Emperor Nintoku

Japanese: 仁徳天皇 - にんとくてんのう

Year of birth: Unknown
An emperor (great king) who is said to have reigned in the first half of the 5th century. His father was Emperor Ojin and his mother was Nakahime. His real name was Oosazaki. In the Kojiki, his name is written as O-jaku, and in the Nihon Shoki, it is written as O-sagi. He is said to be the father of the three emperors Richu, Hanzei, and Ingyō. His empress was Iwanohime no Mikoto, the daughter of Katsuragi Osutsuhiko, and after her death, Nintoku's half-sister, Princess Hatta, was made empress. His imperial palace was Naniwa Takatsu Palace (possibly Higashi Ward, Osaka City). Nintoku's appearance as a holy emperor and a benevolent ruler is emphasized by stories such as "he fought over the throne with his half-brother Ujinowakiiratsuko, and finally decided to ascend to the throne after Ujinowakiiratsuko, who valued the order of seniority, committed suicide," and "when he saw no smoke rising from the homes of the people, he exempted them from taxation and imposed frugality and self-restraint." On the other hand, there is also a legend that he visited his half-sister, Princess Hatta, without the knowledge of Empress Iwanohime, and so aroused the Empress's jealousy that she eventually died in anger, which is hardly befitting of a holy emperor. The reason he is portrayed as a holy emperor and a benevolent ruler is simply because Nintoku's royal line ended with Emperor Buretsu, Nintoku's great-great-grandson, and so he was conceived of as the last king of the dynasty = a tyrant, and in correspondence with that, he was conceived of as the founder of the dynasty = a holy emperor. It is said to correspond to the San or Chin of the Wa kings found in the Chinese history book "Song Shu" (completed in 488), but even if the existence of a Wa king corresponding to Nintoku is acknowledged, the position and legend of Nintoku found in the "Kojiki" and "Nihon Shoki" are believed to have been created purely on the basis of genealogy. In other words, in the process of integrating the genealogies of the two great kings A and B that existed in the 5th century with his own genealogy in order to assert his own legitimacy, Emperor Keitai, who newly inherited the kingship at the beginning of the 6th century, took a hint from the name of Buretsu, or Wakasazaki (son of Emperor Wakatakeru), the last real king from the B royal family, and came up with the name of a king named Oosazaki as the common ancestor of both the A and B royal families. According to the "Engishiki," the tomb is the Mozumimihara Nakaryo, located in Otori County, Izumi Province (Sakai City, Takaishi City). The 485m long keyhole-shaped tumulus (also called Oyama Kofun) in Sakai City is famous as the tomb of Emperor Nintoku, but the chronology does not match. <References> Kojiro Naoki, "Research on the Asuka and Nara Periods," Ryoichi Maenosono, "Criticism of the Ancient Dynasty Replacement Theory," Katsuyasu Kawaguchi, "Exploring the Great Kings and Royal Genealogies of the 5th Century" (Reiji Harashima et al., "Giant Kofun and the Five Kings of Wa"), "The Emergence of the Great Kings" (Takashi Yoshida, ed., "Social History of Japan," Vol. 3)

(Mitsuo Toyama)

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

Japanese:

生年：生没年不詳
5世紀前半に在位したといわれる天皇(大王)。父は応神天皇,母は仲姫。実名はオオサザキ。『古事記』では大雀,『日本書紀』では大鷦鷯の字を当てている。履中,反正,允恭3天皇の父とされる。皇后は葛城襲津彦の娘磐之媛命で,彼女の死後,仁徳の異母妹八田皇女が皇后に立てられたという。皇居は難波高津宮(大阪市東区か)。仁徳は,異母弟【G7EDF道稚郎子/うじのわきいらつこ】と大王位を譲り合い,長幼の序を重んじるG7EDF道稚郎子が自殺したので,ようやく即位を決意したとか,人民の家々から炊飯の煙が立ちのぼらないのを見て課役を免じ,みずからに倹約と耐乏を課したとか,その聖帝,仁君としての風貌が強調されている。他方で,皇后磐之媛の目をぬすんで異母妹八田皇女のもとに通い,皇后の妬心をいたく刺激し,ついには彼女を憤死せしめたというおよそ聖帝らしからぬ伝承もある。聖帝,仁君として描かれているのは,仁徳の玄孫に当たる武烈天皇の代で仁徳の王統が途絶えたので,王朝最後の王=暴君とし,それとの対応関係により,王朝の開祖=聖帝と構想されたためにすぎない。中国の歴史書『宋書』(488年完成)にみえる倭王の讃あるいは珍に当たるとされているが,仁徳に該当する倭王の存在が認められるにしても,『古事記』『日本書紀』にみられる仁徳の位置や所伝は,あくまでも系譜の上で作り出されたものとみられる。すなわち,6世紀初頭に新たに王権を継承した継体天皇がみずからの正当性を主張するために,5世紀に実在したA,Bふたつの大王家の系譜と自己の保有する系譜とを統合する過程で,B大王家から出た最後の実在の大王である武烈すなわちワカサザキ(ワカタケル大王の子)の名前からヒントを得て,A,B両大王家共通の祖先名として,オオサザキなる王が案出されたのである。『延喜式』によれば,陵は和泉国大鳥郡(堺市,高石市)にあった百舌鳥耳原中陵。堺市にある全長485mの前方後円墳(大山古墳ともいう)は仁徳天皇陵として有名だが,年代的には合致しない。<参考文献>直木孝次郎『飛鳥奈良時代の研究』,前之園亮一『古代王朝交替説批判』,川口勝康「五世紀の大王と王統譜を探る」(原島礼二ほか『巨大古墳と倭の五王』),「大王の出現」(吉田孝編『日本の社会史』3巻)

(遠山美都男)

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

<<: Tomb of Emperor Nintoku

>>: Chief of staff - Ninjo