Difference between revisions of "Empress Suiko" - New World Encyclopedia

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{{nihongo|'''Empress Suiko'''|推古天皇|Suiko Tennō|[[554]]&ndash;[[April 15]], [[628]]<ref name=Japanese_dates1>[[April 15]], [[628]] corresponds to the Seventh Day of the Third Month of 628 ([[Sexagenary cycle|Boshi]]) of the traditional [[lunisolar calendar]] used in Japan until [[1873]].</ref>}} was the 33rd emperor of [[Japan]], according to the traditional order of succession, and the first known woman to hold this position.
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''Empress Suiko''  (''Suiko Tennō'') 554C.E.&ndash;April 15, 628C.E.<ref name=Japanese_dates1>April 15, 628C.E. corresponds to the Seventh Day of the Third Month of 628C.E. ([[Sexagenary cycle|Boshi]]) of the traditional [[lunisolar calendar]] used in Japan until 1873.</ref>}} was the 33rd emperor of [[Japan]], according to the traditional order of succession, and the first known woman to hold this position.  She ruled for 35 years. The influence of Chinese culture and Buddhism developed during her reign, as did the rules of court etiquette using caps to distinguish rank. She appointed a Buddhist priest as her son's mentor and protected Buddhism in Japan.  She promoted the study of astronomy and geography when books on these subjects reached Japan from Korea. She also inititated reforms of the Japanese bureaucracy and appears to have introduced a Constitution, the Seventeen Article Constitution of 604, which aimed to set the moral tone for her centralizing reforms at a time when Japan was disunited. Its central virtue was harmony (''wa''). It set out the conduct that was expected of civil servants in the running of the country under the supreme authority of the Emperor. In 607, diplomatic relations with China were established. Her administration appears to have looked to China as a continental civilization from which Japan could benefit, thus Confucian values informed the Constitution. Suiko was able to retain authority at a time when women did not play significant public roles and to reign for 35 years in a culture that was dominated not only by men but also by the warrior mentality as the ideal of masculinity and when assassination was commo n<ref>.  While the Bushido code did not develop in its fullest form until much later, there is evidence that the image of the 'ideal warrior' was extant at this time. Prince Shotoku was a renowned martial arts practitioner, see Tanaka: 18</ref>.
  
 
==Ascension==
 
==Ascension==
She had several names including Princess Nukatabe and (possibly posthumous) Toyomike Kashikiya. She was the third daughter of [[Emperor Kimmei]], and her mother was [[Soga no Iname|Soga no Iname's]] daughter, [[Soga no Kitashihime]]. She was a consort to her half-brother [[Emperor Bidatsu]], but after Bidatsu's first wife died she became his official wife and was given the title Ōkisaki (official wife of the emperor). She bore two sons and three daughters.
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The future Empress was known by several names, including Princess Nukatabe and (possibly posthumous) Toyomike Kashikiya. She was the third daughter of [[Emperor Kimmei]], and her mother was [[Soga no Iname|Soga no Iname's]] daughter, [[Soga no Kitashihime]]. She was a consort to her half-brother [[Emperor Bidatsu]], but after Bidatsu's first wife died she became his official wife and was given the title Ōkisaki (official wife of the emperor). She bore two sons and three daughters.
  
After Bidatsu's death, Suiko's brother, [[Emperor Yomei|Emperor Yōmei]], came to power for a brief period of about two years before dying of illness. Upon Yōmei's death, a power struggle arose between the [[Soga]] clan and the [[Mononobe clan]], with the Sogas supporting [[Emperor Sushun|Prince Hatsusebe]] and the Mononobes supporting [[Prince Anahobe]]. The Sogas prevailed and Prince Hatsusebe acceded to the throne as [[Emperor Sushun]] in [[587]]. However, [[Soga no Umako]] quickly began to fear Sushun's growing resentment of the power of the Soga clan and Umako had him assassinated in [[592]]. When asked to accede to the throne to fill the power vacuum that then developed, Suiko became the first of several examples in Japanese history where a woman was chosen to accede to the throne to avert a power struggle.  
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After Bidatsu's death, Suiko's brother, [[Emperor Yomei|Emperor Yōmei]], came to power for a brief period of about two years before dying of illness. Following Yōmei's death, a power struggle developed between the Soga clan and the Mononobe clan, with the Sogas supporting [[Emperor Sushun|Prince Hatsusebe]] and the Mononobes supporting [[Prince Anahobe]]. The Sogas prevailed and Prince Hatsusebe acceded to the throne as Emperor Sushun in 587. However, [[Soga no Umako]] quickly began to fear Sushun's growing resentment of the power of the Soga clan and Umako had him assassinated in 592. When asked to accede to the throne to fill the power vacuum that then developed, Suiko became the first of several examples in Japanese history where a woman was chosen to accede to the throne to avert a power struggle.
  
