Emperor Tenji

 ( Emperors Of Japan ) 

626 – January 7, 672, known first as Katsuragi no Ōji and later as Nakano Ōe no Ōji until his accession, was the 38th emperor of Japan who reigned from 668 to 671. He was the son of Emperor Jomei and Empress Kōgyoku (Empress Saimei), and his children included Empress Jitō, Empress Genmei, and Emperor Kōbun.

In 645, Tenji and Fujiwara no Kamatari defeated Soga no Emishi and Soga no Iruka. He established a new government and carried out political reforms. He then assumed real political power as the crown prince of both Emperor Kōtoku and Empress Saimei. Despite the death of Empress Saimei, he did not accede to the throne for seven years, and came to the throne only after the relocation of the capital to Ōmi in 668. He created Japan's first family register, the Kōgo Nenjaku, and the first code of law, the Ōmi Code.

Prior to his accession, he was known as Naka-no-Ōe no Ōji.

• 661: In the 斉明天皇三年, the empress designated her son as her heir; and modern scholars construe this as meaning that this son would have received the succession ( senso) after her death or abdication. Shortly after, she died, and Emperor Tenji could be said to have acceded to the throne ( sokui).Titsingh, p. 54; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, p. 44; a distinct act of senso is unrecognized prior to Emperor Tenji; and all sovereigns except Jitō, Yōzei, Emperor Go-Toba, and Emperor Fushimi have senso and sokui in the same year until the reign of Emperor Go-Murakami.
• 662: Tenji is said to have compiled the first Japanese legal code known to modern historians. The Ōmi Code, consisting of 22 volumes, was promulgated in the last year of Tenji's reign.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, p. 52. This legal codification is no longer extant, but it is said to have been refined in what is known as the Asuka Kiyomihara ritsu-ryō of 689; and these are understood to have been a forerunner of the Taihō ritsu-ryō of 701.Varley, p. 136 n. 43.
• 663: Tenji invaded Korea in an attempt to support a revival of Japan's ally Paekche, one of Korea's Three Kingdoms, which had been conquered by the Korean kingdom of Silla in 660. He was seriously defeated at the Battle of Baekgang by the combined forces of Silla and Tang dynasty China.
• 668: Tenji undergoes his ceremonial confirmation as emperor. He had postponed formalities during the period that the mausoleum of his mother was being constructed, and when the work was finished he could delay no longer. Up until this time, although he had been de facto monarch, he had retained the title of Crown Prince.Titsingh, Isaac. (1834).

Tenji was particularly active in improving the military institutions established during the .Asakawa, Kan'ichi. (1903). The Early Institutional Life of Japan, p. 313.

Post-Meiji chronology

* In the 10th year of Tenji, in the 11th month (671): Emperor Tenji, in the 天智天皇十年, designated his son as his heir; and modern scholars construe this as meaning that the son would have received the succession ( senso) after his father's death. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Kōbun is said to have acceded to the throne ( sokui).Brown, Delmer et al. (1979). Gukanshō, pp. 268–269. If this understanding were valid, then it would follow:

:* In the 1st year of Kōbun (672): Emperor Kōbun, in the 1st year of his reign (弘文天皇元年), died; and his uncle Ōaomi -shinnō received the succession ( senso) after the death of his nephew. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Tenmu could be said to have acceded to the throne ( sokui).Titsingh, pp. 55–58.

Pre-Meiji chronology

Prior to the 19th century, Ōtomo was understood to have been a mere interloper, a pretender, an anomaly; and therefore, if that commonly accepted understanding were to have been valid, then it would have followed:

* In the 10th year of Tenji, in the 11th month (671): Emperor Tenji, in the 天智天皇十年), died; and despite any military confrontations which ensued, the brother of the dead sovereign would have received the succession ( senso); and after a time, it would have been understood that Emperor Tenmu rightfully acceded to the throne ( sokui).

The actual site of Tenji's grave is known.Imperial Household Agency ( Kunaichō): 天智天皇 (38) This emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine ( misasagi) at Yamashina-ku, Kyoto.

The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Tenji's mausoleum. It is formally named Yamashina no misasagi.Ponsonby-Fane, p. 420.

One of his poems was chosen by Fujiwara no Teika as the first in the popular Hyakunin Isshu anthology:

After his death, his wife, Empress Yamato wrote a song of longing about her husband.Sato 2008, p. 21.

• Daijō-daijin: , 671–672.Brown, p. 268.
• Naishin (内臣): Fujiwara no Kamatari (藤原鎌足) (614–669), 645–669.

Prince Ōtomo (Ōtomo -shinnō) was the favorite son of Emperor Tenji; and he was also the first to be accorded the title of Daijō-daijin.Ponsonby-Fane, p. 53.

is a [[Kofun]] in that is the traditional burial site of Emperor Tenji. Specifically, it is an .