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Posthumous name - Japanese emperors

Posthumous name - Japanese emperors: Encyclopedia II - Posthumous name - Japanese emperors

The posthumous names of Japanese emperors are called teigō (帝号, lit. emperor names). In addition to the appellation Tennō (天皇, lit. heavenly sovereign, usually translated as Emperor) that is a part of all Japanese emperors' posthumous name, most consist of two Kanji characters, although a few consist of three. Some names are given several generations later—this is the case for Emperor Jimmu and Emperor Antoku, for example. Others are given ...

Posthumous name: Encyclopedia II - Posthumous name - Japanese emperors

Posthumous name - Japanese emperors

The posthumous names of Japanese emperors are called teigō (帝号, lit. emperor names). In addition to the appellation Tennō (天皇, lit. heavenly sovereign, usually translated as Emperor) that is a part of all Japanese emperors' posthumous name, most consist of two Kanji characters, although a few consist of three. Some names are given several generations later—this is the case for Emperor Jimmu and Emperor Antoku, for example. Others are given immediately after death, like that of Emperor Mommu.

Many have Chinese-style names, for example:

Emperor Jimmu (神武天皇 Jinmu Tennō, lit. Divine Might)
Emperor Nintoku (仁徳天皇 Nintoku Tennō, lit. Humane Virtue)
Emperor Ōjin (応神天皇 Ōjin Tennō, lit. Answering the Gods)

Some have Japanese-style names. For example:

those who were named after the place where the emperor was born, lived or frequented:
- Emperor Saga (嵯峨天皇 Saga Tennō), named after a palace (院 in)
- Emperor Ichijō (一条天皇 Ichijō Tennō), named after an official residence (邸 tei)
- Emperor Kōmyō (光明天皇 Kōmyō Tennō), named after a temple
- Emperor Higashiyama (東山天皇 Higashiyama Tennō), named after a hill
those who were named after an emperor whose admirable characteristics resemble those of an earlier one by adding Go (後, lit. latter) as a prefix to the earlier emperor's name:
- Emperor Go-Ichijō (後一条天皇 Go-Ichijō Tennō)
- Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐天皇 Go-Daigo Tennō)
those who were named by combining the characters from two previous emperors' names:
- Empress Gemmei (元明天皇 Genmei Tennō) + Empress Genshō (元正天皇 Genshō Tennō) = Empress Meishō (明正天皇 Meishō Tennō)
- Empress Shōtoku (称徳天皇 Shōtoku Tennō) + Emperor Kōnin (光仁天皇 Kōnin Tennō) = Emperor Shōkō (称光天皇 Shōkō Tennō)