＜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１１)。武烈天皇はローマ皇帝ネロのような暴君だった！？
There was an ancient Roman emperor known as “Tyrant Nero,” but there was also a Japanese emperor who was a tyrant comparable to him.
1. Who was Emperor Buretsu, the “Tyrannical Great Emperor”?
Emperor Buretsu (489-507, reigned 499-507), who became the 25th emperor during the Kofun period (mid-3rd century to around the 7th century), was named Ohatsuse no Wakasagiki no Mikoto and is known as the “Tyrannical Great Emperor.”
His father was Emperor Ninken, and his mother was Princess Kasuga no Ōiratsume, daughter of Emperor Yūryaku. His empress was Kasuga no Iratsume, but they had no children, and the lineage of the 16th Emperor Nintoku ended here.
The Kojiki states, “There was no king who could continue the lineage,” and the Nihon Shoki also states, “With no male or female heir, the lineage would end.”
His full sisters included Princess Tashiraka (empress of Emperor Keitai and mother of Emperor Kinmei) and Princess Tachibana no Nakatsuhime (empress of Emperor Senka).
He became Crown Prince in 494, but when his father, Emperor Ninken, died in 498, Minister Heguri no Matori seized power and wielded considerable influence, much to the resentment of other powerful clan leaders such as Ōtomo no Kanamura.
Meanwhile, he wished to marry Kagehime, the daughter of Mononobe no Arakabi, but she was already having an affair with Shibi, the son of Heguri no Matori.
At a “utagaki” (a gathering of young men and women) in Tsubaichi (present-day Sakurai City), he lost a poetry contest to Shibi and, angered, ordered Otomo no Kanamura to kill Shibi. He then ordered Heguri no Matori to be defeated as well.
In 499, he ascended to the throne, established the capital at Hatsuse Castle, and appointed Otomo no Kanamura as Omuraji (chief minister).
2. The Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan) records the misdeeds of Emperor Buretsu.
The Nihon Shoki states that he “frequently committed evil deeds and did not perform a single good deed,” listing various heinous acts he committed during his eight-year reign. It resembles a series of bizarre murders committed by a mentally unstable individual. Notably, the Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters) contains no such descriptions.
Furthermore, it is said that in the pre-war Nihon Shoki under the Meiji Constitution, this section was deleted, perhaps because it was considered inappropriate for the “Emperor of an unbroken lineage,” the “Sacred and inviolable living god,” and the “Emperor who rules benevolently.”
– He cut open the pregnant woman’s belly and looked at the fetus.
– He pulled out people’s fingernails and made them dig up potatoes.
– He pulled out people’s hair and made them climb trees, then cut down the trees at the base, and took pleasure in the deaths of those who climbed up.
– He made people lie face down in a bucket in a pond, and when they spilled out, he used three blades. He took pleasure in stabbing people to death with a spear (he would have people placed in a bucket in a pond, and then stab them to death with a three-bladed spear as they floated out, rejoicing).
He would have people climb trees and laugh as they were shot down with a bow (he would have people climb trees and laugh as they were shot down with a bow).
Furthermore, it is said that he was lax about his attendance and departure times at court, indulging in luxury and debauchery, having lewd music played all day long, and neglecting the affairs of the people and politics.
This is reminiscent of the actions of kings at the time of the fall of ancient Chinese dynasties (such as King Jie of Xia and King Zhou of Yin, who favored Daji).
Emperor Buretsu can be traced back to Emperor Nintoku, the 16th emperor, but Emperor Nintoku is known as an emperor who “ruled benevolently,” as seen in the following poem. This poem, found in the Shin Kokin Wakashū (New Collection of Ancient and Modern Poems), is not a work by Emperor Nintoku himself, but rather appears to be a later composition commemorating him, a famous sage emperor of ancient times.
It is said that he exempted his people from heavy taxes for three years, causing severe leaks in the palace roof, and that the emperor slept in such conditions that he could see starlight through the cracks in the roof. This seems like quite an exaggeration, though…
Climbing to a high place, I looked out and saw smoke rising from the hearths of the people; they were bustling with activity.
高き屋に 登りて見れば 煙立つ 民のかまどは にぎはひにけり
However, it seems that his descendants were truly terrible emperors.
3. Relationship with Emperor Keitai
Since the “Nihon Shoki” is Japan’s official history book for overseas audiences, it’s somewhat puzzling that it would include an account of a tyrant who “breached the family’s shame.”
This is because Emperor Keitai, the 26th emperor, likely came from a completely different regional clan than Emperor Buretsu’s “Emperor Nintoku lineage.” Therefore, it’s possible that Emperor Buretsu’s misdeeds were recorded to emphasize Emperor Keitai’s legitimacy. After all, “history is written by the victors.”
While the emperors who followed Emperor Keitai are nominally from the “Emperor Ojin lineage,” they are quite “collateral lines.” Therefore, it’s also possible that the records of Emperor Buretsu’s misdeeds, belonging to the “Emperor Nintoku lineage” whose bloodline had died out, were simply preserved.
However, Emperor Keitai was not directly involved in the compilation of the “Nihon Shoki,” and it is unlikely that subsequent emperors altered or fabricated historical records concerning the emperors. Therefore, it seems certain that Emperor Buretsu was indeed a “tyrant.”
In ancient China, there are records of heinous acts of suppression of thought and speech, such as the “burning of books and burying of scholars” carried out by Qin Shi Huang (259 BC – 210 BC) in 213 BC. Therefore, in terms of historical accuracy, the Nihon Shoki can be considered legitimate.
Incidentally, Emperor Keitai (450? – 531 AD), the 26th emperor, is said to be a “collateral” descendant of Emperor Ojin, the 15th emperor. The Kojiki and Nihon Shoki also describe him as a “fifth-generation descendant of Emperor Ojin.”
Although he is considered a fifth-generation descendant of Emperor Ōjin, the lineage in between is unclear, leading to the prevailing view that he was a local powerful family member who usurped the throne during the turmoil in the Yamato court and became the founder of a new dynasty.
If Emperor Jimmu, as described in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, was a real person, the imperial family would have a history of over 2600 years. However, according to the “dynastic change theory,” Emperor Keitai, the 26th emperor, was a local powerful family member completely separate from the imperial lineage from the first Emperor Jimmu to the 25th Emperor Buretsu. Emperor Keitai is said to be “the first emperor whose existence and lineage are certain.”