was the 41st monarch of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō): 持統天皇 (41) according to the traditional order of succession.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, p. 54.
Jitō's reign spanned the years from 686 through 697.Titsingh, Isaac. (1834).
In the history of Japan, Jitō was the third of eight women to take on the role of empress regnant. The two female monarchs before Jitō were Suiko and Kōgyoku/Saimei. The five women sovereigns reigning after Jitō were Genmei, Genshō, Kōken/Shōtoku, Meishō, and Go-Sakuramachi.
Traditional narrative
Empress Jitō was the daughter of Emperor Tenji. Her mother was Ochi-no-Iratsume, the daughter of Minister Ō-omi Soga no Yamada-no Ishikawa Maro. She was the wife of Tenji's full brother Emperor Tenmu, whom she succeeded on the throne.Varley, H. Paul. Jinnō Shōtōki, p. 137.
Empress Jitō's given name was , or alternatively Uno.Brown, D. (1979). Gukanshō, p. 270.
Events of Jitō's reign Jitō took responsibility for court administration after the death of her husband, Emperor Tenmu, who was also her uncle. She acceded to the throne in 687 in order to ensure the eventual succession of her son, Kusakabe-shinnō. Throughout this period, Empress Jitō ruled from the Fujiwara Palace in Yamato. In 689, Jitō prohibited Sugoroku,Nihon Shoki, Volume 30 in 690 at enthronement she performed special ritual then gave pardon and in 692 she travelled to Ise against the counsel of minister Miwa-no-Asono-Takechimaro.Nihon Shoki, Volume, 30
Prince Kusakabe was named as crown prince to succeed Jitō, but he died at a young age. Kusakabe's son, Karu-no-o, was then named as Jitō's successor. He eventually would become known as Emperor Monmu.
Empress Jitō reigned for eleven years. Although there were seven other reigning empresses, their successors were most often selected from amongst the males of the paternal Imperial bloodline, which is why some conservative scholars argue that the women's reigns were temporary and that male-only succession tradition must be maintained in the 21st century."Life in the Cloudy Imperial Fishbowl", Japan Times. March 27, 2007. Empress Genmei, who was followed on the throne by her daughter, Empress Genshō, remains the sole exception to this conventional argument.
In 697, Jitō abdicated in Monmu's favor; and as a retired sovereign, she took the post-reign title daijō-tennō. After this, her imperial successors who retired took the same title after abdication.
Jitō continued to hold power as a cloistered ruler, which became a persistent trend in Japanese politics.
The actual site of Jitō's grave is known. This empress is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) at Nara.
The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Jitō's mausoleum. It is formally named .Ponsonby-Fane, p. 420.
Kugyō Kugyō () is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre-Meiji eras.
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 Jitō's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included: Daijō-daijin, Takechi-shinnō (the 3rd son of Emperor Tenmu) Sadaijin Udaijin Naidaijin
Non-nengō period Jitō's reign is not linked by scholars to any era or nengō. The Taika era innovation of naming time periods – nengō – languished until Mommu reasserted an imperial right by proclaiming the commencement of Taihō in 701. See Japanese era name – "Non-nengo periods" See Jitō period (687–697).
However, Brown and Ishida's translation of Gukanshō offers an explanation which muddies a sense of easy clarity: The eras that fell in this reign were: (1) the remaining seven years of Shuchō [(686+7=692?)]; and (2) Taika, which was four years long [695–698]. (The first year of this era was .) ... In the third year of the Taka era , Empress Jitō yielded the throne to the Crown Prince.
Family Empress Jitō, known as Princess Uno-no-sarara () in her early days, was born to Emperor Tenji and his concubine, who held of Beauty (Hin).She had two full siblings: Princess Ōta and Prince Takeru. Empress Jitō and her younger sister, Princess Ōta, shared the same husband, Emperor Tenmu, with whom both had children.
Husband: Emperor Tenmu (, Tenmu tennō, c. 631 – October 1, 686), son of Emperor Jomei and Empress Kōgyoku Son: Crown Prince Kusakabe (, 662 – May 10, 689)
Poetry The Man'yōshū includes poems said to have been composed by Jitō. This one was composed after the death of the Emperor Tenmu:Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkōkai, p.18. This waka is here numbered 42; in the Kokka Taikan (1901), Book II, numbered 159.
Japanese Rōmaji Englishやすみしし 我が大君の 夕されば 見したまふらし 明け来れば 問ひたまふらし 神岳の 山の黄葉を 今日もかも 問ひたまはまし 明日もかも 見したまはまし その山を 振り放け見つつ 夕されば あやに悲しみ 明け来れば うらさび暮らし 荒栲の 衣の袖は 干る時もなしYasumishishi waga ōkimi no Yū sareba meshita furashi Akekureba toita furashi Kamuoka no yama no momichi to Kyō mo ka mo toita mawamashi Asu mo ka mo meshita mawamashi Sono yama o furisakemitsutsu Yū sareba aya ni kanashimi Akekureba Urasabikurashi Aratae no Koromo no sode wa Furu toki mo nashiOh, the autumn foliage Of the hill of Kamioka!Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkōkai, p. 18 n1; n.b., This would be the so-called Thunder Hill in the village of Asuka near Nara. My good Lord and Sovereign Would see it in the evening And ask of it in the morning. On that very hill from afar I gaze, wondering If he sees it to-day, Or asks of it to-morrow. Sadness I feel at eve, And heart-rending grief at morn— The sleeves of my coarse-cloth robe Are never for a moment dry.
One of the poems attributed to Empress Jitō was selected by Fujiwara no Teika for inclusion in the very popular anthology Hyakunin Isshu:
Japanese Rōmaji English春過ぎて 夏来にけらし 白妙の 衣干すてふ 天の香具山Haru sugite Natsu kinikerashi Shirotae no Koromo hosu chō Ama no KaguyamaThe spring has passed And the summer come again For the silk-white robes So they say, are spread to dry On Mount Kaguyama
See also Empress of Japan Emperor of Japan List of emperors of Japan Imperial cult
Notes
References Aston, William George. (1896). Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner. Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). Gukanshō: The Future and the Past. Berkeley: University of California Press. ; MacCauley, Clay. (1900). "Hyakunin-Isshu: Single Songs of a Hundred Poets" in Transactions of the Asia Society of Japan. Tokyo: Asia Society of Japan. ...Click link for digitized, full-text copy (in English) __________. (1901). Kokka taikan. Tokyo: Teikoku Toshokan, Meiji 30–34 [1897–1901]. [reprinted Shinten kokka taikan (), 10 vols. + 10 index vols., Kadokawa Shoten, Tokyo, 1983–1992. Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkōkai. (1940). Man'yōshū. Tokyo: Iwanami shoten. [reprinted by Columbia University Press, New York, 1965. . Reprinted by Dover Publications, New York, 2005. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Nihon Ōdai Ichiran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns. New York: Columbia University Press. ;
External links Asuka Historical National Government Park: image of Mausoleum Emperor Tenmu and Empress Jitō , exterior view