Prince Otomo

Japanese: 大友皇子 - おおとものみこ

Year of death: Tenmu 1.7 (672)
Year of birth: 4th year of the Taika Era (648)
Son of Emperor Tenchi. Also known as Prince Iga. It is unclear whether he ascended to the throne after the death of Emperor Tenchi in 671 (Tenchi 10). The Nihon Shoki does not include an article about his accession to the throne. It was only after the Meiji government was established that he was deemed to have ascended to the throne, and he was posthumously named Emperor Kobun in 1870 (Meiji 3). His mother was Iga Saijo no Takuko no Musume, and he was probably from a powerful clan in Iga Province (Mie Prefecture). He was killed by Prince Oama (later Emperor Tenmu) in the Jinshin War (672). In his later years, in 672 (Tenchi 10), Emperor Tenchi appointed Prince Otomo as Grand Minister of State, Soga no Akae as Minister of the Left, and Nakatomi no Kane as Minister of the Right, and tried to make Prince Oama his successor, but Prince Oama is said to have refused. Furthermore, in the same year, Prince Otomo and the Ministers of the Left and Right swore to obey Tenchi's decree in front of the Woven Buddha statue in the Western Hall of the Imperial Palace of Otsu Palace in Omi. As a result, Tenchi stabilized his power by gathering powerful clans in the Kinai region, such as Soga no Akae and Nakatomi no Kane, who had long been involved in the Yamato Imperial Court, around Prince Otomo, and chose Prince Otomo as his successor. However, a dispute arose between Prince Oama, who had retreated to Yoshino (Yoshino Town, Nara Prefecture), and the Jinshin War broke out. Prince Otomo sent troops throughout the country, including to the eastern provinces, Yamato-kyo, Tsukushi, and Kibi, to subjugate Oama's side, but failed in Tsukushi and Yamato-kyo, and his envoys were unable to reach the eastern provinces. He was defeated by Prince Oama's army, which launched a blitzkrieg mainly with troops from the eastern provinces and Yamato, and challenged him to a decisive battle at Seta Bridge in July of the first year of Tenmu's reign, but was unable to hold out and hanged himself. The cause of the Jinshin War is thought to be a struggle for the Imperial succession between Prince Otomo and Prince Oama, but the details of the cause are unknown. Prince Otomo was also skilled in Chinese poetry and prose, and two poems by Prince Otomo of the Tankai Dynasty are preserved in the "Kaifuso." According to a detailed biography left in the "Kaifuso," Prince Otomo was erudite and knowledgeable in many areas, and his ministers respected and obeyed him. He was also said to have had a wide network of acquaintances with learned people, such as Shataku Shomei, Tono Shunsho, and Kikko Taisho. These people came to Japan as refugees from Baekje after its downfall in 663. Prince Otomo was supported by the old powerful families of Soga and Nakatomi, who served as the Ministers of the Left and Right, and by the learned officials who were exiled from Baekje. This is thought to have been in contrast to the policies of Prince Oama, who broke the old ties with the powerful families of the Kinai region, changed the pro-Baekje diplomacy, and established friendly relations with Silla, i.e., the Tenmu administration, which relied on an old system. Prince Otomo's abilities were highly praised in "Kaifuso" and other publications, and it is said that "the prince was naturally enlightened and had a broad love for the elegance of the past." Despite his outstanding personal talents, the fact that he was defeated in the Jinshin War was likely due to the historical background behind it.

(Kiyoaki Kito)

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

Japanese:

没年：天武1.7(672)
生年：大化4(648)
天智天皇の皇子。伊賀皇子とも。天智10(671)年天智天皇没後,即位したかどうかは不明。『日本書紀』は即位記事をのせていない。明治政府になってから,天皇としての即位があったはずだとして,明治3(1870)年弘文天皇と追諡された。母は伊賀采女宅子娘で,伊賀国(三重県)の豪族の出身であろう。壬申の乱(672)で大海人皇子(のちの天武天皇)によって亡ぼされた。天智天皇はその晩年,天智10年大友皇子を太政大臣とし,蘇我赤兄を左大臣に,中臣金を右大臣とするとともに,大海人皇子を後継者にしようとしたが,大海人皇子は固辞したことになっている。さらに同年,大友皇子と左右大臣らは近江大津宮の内裏の西殿の織仏像の前で,天智の詔を守る誓いを立てている。このように天智は,結果として大友皇子を中心に蘇我赤兄,中臣金など古くからの大和朝廷に参画した畿内の大豪族を結集して権力を安定させ,大友皇子を後継者とすることとなった。ところが,吉野(奈良県吉野町)に退いた大海人皇子との間で争いが生じ,壬申の乱が起こり,大友皇子は東国,倭京,筑紫,吉備など全国にわたって軍隊を派遣,大海人方を征討することにしたが,筑紫,倭京では失敗,東国へは使者が到着できず,東国,大和の兵を中心に電撃作戦に出た大海人皇子の軍隊に敗れ,天武1年7月瀬田橋で決戦を挑んだが支えきれず,自縊して没した。壬申の乱の原因については大友皇子と大海人皇子との皇位継承争いとみられているが,その原因の詳細は不明である。大友皇子は漢詩文にも秀で,『懐風藻』にも淡海朝大友皇子2首として詩が残されている。『懐風藻』に残された詳しい伝記によると,博学で多くの知識に通じており,群臣は畏れ服従していたという。また広く学識者と親交があったとし,それらの人々として沙宅紹明,答〓春初,吉大尚などがあげられている。彼らは百済滅亡(663)ののち,百済から亡命者として来日した人たちであった。このように大友皇子を支えたのは左右大臣としては蘇我,中臣という古くからの豪族であり,また学識者としては百済からの亡命官人たちであった。これは畿内の大豪族の古い絆をたち,親百済外交を改め,新羅との親交を開いた大海人皇子すなわち天武政権の政策とは対照的に古い体制に依拠していたものと考えられる。大友皇子の能力が『懐風藻』などで高く評価され「太子は天性明悟,博く古を雅愛する」といわれているように,個人的に秀でたものがあったにもかかわらず壬申の乱に敗れたのは,その背景となった歴史的基盤に要因があったものであろう。<参考文献>直木孝次郎『増補壬申の乱』

(鬼頭清明)

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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