Emperor Hanzei

was the 18th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō), 反正天皇 (18); retrieved 2011-10-16.  according to the traditional order of succession.Titsingh, Isaac. (1834).   Annales des empereurs du japon, p. 25; Varley, Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, p. 112; Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric et al. (2002). "Traditional order of Tennō" in Japan encyclopedia, pp. 962-963.  Historians consider details about the life of Emperor Hanzei to be possibly legendary, but probable.Kelly, Charles F.  "Kofun Culture,"  Japanese Archaeology. April 27, 2009; retrieved 2011-10-16.  The name Hanzei-tennō was created for him posthumously by later generations.

No certain dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, p. 30.  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 
According to Nihonshoki and Kojiki, he was a son of Emperor Nintoku.  The eldest son would become known as Emperor Richū.

Hanzei was the brother of Richū.  Hanzei's enthronement by-passed Richū's two sons.  Few other details have survived.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, p. 39.

 Events of Hanzei's life 
Very little is known about the events of Hanzei's life and reign.  Only limited information is available for study prior to the reign of the 29th monarch, Emperor Kimmei.Titsingh, pp. 34-36; Brown, pp. 261-262; Varley, pp. 123-124.

Hanzei's reign is described as a time of peace. He died quietly in his palace.Aston, William. (1998). Nihongi, Vol. 1, pp. 310-311.

 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 Hanzei.Aston, pp. 146-147.

According to the Imperial Household Agency, the emperor's final resting place is in an earthen tumulus (kofun) at Sakai.  Hanzei 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
 Kofun period

 References 

Other websites

Category:Emperors of Japan