 
==Career==
 
==Career==
Although [[Prince Shotoku|Prince Shōtoku]] was appointed regent the following year and political power during Suiko's reign is widely viewed as having been wielded by Prince Shōtoku and Soga no Umako, Suiko was far from powerless. For example, her refusal to grant Soga no Umako's request that he be granted the imperial territory known as Kazuraki no Agata in [[624]] is widely cited as evidence of her independence from his influence. Some of the many achievements under Empress Suiko's reign include the official recognition of Buddhism by the issuance of the Flourishing Three Treasures Edict in [[594]], the opening of relations with the [[Sui Dynasty|Sui]] court in [[600]], the adoption of the [[Twelve Level Cap and Rank System]] in [[603]] and the adoption of the [[Seventeen-article constitution]] in [[604]]. Suiko was also one of the first [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] monarchs in Japan and had taken the vows of a [[nun]] shortly before becoming empress.
+
[[Prince Shotoku|Prince Shōtoku]], Yomei's second son, was appointed regent the following year. Political power during Suiko's long reign is widely viewed as having been wielded by Prince Shōtoku and Soga no Umako but Suiko was far from powerless. For example, her refusal to grant Soga no Umako's request that he be granted the imperial territory known as Kazuraki no Agata in [[624]] is widely cited as evidence of her independence from his influence. Some of the many achievements under Empress Suiko's reign include the official recognition of Buddhism by the issuance of the Flourishing Three Treasures Edict in 594, the opening of relations with China's [[Sui Dynasty|Sui]] court in 600, the adoption of the Twelve Level Cap and Rank System of court etiquette in 603 and the adoption of the Seventeen-article constitution in 604.
  
At a time when imperial succession was generally determined by clan leaders, rather than the emperor, Suiko left only vague indications of succession to two candidates while on her deathbed. One, [[Emperor Jomei|Prince Tamura]], was a grandson of Emperor Bidatsu and was supported by the main line of Sogas, including [[Soga no Emishi]]. The other, [[Prince Yamashiro]], was a son of Prince Shōtoku and had the support of some lesser members of the Soga clan. After a brief struggle within the Soga clan in which one of Prince Yamashiro's main supporters was killed, Prince Tamura was chosen and he acceded to the throne as [[Emperor Jomei]] in [[629]].
+
=== Japan's First Constitution===
 +
The Constitution did not set out systems and accountability of governance in the modern understanding of a constitution but duties and responsibilities.  Civil servants must obey imperial commands scrupulosuly, must not be greedy or gluttonous and all cases must be treated fairly and without favor. Anger should be avoided. The three refuges of Buddhism were upheld as the state's basic moral truths. Ministers of state should have the public, not private or personal, interests at heart.  The Constitution is credited with creating a unified Japan from "out of an essentially tribal or clan society".  Sovereignty, "derives from heaven", and symbolized the moral order of the world.  <De Bary: 259</ref>. The land envisioned by the Constitution was a "Buddha-land" in which "ruler's fostered their subjects welfare both materially and spiritually" and also one in which all subordinated "their private interests and local loyalities to the good of a unified state" <rfef>De Bary: 264</ref>. The Constitution stated:
 +
 
 +
:Harmony is to be valued, and an avoidance of wanton opposition to be honoured. All men are influenced by class-feelings, and there are few who are intelligent. Hence, there are some who disobey their lords and fathers, or who maintaim feuds with the neigboring villages. But when those abobe are harmonious and those below are friendly, and there is concord in the discussion of business, right views of things spontaneously gain acceptance <ref> Aston: 129</ref>.
 +
 
 +
===Patronage of Buddhism===
 +
Suiko was also one of the first [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] monarchs in Japan and had taken the vows of a [[nun]] shortly before becoming empress.  According to De Bary, her son also exemplified the Buddhist ideal, so much so that he became "a legend, the object of the hero-worshiping and deifying tendency so strong in the native religion tradition". The indigenous religion of Japan, which became known as Shinto after the spread of Buddhism, populates the spirit world with many deities, or Kami, and a strong leader could claim this status while still alive <ref> De Barry: 259</ref>.  The Empress built temples and employed Korean Buddhist monks to tutor her sons.
 +
 
 +
===Death and Succession===
 +
At a time when imperial succession was generally determined by clan leaders, rather than the emperor, Suiko left only vague indications of succession to two candidates while on her deathbed. One, [[Emperor Jomei|Prince Tamura]], was a grandson of Emperor Bidatsu and was supported by the main line of Sogas, including [[Soga no Emishi]]. The other, [[Prince Yamashiro]], was a son of Prince Shōtoku and had the support of some lesser members of the Soga clan. After a brief struggle within the Soga clan in which one of Prince Yamashiro's main supporters was killed, Prince Tamura was chosen and he acceded to the throne as Emperor Jomei in 629.
  
