Emperor Sushun

was the 32nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō), 崇峻天皇 (32); retrieved 2011-10-19.  His reign started in 587 and ended in 592.Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon, pp. 38-39; Brown, Delmer et al. (1979). Gukanshō, p. 263; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, p. 126; Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric et al. (2002). "Traditional order of Tennō" in Japan encyclopedia, pp. 962-963.  Historians consider details about the life of Emperor Sushun to be possibly legendary, but probable.Kelly, Charles F.  "Kofun Culture,"  Japanese Archaeology. April 27, 2009; retrieved 2011-10-19.  The name Sushun-tennō was created for him posthumously by later generations.

The conventionally accepted names and sequence of the early emperors were not to be confirmed as "traditional" until the reign of Emperor Kammu, who was the 50th monarch of the Yamato dynasty.Aston, William George. (1896). Nihongi, pp. 109.

Traditional history
Before he became the monarch, this prince's personal name (imina) was Hatsusebe-shinnō, also known as Hatsusebe no Waka-sazaki.Aston, William. (2005). Nihongi, p. 112.  His name at birth was Hatsusebe no Miko (長谷部皇子).

Sushun was the twelfth son of Emperor Kimmei.  His mother was , a daughter of Soga no Iname,Varley,  p. 126. who was the chief of the Soga clan.

Sushun had one Empress and two Imperial children.Brown, p. 263.

Events of Sushun's life

 587:  In the 2nd year of Yōmei's reign, he died. The succession was received by a younger half-brother who would become known as Emperor Sushun. This was confirmed in ceremonies.Varley, p. 44; compare Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō),  Ceremony of Accession (Sokui-no-Rei); retrieved 2011-12-23.

 592: Sushun's reign lasted for five years before his death at the age of 72.

The emperor's first minister was his powerful uncle, Soga no Umako.  Sushun planned to remove the head of the Soga clan from his office.  When the plan was discovered, Umako ordered someone to murder Sushun.Martin, Peter. (1997).  The Chrysanthemum Throne: a history of the Emperors of Japan, p. 36.  In the early history of Japan, this is the second time that an emperor is murdered.Kamstra, Jacques H. (1967).   Encounter or Syncretism : the Initial Growth of Japanese Buddhism, pp. 367-370.

 After his death 
This emperor's official name after his death (his posthumous name) was regularized many centuries after the lifetime which was ascribed to Sushun.Aston (1998), pp. 146-147.

According to the Imperial Household Agency, the emperor's final resting place is in an earthen tumulus (kofun).  Sushun is venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) which is associated with the burial mound.

 Related pages 
 Emperor of Japan
 List of emperors of Japan
 Japanese imperial family tree

 References 

Category:520s births
Category:592 deaths
Category:Emperors of Japan