Emperor Seinei


Emperor Seinei was the 22nd Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.
No firm dates can be assigned to this Emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 480 to 484.

Legendary narrative

Seinei was a 5th-century monarch. The reign of Emperor Kinmei, the 29th Emperor, is the first for which contemporary historiography is able to assign verifiable dates; however, the conventionally accepted names and dates of the early Emperors were not to be confirmed as "traditional" until the reign of Emperor Kanmu, the 50th sovereign of the Yamato dynasty.
According to Kojiki and Nihonshoki, he was a son of Emperor Yūryaku and his consort Katsuragi no Karahime. Seinei's full sister was Princess Takuhatahime. His name in birth was. It is said that the color of his hair was white since birth. After the death of his father, Seinei won the fight against Prince Hoshikawa, his brother, for the throne and so succeeded his father.
Seinei's contemporary title would not have been tennō, as most historians believe this title was not introduced until the reigns of Emperor Tenmu and Empress Jitō. Rather, it was presumably Sumeramikoto or Amenoshita Shiroshimesu Ōkimi, meaning "the great king who rules all under heaven". Alternatively, Seinei might have been referred to as or the "Great King of Yamato".
Seinei fathered no children; however, two grandsons of the 17th Emperor, Emperor Richū, were found—later to ascend as Prince Woke and Prince Oke. Seinei adopted them as his heirs.
The actual site of Seinei's grave is not known. The Emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine at Osaka.
The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Seinei's mausoleum. It is formally named Kawachi no Sakado no hara no misasagi.