 
==Legacy==
 
==Legacy==
The two oldest [[volcano|volcanoes]] in the [[Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain]] are named for Suiko. They are approximately 65 million years old.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/HCV/haw_formation.html| title=The Formation of the Hawaiian Islands| publisher=Hawaii Center for Volcanology| accessdate=2006-04-19| date=[[2005-04-04]]}}</ref>
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The two oldest [[volcano|volcanoes]] in the [[Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain]] are named for Suiko. They are approximately 65 million years old.<ref>"The Formation of the Hawaiian Islands", Hawaii Center for Volcanology http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/HCV/haw_formation.html retrieved 18-03-2007</ref>.  During Empress Suiko's reign, art and education and culture flourished in Japan. She ordered the construction of copper images of the Buddha <ref>Aston: 133</ref>.  During Empress Suiko's reign, the island nation of Japan was open to cultural and religious influence from the continental civilizations of China and Korea.  These influences were valued, and incoroprated into the Constitution of 604. Later, Japan would despise the Chinese and Koreans and regard themselves as superior to them but at this period their was recognition that Japan, China and Korea belonged to a common cultural world.
  
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==
 
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<references/>
 
<references/>
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==References==
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* Aston, William G ''Nihongi: chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to AD 697'', North Clarendon, VT: Tuttle Publishing, 2005 ISBN 978-0804836746
 +
* De Bary, William Theodore  ''The Buddhist Tradition: In India, China and Japan'', NY: Vintage, 978-0394716961
 +
* Kerr, George H and Sakihara, Mitsugu  ''Okinawa: The History of an Island People'', North Clarendon, VT: Tuttle Publishing, 2000 ISBN 978-0804820875
 +
*Tanaka, Fumon  ''Samurai Fighting Arts: The Spirit and the Practice'', NY: Oxford University Press, 2003 ISBN  978-4770028983
  
 
==External Links==
 
==External Links==
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{{end box}}
 
{{end box}}
  
==References==
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Revision as of 16:58, 18 March 2007

Empress Suiko (Suiko Tennō) 554C.E.–April 15, 628C.E.[1]}} was the 33rd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession, and the first known woman to hold this position. She ruled for 35 years. The influence of Chinese culture and Buddhism developed during her reign, as did the rules of court etiquette using caps to distinguish rank. She appointed a Buddhist priest as her son's mentor and protected Buddhism in Japan. She promoted the study of astronomy and geography when books on these subjects reached Japan from Korea. She also inititated reforms of the Japanese bureaucracy and appears to have introduced a Constitution, the Seventeen Article Constitution of 604, which aimed to set the moral tone for her centralizing reforms at a time when Japan was disunited. Its central virtue was harmony (wa). It set out the conduct that was expected of civil servants in the running of the country under the supreme authority of the Emperor. In 607, diplomatic relations with China were established. Her administration appears to have looked to China as a continental civilization from which Japan could benefit, thus Confucian values informed the Constitution. Suiko was able to retain authority at a time when women did not play significant public roles and to reign for 35 years in a culture that was dominated not only by men but also by the warrior mentality as the ideal of masculinity and when assassination was commo n[2].

Ascension

The future Empress was known by several names, including Princess Nukatabe and (possibly posthumous) Toyomike Kashikiya. She was the third daughter of Emperor Kimmei, and her mother was Soga no Iname's daughter, Soga no Kitashihime. She was a consort to her half-brother Emperor Bidatsu, but after Bidatsu's first wife died she became his official wife and was given the title Ōkisaki (official wife of the emperor). She bore two sons and three daughters.

After Bidatsu's death, Suiko's brother, Emperor Yōmei, came to power for a brief period of about two years before dying of illness. Following Yōmei's death, a power struggle developed between the Soga clan and the Mononobe clan, with the Sogas supporting Prince Hatsusebe and the Mononobes supporting Prince Anahobe. The Sogas prevailed and Prince Hatsusebe acceded to the throne as Emperor Sushun in 587. However, Soga no Umako quickly began to fear Sushun's growing resentment of the power of the Soga clan and Umako had him assassinated in 592. When asked to accede to the throne to fill the power vacuum that then developed, Suiko became the first of several examples in Japanese history where a woman was chosen to accede to the throne to avert a power struggle.

