Emperor Ninmyō

Emperor Ninmyō (仁明天皇, Ninmyō-tennō; 27 September 808 – 6 May 850)^[1] was the 54th emperor of Japan,^[2] according to the traditional order of succession.^[3] Ninmyō's reign lasted from 833 to 850, during the Heian period.^[4]His personal name (imina) was Masara (正良).^[5] After his death, he was given the title Ninmyō (仁明).

Reign22 March 833 – 4 May 850

Enthronement30 March 833

PredecessorJunna

SuccessorMontoku

Quick facts Emperor Ninmyō 仁明天皇, Reign ...

Emperor Ninmyō
仁明天皇

Emperor of Japan

Reign

22 March 833 – 4 May 850

Enthronement

30 March 833

Predecessor

Junna

Successor

Montoku

Born

Masara (正良)
27 September 808

Died

6 May 850 (aged 41)
Heian Kyō (Kyōto)

Burial

Fukakusa no misasagi (深草陵) (Kyoto)

Issue
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Posthumous name
Chinese-style shigō: Emperor Ninmyō (仁明天皇) Japanese-style shigō: Yamato-neko-amatsumishirushi-toyosato no Mikoto (日本根子天璽豊聡慧尊)

House

Imperial House of Japan

Father

Emperor Saga

Mother

Tachibana no Kachiko

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Biography

Ninmyō was the second son of Emperor Saga and the Empress Tachibana no Kachiko. He was the first emperor to be born in Heian-kyo and his birthdate was calculated by later historians based on entries in the Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku. Princess Masako (Empress of Emperor Junna) was his younger sister by the same parents and born in the same year, so it is presumed that she was his twin sister, although there are no historical sources that explicitly state that the Emperor and Princess were twins.

On February 28, 833, he ascended to the throne after his uncle, Emperor Junna, abdicated. Initially, Prince Tsunesada, the son of Emperor Junna, was designated as the heir apparent. However, following the Jōwa Incident of 842, Prince Tsunetsada was deposed, and Prince Michiyasu (Emperor Montoku), the eldest son of Emperor Ninmyō, was appointed Crown Prince. It is said that this was due to the emperor's desire to have his own son succeed to the throne, and a conspiracy by Fujiwara no Yoshifusa, Prince Michiyasu's uncle.

The culture of Tang-style rituals and Chinese poetry and prose, which flourished during the Kōnin and Tenchō eras (810-834), reached its peak during the Jōwa era (834-848). Emperor Ninmyō was fond of classical history, medicine, poetry, calligraphy, music, and archery. One of his poems remains in the Keikokushu.

Emperor Ninmyō was said to have been sickly from a young age, and the Shoku Nihon Koki records various illnesses from around the age of seven. Even after his enthronement, he frequently prepared medicines (elixirs and medicinal herbs) and is said to have possessed knowledge comparable to that of a physician. Furthermore, the entry for the death of Fujiwara no Yoshisuke in the Sandai Jitsuroku states that the Emperor ordered Yoshisuke and other close associates to taste the medicine he had prepared. The Shoku Nihon Koki, in its entry for February 22, 3rd year of Kasho, states that the Emperor participated in a court meeting from behind a curtain, suggesting that he was listening to the discussions while hiding himself from view due to his serious illness (the Emperor died a month later).

In 843, Fumuro no Miyatamaro was accused of plotting rebellion, and his family was exiled. There are various theories regarding the underlying cause of this incident, one of which was that the Fujiwara clan sought to eliminate a potential rival who was also involved in trade.

Ninmyō had nine Empresses, Imperial consorts, and concubines (kōi); and the emperor had 24 Imperial sons and daughters.^[6] In 845, Ninmyō suspected an affair between his consort, Mikunimachi, who bore him a son (Sadato, then known as Minamoto no Noboru), and Fujiwara no Arisada, the younger brother of his consort Fujiwara no Sadako and a close confidant since his childhood, and demoted him to a provincial official position.

On March 19, 850, he abdicated in favor of Emperor Montoku due to illness. He died two days later, on March 21 of the same year. He was 41 years old.

Grave of Emperor Ninmyō

The Imperial Household Agency designates Fukakusa no Misasagi (深草陵, Fukakusa Imperial Mausoleum), in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, as the location of Ninmyō's tomb.^[2] Per the Montoku Tennō Jitsuroku Emperor Ninmyō died in the Seiryōden Palace. His son, Emperor Montoku, considered the Seiryōden Palace to be inauspicious and dismantled it, moving it to the side of the mausoleum, where it became a temple called Kashō-dō, which maintained the grave. This became the first instance of the Seiryōden Palace being rebuilt during the Heian period. Later, the temple was renamed Jōgan-ji (per the Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku). It was listed in the Engishiki under "Imperial tombs; however, by the end of the Kamakura period, the temple had been abolished and the location of the grave unknown. During the Edo period, in 1862-1863, during the Bunkyū Restoration of Mausoleums, the current location (Higashi Kurumazuka) was official designated as Emperor Ninmyō's mausoleum.

