＜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１４)。 崇峻天皇は自分を擁立した蘇我馬子に暗殺された
The Japanese Imperial Family (Imperial Household) is said to be “the world’s longest-running royal family.” If Emperor Jimmu, as described in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, was a real person, then the Imperial Family, up to the current 126th Emperor, has a history of over 2,600 years.
Even if Emperor Keitai (450? – 531), the 26th Emperor and a descendant of Emperor Ojin, is definitively the first emperor, it remains true that the Imperial Family is “the world’s longest-running royal family.”
Throughout this long history of the Imperial Family, there have been tyrannical emperors, incompetent emperors, lecherous emperors, foolish emperors, and emperors who engaged in power struggles with powerful clans and nobles. Emperor Sushun, whom we will introduce here, is an emperor who attempted a power struggle with a powerful clan, failed, and was assassinated.
1. Who was Emperor Sushun?
Emperor Sushun, the 32nd emperor, was assassinated by Soga no Umako after only five years on the throne.
Among the emperors throughout history, Emperor Meiji and Emperor Komei are “emperors suspected of being assassinated,” while Emperor Anko and Emperor Sushun are “emperors whose assassination is clearly documented in history.”
Emperor Sushun (553? – 592, reigned 587–592) was the 12th son of Emperor Kinmei, the 29th emperor, and his mother was O-ne-kimi, daughter of Soga no Iname. He was the half-brother of Emperor Bidatsu (30th emperor), Emperor Yomei (31st emperor), and Empress Suiko (33rd emperor).
He married Kawakami no Iratsume, daughter of Soga no Umako; Koteko, daughter of Otomo no Muraji Nukate; and Futohime, daughter of Mononobe no Okoshi.
He ascended to the throne after being recommended by Soga no Umako (551? – 626), who held the title of “Ōomi” (Minister). Meanwhile, Mononobe no Moriya (? – 587), who held the title of “Ōmuraji” (Great Minister), attempted to have his older brother, Prince Anahobe (? – 587), ascend to the throne, but Prince Anahobe was murdered by Soga no Umako.
Afterward, Soga no Umako destroyed Mononobe no Moriya, and the Mononobe clan declined thereafter. He also participated as a member of the group that defeated Mononobe no Moriya.
With the downfall of the Mononobe clan (anti-Buddhist faction), the “pro-Buddhist debate” (*) that had been ongoing since Emperor Kinmei was settled, and the construction of Hokko-ji Temple (Asuka-dera Temple) was carried out.
(*) The “pro-Buddhist debate” refers to the religious dispute that arose between the Soga clan, who advocated for the acceptance of Buddhism, and the Mononobe and Nakatomi clans, who opposed it, following the introduction of Buddhism to Japan in 552 (or 538), a country that originally had an indigenous religious worldview.
Soga no Iname, who had connections with the immigrants who brought Buddhism, actively advocated for its acceptance, while Mononobe no Okoshi and Nakatomi no Kamako opposed it from the standpoint of Shinto, which worships Japan’s ancient gods.
The outbreak of disease was attributed to the wrath of the Japanese gods, and the pro-Buddhist faction was temporarily at a disadvantage. However, Soga no Umako suppressed Mononobe no Moriya by force, and his own supporter, Emperor Sushun, ascended to the throne, resulting in a victory for the pro-Buddhist Soga clan.
However, even after his enthronement, supported by Soga no Umako, political power remained in Umako’s hands, and Sushun gradually grew increasingly dissatisfied.
On October 4, 592, someone presented him with a wild boar. He drew his hairpin and stabbed the boar in the eye, muttering, “I wish I could one day cut off the person I hate, just as I cut off the head of this boar.” (Nihon Shoki)
According to the Nihon Shoki, Koteko, resentful that the emperor’s favor had waned, presented the boar to him. There are accounts that the assassination of Emperor Sushun was triggered when the Emperor, upon seeing something, made the above-mentioned remark to himself, which Soga no Umako then tipped off.
Upon hearing this, Soga no Umako became wary, believing the Emperor disliked him, and ordered his subordinates to carry out the assassination.
