redundant officials) and implementing austerity measures, and this laid the foundation for the Heian period. On April 3, 781 (Ten'ō 1), he abdicated due to illness to Crown Prince Yamabe. After his death, he was posthumously named Emperor Tenzō Kōshō, and was buried in Hirookayama Mausoleum (Nara City) on January 7, 782 (Enryaku 1), and reburied in Tahara Mausoleum (Nara City) in the 5th year. <References> Nakagawa Osamu, "Study on the Political History of the Nara Period"

(Yoshinori Hashimoto)

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

Japanese:

没年：天応1.12.23(782.1.11)
生年：和銅2.10.13(709.11.18)
奈良時代の天皇。諱は白壁。父は天智天皇の皇子施基皇子(志貴皇子)で,その第6子。母は贈太政大臣紀諸人の娘橡姫。井上内親王との間に他戸親王,高野新笠との間に山部親王(のちの桓武天皇),早良親王が生まれている。天平9(737)年無位から従四位下に叙され,天平宝字3(759)年従三位に至った。6年中納言に任じられ,天平神護2(766)年大納言となった。神護景雲4(770)年8月4日称徳天皇の崩御により,壬申の乱(672)以降続いてきた天武天皇の血統による皇位継承はとだえた。白壁王は藤原永手,百川らによって皇太子に立てられ,道鏡を左遷し,10月1日に即位,宝亀と改元した。時に62歳。即位前は,皇族が次々と罪に陥れられ廃されていくのを見,酒に浸って難を避けたと『続日本紀』は伝える。光仁天皇の時代には,官僚組織の縮小再編成(令外官,冗官の整理,廃止),緊縮財政政策など,奈良時代の度重なる政争で肥大し傾いた律令制を再建する努力が行われ,平安時代の基礎が築かれた。天応1(781)年4月3日,病により皇太子山部親王に譲位。崩御後,天宗高紹天皇と諡され,延暦1(782)年1月7日に広岡山陵(奈良市)に葬られ,5年には田原陵(奈良市)に改葬された。<参考文献>中川収『奈良朝政治史の研究』

(橋本義則)

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

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