Events of Ninmyō's life

Ninmyō ascended to the throne following the abdication of his uncle, Emperor Junna.

6 January 823^[7] (Kōnin 10, 4th month, 19th day^[8]): Received the title of Crown Prince at the age of 14.
22 March 833 (Tenchō 10, 28th day of the 2nd month^[9]): In the 10th year of Emperor Junna's reign, the emperor abdicated; and the succession (senso) was received by his adopted son. Masara-shinnō was the natural son of Emperor Saga, and therefore would have been Junna's nephew.^[6] Shortly thereafter, Emperor Ninmyo is said to have acceded to the throne (sokui).^[10]

Shortly after Ninmyo was enthroned, he designated an heir. He named Prince Tsunesada, a son of former Emperor Junna, as the crown prince.^[11]

835 (Jōwa 2^[12]): Kūkai (known posthumously as Kōbō-Daishi) died. This monk, scholar, poet, and artist had been the founder of the Shingon or "True Word" school of Buddhism.^[11]
838-839 (Jōwa 5-6): Diplomatic mission to Tang China headed by Fujiwara no Tsunetsugu.^[13]
842: Following a coup d'état called the Jōwa Incident, Tsunesada the crown prince was replaced with Ninmyō's first son, Prince Michiyasu (later Emperor Montoku) whose mother was the Empress Fujiwara no Junshi, a daughter of sadaijin Fujiwara no Fuyutsugu. It is supposed that this was the result of political intrigue planned by Ninmyō and Fujiwara no Yoshifusa.^[14] The first of what would become a powerful line of Fujiwara regents,^[15] Yoshifusa had numerous family ties to the imperial court; he was Ninmyō's brother in law (by virtue of his sister who became Ninmyō's consort), the second son of sadaijin Fuyutsugu, and uncle to the new crown prince.^[14]

In his lifetime, Ninmyō could not have anticipated that his third son, Prince Tokiyasu, would eventually ascend the throne in 884 as Emperor Kōkō.^[16]

6 May 850 (Kashō 3, 21st day of the 3rd month^[17]): Emperor Ninmyō died at the age of 41.^[18]^[19] He was sometimes posthumously referred to as "the Emperor of Fukakusa", because that was the name given to his tomb.^[20]

Eras of Ninmyō's reign

The years of Ninmyō's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name (nengō).^[21]

Tenchō (824–834)
Jōwa (834–848)
Kashō (848–851)

Kugyō

Kugyō (公卿) is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre-Meiji eras.^[22]

In general, this elite group included only three to four men at a time. These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background would have brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career. During Ninmyō's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:

Sadaijin, Fujiwara no Otsugu (藤原緒嗣), 773–843.^[23]
Sadaijin, Minamoto no Tokiwa (源常), 812–854.^[6]
Udaijin, Kiyohara no Natsuno (清原夏野), 782–837.^[6]
Udaijin, Fujiwara no Mimori (藤原三守), d. 840.^[6]
Udaijin, Minamoto no Tokiwa (源常)
Udaijin, Tachibana no Ujikimi (橘氏公), 783–847.^[6]
Udaijin, Fujiwara no Yoshifusa (藤原良房), 804–872.^[11]
Udaijin, Fujiwara no Otsugu, 825–832^[23]
Naidaijin (not appointed)
Dainagon, Fujiwara no Otsugu, ?–825.^[24]

Consorts and children

Consort (Nyōgo) later Empress Dowager (Tai-Kōtaigō): Fujiwara no Junshi (藤原順子; 809–871), Fujiwara no Fuyutsugu’s daughter

First Son: Imperial Prince Michiyasu (道康親王) later Emperor Montoku

Consort (Nyōgo): Fujiwara no Takushi/Sawako (藤原沢子; d.839), Fujiwara no Fusatsugu’s daughter

Second Son: Imperial Prince Muneyasu (宗康親王; 828–868)
Third Son: Imperial Prince Tokiyasu (時康親王) later Emperor Kōkō
Fourth Son: Imperial Prince Saneyasu (人康親王; 831–872)
Imperial Princess Shinshi (新子内親王; d.897)

Consort (Nyōgo): Fujiwara no Teishi/Sadako (藤原貞子; d.864), Fujiwara no Tadamori’s daughter

Eighth Son: Imperial Prince Nariyasu (成康親王; 836–853)
Imperial Princess Shinshi (親子内親王; d. 851)
Imperial Princess Heishi (平子内親王; d. 877)

Court lady: Shigeno no Tsunako (滋野縄子), Shigeno no Sadanushi’s daughter

fifth Son: Imperial Prince Motoyasu (本康親王; d. 902)
Ninth Daughter: Imperial Princess Tokiko (時子内親王; d. 847), 2nd Saiin in Kamo Shrine 831–833
Imperial Princess Jūshi (柔子内親王; d. 869)

Consort (Nyōgo): Tachibana no Kageko (橘影子; d. 864), Tachibana no Ujikimi’s daughter

Consort (Nyōgo): Fujiwara Musuko (藤原息子)

Court Attendant (Koui): Ki no Taneko (紀種子; d. 869), Ki no Natora’s daughter