Emperor Kanmu and the Move to Nagaoka
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Ross Bender
Mar 4, 2025, 12:21:27 PM3/4/25
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My latest translation from Shoku Nihongi is now available.
Emperor Kanmu and the Move to Nagaoka, 781-785: A Translation from Shoku Nihongi: Bender, Ross, Bender, Ross Lynn: 9798312902105: Amazon.com: Books
The Shoku Nihongi chronicle narrates all of these events but does not provide clear reasons or explanations for any of them. For generations historians have speculated and advanced theories to answer the major question: Why was the capital moved? While the early years of Kanmu’s reign have thus received an enormous amount of scholarly cogitation and provided not a little frustration for the student trying to understand events, these matters are still legitimately debated. But Shoku Nihongi does furnish a huge amount of information on this short period of time which affords a picture of Japanese governance in a critical and transitional period.
Emperor Kanmu’s first official act in 781 was to appoint his younger brother Prince Sawara the Crown Prince, although in November of 785 he deposed Sawara from that position. Shortly thereafter Kanmu named his own son, Prince Ate, as his successor. In 784 Kanmu transferred the capital from Nara to Nagaoka; Fujiwara no Tanetsugu, then Middle Counsellor and Head of the Ministry of Ceremonial, headed the construction project. At the end of 785 Tanetsugu was assassinated and a dozen conspirators were immediately arrested and punished.
The Shoku Nihongi chronicle narrates all of these events but does not provide clear reasons or explanations for any of them. For generations historians have speculated and advanced theories to answer the major question: Why was the capital moved? While the early years of Kanmu’s reign have thus received an enormous amount of scholarly cogitation and provided not a little frustration for the student trying to understand events, these matters are still legitimately debated. But Shoku Nihongi does furnish a huge amount of information on this short period of time which affords a picture of Japanese governance in a critical and transitional period.
Table of Contents
|
Preface |
1 |
|
Introduction |
3 |
|
Table 1: Edicts and Orders from Great Council of State |
7 |
|
Death of Retired Emperor Kōnin |
9 |
|
The Hikami no Kawatsugu Conspiracy |
13 |
|
The Continuing Emishi War |
16 |
|
The Transfer of the Capital to Nagaoka |
20 |
|
Why Leave Nara? |
27 |
|
A Flight from Buddhist Influence? |
30 |
|
A Renewed Emphasis on Shinto |
32 |
|
The Shift from the Tenmu to Tenji Line |
36 |
|
Auspicious Omens |
39 |
|
Claims of Divine and Foreign Ancestry |
43 |
|
Obituaries |
48 |
|
Text and Translation |
59 |
|
Appendix 1: Kanji Reference List and Glossary |
283 |
|
Appendix 2: Shoku Nihongi |
295 |
|
Selected Bibliography |
301 |
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Ross Bender
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