Soga no Umako then approached Yamato no Aya no Koma (?-592), a foreigner, offering him a high position in the Yamato court if he would obey him. He did so. In other words, he instigated the assassination of Emperor Sushun and ordered its death.
Then, in November 592, Soga no Umako falsely claimed to be presenting tribute from the eastern provinces to have the emperor attend a ceremony, where he had Higashi no Aya no Koma assassinate him.
Soga no Umako immediately captured Higashi no Aya no Koma, broke his promise, beheaded him, and killed his entire family. This is said to have been an attempt to silence those who had committed the assassination of Emperor Sushun. It’s quite similar to the case of the assassin of President Kennedy.
Furthermore, Emperor Sushun is unique among other emperors in that he was buried on the day of his death without the usual “mogari” (funeral ceremony) and lacked a mausoleum or tomb guardians.
Therefore, initially, there was no mausoleum (tomb) for Emperor Sushun. Later, Emperor Sushun’s mausoleum was located in Kurahashi, Sakurai City. It is designated as the Kurahashi-no-Oka Mausoleum.
In recent years, historian and Kokugakuin University Faculty of Letters Professor Nagato Sato has emphasized the fact that, despite the extraordinary circumstances of “regicide,” no significant unrest occurred domestically or internationally after the emperor’s assassination. He points out the possibility that it was not merely Soga no Umako’s personal scheme, but a “court coup” carried out with the consent of numerous members of the imperial family and courtiers.
Until the reign of Emperor Sushun, Soga no Umako had a ruthless side, readily conquering those who opposed him.
However, after that, Soga no Umako began to show a relatively milder side. Specifically, he supported Empress Suiko, Emperor Sushun’s half-sister, as the first female emperor, and appointed her nephew, Prince Shotoku (Umayado no Oji), as regent, and governed in cooperation with Shotoku. Shotoku no Oji was the daughter of Soga no Umako, Tojiko no Iratsume. He was married to her.
However, Soga no Emishi and Soga no Iruka, the son and grandson of Soga no Umako, acted in ways reminiscent of the ruthlessness of Soga no Umako in his youth.
For example, they confined Prince Shōtoku to the village of Ikaruga to prevent him from appearing at court, and after Prince Shōtoku’s death, in the succession struggle for Empress Suiko, they murdered Prince Yamashiro no Ōe, Prince Shōtoku’s son, at Hōryū-ji Temple.
Such actions… The Soga clan’s monopolization of power in the Yamato court, which began with Soga no Umako, ironically fostered a desire within the imperial family for a return to a political system centered on the emperor.
Emperor Sushun’s resentment, Prince Shotoku’s regret, and the tragic end of Prince Yamashiro no Ōe (Prince Shotoku’s son) ultimately led to the assassination of the Soga clan during the Taika Reforms by the next emperor, Prince Naka no Ōe (later Emperor Tenji).
2. Who was Soga no Umako?
Soga no Umako (c. 551–626) was the son of Soga no Iname and a powerful local lord during the Asuka period. He was also known as “Island Minister” because his residence had a pond with an island floating on it.
In 572, he became minister upon the accession of the 30th Emperor Bidatsu, and for the next 54 years, he served four emperors—the 31st Emperor Yōmei, the 32nd Emperor Sushun, and the 33rd Empress Suiko—wielding great power and establishing the golden age of the Soga clan.
Incidentally, he married the sister of Mononobe no Moriya (c. 587), who was involved in a power struggle.
In the “Buddhist Acceptance Issue” (the Pro-Buddhist Issue), he clashed with anti-Buddhist figures such as Mononobe no Moriya and Prince Anahobe (?-587), Emperor Yomei’s half-brother who aspired to the throne and sided with Moriya. He gained the support of various princes and officials, and in 587, he assassinated the anti-Buddhist faction, establishing his position in the imperial court.
Subsequently, he assassinated Emperor Sushun, whom he had supported, and installed Empress Suiko, governing the court together with Prince Shotoku.