Emperor Temmu

Emperor Temmu (天武天皇 Temmu Tennō) (c. 631 - October 1, 686) was the 40th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He is the first monarch of Japan, to whom the title tenno was assigned contemporaneously, not only by later generations. He ruled from 672 until his death in 686. He was the youngest son of Emperor Jomei and Empress Saimei, and the younger brother of the Emperor Tenji. His name at birth was Prince Ōama. He was succeeded by Empress Jitō, who was both his niece and his wife.

Genealogy

During the reign of his elder brother, Emperor Tenji, Temmu was forced to marry several of Tenji's daughters because Tenji thought those marriages would help to strengthen political ties between the two brothers. The nieces he married included Princess Unonosarara, today known as the Empress Jitō, and Princess Ōta. Temmu also had other consorts whose fathers were influential courtiers.

Temmu had many children, including his crown prince Kusakabe by Princess Unonosarara, Prince Ōtsu by Princess Ōta (whose father also was Tenji), and Prince Toneri, the editor of Nihonshoki and father of Emperor Junnin. Through Prince Kusakabe, Temmu had two emperors and two empresses among his descendents. Empress Shōtoku was the last of these imperial rulers from his lineage.

Life

The first and only document on his life was Nihonshoki. However, it was edited by his son, Prince Toneri, and the work was written during the reigns of his wife and children, causing one to suspect its accuracy and impartiality.

Temmu's father died while he was young, and he grew up mainly under the guidance of Empress Saimei. He was not expected to gain the throne, because his brother Tenji was the crown prince, being the older son of their mother, the reigning empress.

After Tenji ascended to the throne, Temmu was appointed crown prince. This was because Tenji had no appropriate heir among his sons at that time, as none of their mothers was of a rank high enough to give the necessary political support. Tenji was suspicious that Temmu might be so ambitious as to attempt to take the throne, and felt the necessity to strengthen his allegiance through the marriages mentioned above.

In his old age, Tenji had a son, Prince Ōtomo, by a low-ranking consort. Since Ōtomo had weak political support from his maternal relatives, the general wisdom of the time held that it was not a good idea for him to ascend to the throne, yet Tenji was obsessed with the idea. In 671 Temmu felt himself to be in danger and volunteered to resign the office of crown prince to become a monk. He moved to the mountains in Yoshino, Yamato province (now in Yoshino, Nara), officially for reasons of seclusion. He took with him his sons and one of his wives, Princess Unonosarara, a daughter of Tenji. However, he left all his other consorts at the capital, Omikyō in Omi province (today in Otsu, Shiga).

A year later, (in 672) Tenji died and Prince Ōtomo ascended to the throne as Emperor Kōbun. Temmu assembled an army and marched from Yoshino to the east, to attack Omikyō in a counterclockwise movement. They marched through Yamato, Iga and Mino provinces to threaten Omikyō in the adjacent province. The army of Temmu and the army of the young Emperor Kobun fought in the northwestern part of Mino (nowadays Sekigahara, Gifu). Temmu's army won and Kōbun committed suicide (Jinshin incident).

In 673 Temmu moved the capital back to Yamato province, naming his new capital Asukakiyomihara, and there he ascended to the throne. He elevated Unonosarara to be his empress. He reigned from this capital until his death in 686.

Politics

In Nihonshoki Temmu is described as a great innovator, but the neutrality of this description is doubtful, since the work was written under the control of his descendants. It seems clear, however, that Temmu strengthened the power of the emperor and appointed his sons to the highest offices of his government, reducing the traditional influence of powerful clans such as the Ōtomo and Soga. He renewed the system of kabane, the hereditary titles of duty and rank, but with alterations, including the abolition of some titles. Omi and Muraji, the highest kabane in the earlier period, were reduced in value in the new hierarchy, which consisted of eight kinds of kabane. Each clan received a new kabane according to its closeness to the imperial bloodline and its loyalty to Temmu.

Temmu attempted to keep a balance of power among his sons. Once he traveled to Yoshino together with his sons, and there had them swear to cooperate and not to make war on each other. This turned out to be ineffective: one of his sons, Prince Ōtsu, was later executed for treason after the death of Temmu.

Temmu's foreign policy favored the Korean kingdom Silla, which took over the entire Korean peninsula in 676. After the unification of Korea by Silla, Temmu decided to break diplomatic relations with the Tang dynasty of China, evidently in order to keep on good terms with Silla.

Temmu used religious structures to increase the authority of the imperial throne. During his reign there was increased emphasis on the tie between the imperial household and the Grand Shrine of Ise (dedicated to the ancestor goddess of the emperors, Amaterasu), and several festivals were financed from the national budget. He also showed favor to Buddhism, and built several large temples and monasteries. On the other hand, all Buddhist priests, monks and nuns were controlled by the state, and no one was allowed to become a monk without the state's permission. This was aimed at preventing cults and stopping farmers from turning into priests.