Career

Prince Shōtoku, Yomei's second son, was appointed regent the following year. Political power during Suiko's long reign is widely viewed as having been wielded by Prince Shōtoku and Soga no Umako but Suiko was far from powerless. For example, her refusal to grant Soga no Umako's request that he be granted the imperial territory known as Kazuraki no Agata in 624 is widely cited as evidence of her independence from his influence. Some of the many achievements under Empress Suiko's reign include the official recognition of Buddhism by the issuance of the Flourishing Three Treasures Edict in 594, the opening of relations with China's Sui court in 600, the adoption of the Twelve Level Cap and Rank System of court etiquette in 603 and the adoption of the Seventeen-article constitution in 604.

Japan's First Constitution

The Constitution did not set out systems and accountability of governance in the modern understanding of a constitution but duties and responsibilities. Civil servants must obey imperial commands scrupulosuly, must not be greedy or gluttonous and all cases must be treated fairly and without favor. Anger should be avoided. The three refuges of Buddhism were upheld as the state's basic moral truths. Ministers of state should have the public, not private or personal, interests at heart. The Constitution is credited with creating a unified Japan from "out of an essentially tribal or clan society". Sovereignty, "derives from heaven", and symbolized the moral order of the world. <De Bary: 259</ref>. The land envisioned by the Constitution was a "Buddha-land" in which "ruler's fostered their subjects welfare both materially and spiritually" and also one in which all subordinated "their private interests and local loyalities to the good of a unified state" <rfef>De Bary: 264</ref>. The Constitution stated:

Harmony is to be valued, and an avoidance of wanton opposition to be honoured. All men are influenced by class-feelings, and there are few who are intelligent. Hence, there are some who disobey their lords and fathers, or who maintaim feuds with the neigboring villages. But when those abobe are harmonious and those below are friendly, and there is concord in the discussion of business, right views of things spontaneously gain acceptance [3].

Patronage of Buddhism

Suiko was also one of the first Buddhist monarchs in Japan and had taken the vows of a nun shortly before becoming empress. According to De Bary, her son also exemplified the Buddhist ideal, so much so that he became "a legend, the object of the hero-worshiping and deifying tendency so strong in the native religion tradition". The indigenous religion of Japan, which became known as Shinto after the spread of Buddhism, populates the spirit world with many deities, or Kami, and a strong leader could claim this status while still alive [4]. The Empress built temples and employed Korean Buddhist monks to tutor her sons.

Death and Succession

At a time when imperial succession was generally determined by clan leaders, rather than the emperor, Suiko left only vague indications of succession to two candidates while on her deathbed. One, Prince Tamura, was a grandson of Emperor Bidatsu and was supported by the main line of Sogas, including Soga no Emishi. The other, Prince Yamashiro, was a son of Prince Shōtoku and had the support of some lesser members of the Soga clan. After a brief struggle within the Soga clan in which one of Prince Yamashiro's main supporters was killed, Prince Tamura was chosen and he acceded to the throne as Emperor Jomei in 629.

Legacy

The two oldest volcanoes in the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain are named for Suiko. They are approximately 65 million years old.[5]. During Empress Suiko's reign, art and education and culture flourished in Japan. She ordered the construction of copper images of the Buddha [6]. During Empress Suiko's reign, the island nation of Japan was open to cultural and religious influence from the continental civilizations of China and Korea. These influences were valued, and incoroprated into the Constitution of 604. Later, Japan would despise the Chinese and Koreans and regard themselves as superior to them but at this period their was recognition that Japan, China and Korea belonged to a common cultural world.

Notes

  1. April 15, 628C.E. corresponds to the Seventh Day of the Third Month of 628C.E. (Boshi) of the traditional lunisolar calendar used in Japan until 1873.
  2. . While the Bushido code did not develop in its fullest form until much later, there is evidence that the image of the 'ideal warrior' was extant at this time. Prince Shotoku was a renowned martial arts practitioner, see Tanaka: 18
  3. Aston: 129
  4. De Barry: 259
  5. "The Formation of the Hawaiian Islands", Hawaii Center for Volcanology http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/HCV/haw_formation.html retrieved 18-03-2007
  6. Aston: 133

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Aston, William G Nihongi: chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to AD 697, North Clarendon, VT: Tuttle Publishing, 2005 ISBN 978-0804836746
  • De Bary, William Theodore The Buddhist Tradition: In India, China and Japan, NY: Vintage, 978-0394716961
  • Kerr, George H and Sakihara, Mitsugu Okinawa: The History of an Island People, North Clarendon, VT: Tuttle Publishing, 2000 ISBN 978-0804820875
  • Tanaka, Fumon Samurai Fighting Arts: The Spirit and the Practice, NY: Oxford University Press, 2003 ISBN 978-4770028983

External Links

Preceded by:
Emperor Sushun
Empress of Japan
593-628
Succeeded by:
Emperor Jomei

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