＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49) on X
(Reference) Original article in Japanese
・残念な天皇の話(その７)。元明天皇は夫と息子が早世し必死で孫を天皇にした！
Only true history buffs or those with a particular interest in successive emperors would immediately recognize who Empress Genmei was. Most people would probably say, “Oh, I see,” if you mentioned she was “Emperor Shomu’s grandmother.”
Therefore, this time, I would like to introduce Empress Genmei in an easy-to-understand way.
1. Who was Empress Genmei?
Empress Genmei (661-721, reigned 707-715), the 43rd emperor, was the fourth daughter of Emperor Tenji (626-672, reigned 668-672), the 38th emperor. Her mother was Meiiratsume, the daughter of Soga no Kurayamada Ishikawa Maro.
She became the consort of Prince Kusakabe (662-689), the crown prince of Emperor Tenmu (?-686, reigned 673-686), the 40th emperor, and gave birth to Princess Hidaka and Prince Karu.
2. She suffered the misfortune of her husband’s premature death.
After Emperor Tenmu’s death in 686, the Empress took over the government, and her husband, Prince Kusakabe, was expected to succeed to the throne. However, Prince Kusakabe died prematurely in 689 at the young age of 27 without ever ascending the throne.
Therefore, Emperor Tenmu’s Empress ascended to the throne at the age of 45 as the 41st Empress Jitō (645-702, reigned 690-697).
3. She also suffered the misfortune of her son’s premature death.
After Prince Kusakabe’s death, expectations were high for her son, Prince Karu, to succeed to the throne. Upon Empress Jitō’s abdication, he ascended to the throne at the young age of 14 as the 42nd Emperor Monmu (683-707, reigned 697-707). However, he died prematurely at the young age of 24.
4. She became a female emperor as an “interim” until her grandson grew up.
Her mind was apparently filled with the desire to have her beloved grandson succeed to the throne and “protect the imperial line of Emperor Tenmu.”
However, it was impossible to immediately have her grandson, Prince Obito (6 years old), the son of Emperor Monmu, ascend the throne. Therefore, as an “interim” until her grandson grew up, she herself ascended to the throne as Empress Genmei in 707.
5. Due to her advanced age, she abdicated in favor of her daughter, Princess Hidaka, as a “secondary” emperor.
At the age of 54, due to her advanced age, she abdicated in favor of her daughter, Princess Hidaka, who ascended to the throne at the age of 35 as the 44th Empress Gensho (680-748, reigned 715-724).
Empress Genshō was the fifth female emperor in Japan, but unlike previous female emperors who were empresses or crown princesses, she was the first female emperor to ascend the throne as a single woman with no prior marriage experience.
6. Her grandson, who had placed his hopes on succession to the throne, happily ascended to the throne as Emperor Shōmu.
Thanks to the desperate efforts of herself and her daughter to act as interim rulers, in 724, Prince Obito, at the age of 23, happily ascended to the throne as the 45th Emperor Shōmu (701-756, reigned 724-749).
He is a famous emperor known for the “construction of the Great Buddha” and the “Tenpyō culture,” and I’m sure you’re all familiar with him.