Suicide

Suizei on a print from the Meiji period

Suizei ( Japanese 綏靖天皇 , Suizei-tennō ; * 632 BC ; † 549 BC ) was according to the ancient chronicles Kojiki and Nihonshoki the 2nd Tenno of Japan (581 BC – 549 BC. ). Its historical existence is doubtful. He is one of the "eight undocumented emperors" ( 欠史八代 kesshi hachidai ) of whom only a sketchy representation is known.

His proper name was Kamu-nuna-kawa-mimi no mikoto (Nihonshoki: 神渟名川耳尊 , Kojiki: 神沼河耳命 ). According to the Nihonshoki, his mother was Hime-tatara-isuzu no mikoto ( 媛蹈鞴五十鈴媛命 ) - daughter of Kami Koto-shiro-nushi -, according to the Kojiki Hoto-tatara-isuzuki-hime no mikoto ( 富登多多良伊須須岐比売命 ) short I-suke-yori-hime ( 伊須気余理比売 ) - daughter of Kami Ō-mono-nushi . With the death of the first emperor Jimmu, his eldest son Tagishi-mimi no mikoto (Nihonshoki: 手研耳命 , Kojiki: 多芸志美美命 ) took over the affairs of government during the prescribed mourning period. The Kojiki also mentions that he took the empress and his stepmother I-suke-yori-hime as his wife. He was vicious, unjust and planned to murder his younger half-brothers Kamu-ya-i-mimi no mikoto ( 神八井耳命 ) and Kamu-nuna-kawa-mimi, and they got ahead of him. However, since Kamu-ya-i-mimi hesitated in carrying it out, he handed the throne to his younger brother Kamu-nuna-kawa-mimi. The Kojiki is because of this episode the alternative name Take-nuna-kawa-mimi no mikoto ( 建沼河耳命 ), in which his name instead kamu , divine ', take , brave' is prefixed.

Suizei ruled in the Takaoka Palace (Nihonshoki: 葛城高丘宮 , Kojiki: 葛城高岡宮 , Kazuragi no Takaoka no miya ) in Kazuragi (today Gose ). According to the Nihonshoki, his wife was Isuzu-yori-hime no mikoto ( 五十鈴依媛命 ), according to the Kojiki Kawa-mata-hime ( 河俣毘売 ).

Entrance to Suizei's imperial tomb

He died according to the Nihonshoki at the age of 84 on the 10th day of the 5th lunar month in his 33rd year of reign (549 BC), according to the Kojiki at the age of 45. His mausoleum ( misasagi ) is the tumulus Tsukida-no-oka-no-e-no-misasagi ( 桃花鳥田丘上陵 , 'Imperial Tomb on the Hill of the Ibis Field'; 34 ° 30 ′ 2 ″ N , 135 ° 47 ′ 23 ″ E ) in Kashihara , 300 m north of the grave of his father Jimmu. 34.500555555556 135.78972222222

The name Suizei, whose two characters mean "peaceful", was given later when the Japanese emperors began to give themselves Chinese and Sino-Japanese names, often Buddhist-inspired.

Remarks

↑ Alternative readings are kan instead of kamu and kaha instead of kawa .
↑ For reasons of piety later called Hime-tatara-isuke-yori-hime ( 比売多多良伊須気余理比売 ), since hoto means 'vagina' and refers to an episode of their conception.

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b ^c ^d William George Aston: Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to AD 697 . Trench, Trübner & Co., London 1896, p. 137–141 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ). ; Copy of Nihonshoki (Japanese)
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Basil Hall Chamberlain: The Kojiki . 1919, Section LI. - LV. ( sacred-texts.com ).
↑ 天皇陵 - 綏靖天皇桃花鳥田丘上陵 . Kunai-chō , accessed October 1, 2017 (Japanese).

predecessor	Office	successor
Jimmu	Tennō 581-549 BC Chr.	Annei

personal data
SURNAME	Suicide
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	綏靖天皇 (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	2. Tennō of Japan (581 BC – 549 BC)
DATE OF BIRTH	632 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	549 BC Chr.

[1] Alternative readings are kan instead of kamu and kaha instead of kawa .

[2] For reasons of piety later called Hime-tatara-isuke-yori-hime ( 比売多多良伊須気余理比売 ), since hoto means 'vagina' and refers to an episode of their conception.

[Aston-3] A ^b ^c ^d William George Aston: Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to AD 697 . Trench, Trübner & Co., London 1896, p. 137–141 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ). ; Copy of Nihonshoki (Japanese)

[Kojiki-4] Basil Hall Chamberlain: The Kojiki . 1919, Section LI. - LV. ( sacred-texts.com ).

[5] 天皇陵 - 綏靖天皇桃花鳥田丘上陵 . Kunai-chō , accessed October 1, 2017 (Japanese).