Predecessor Emperor Ingyo Died 456 (aged 55) | Successor Emperor Yuryaku Name Emperor Anko | |
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Reign 453 – 456 (traditional) Burial Sugawara no Fushimi no nishi misasagi (Nara) | ||
Emperor Ankō (安康天皇, Ankō-tennō) was the 20th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.
No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 453 to 456.
Legendary narrative
Ankō was a 5th-century monarch. The reign of Emperor Kinmei (c. 509 – 571 AD), the 29th emperor, is the first for which contemporary historiography is able to assign verifiable dates; however, the conventionally accepted names and dates of the early emperors were not to be confirmed as "traditional" until the reign of Emperor Kanmu (737–806), the 50th sovereign of the Yamato dynasty.
According to Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, Ankō was the second son of Emperor Ingyō. His elder brother Prince Kinashi no Karu was the crown prince, but due to an incestuous relationship with his sister, Karu no Ōiratsume, Kinashikaru lost favour with the court. After an aborted attempt to rally troops against Ankō, Kinashi no Karu (and his sister-lover) were exiled and committed suicide.
Ankō's contemporary title would not have been tennō, as most historians believe this title was not introduced until the reign of Emperor Tenmu. Rather, it was presumably Sumeramikoto or Amenoshita Shiroshimesu Ōkimi (治天下大王), meaning "the great king who rules all under heaven". Alternatively, Ankō might have been referred to as the "Great King of Yamato".
Ankō was assassinated in his third year of reign by Mayowa no Ōkimi (Prince Mayowa), in retaliation for the execution of Mayowa's father.
The actual site of Ankō's grave is not known. This emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine at Nara Prefecture.
The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Ankō's mausoleum. It is formally named Sugawara no Fushimi no nishi misasagi.