Prince Osakabe
刑部親王
Chancellor of the Realm
Tenure703 – 705
SuccessorPrince Hozumi
BornUnknown
Died2 June 706
SpousePrincess Asuka
Unknown concubine
Issue
  • Prince Yamasaki
  • Prince Ōnu
  • Prince Iwata
  • Prince Konagaya
FatherEmperor Tenmu
MotherShishihito no Kajihime-no-iratsume

Prince Osakabe (刑部(忍壁)親王, Osakabe Shinnō) (died June 2, 705) was a Japanese imperial prince who helped write the Taihō Code (681 A.D.),[1] alongside Fujiwara no Fuhito. The Code was essentially an administrative reorganization, which would serve as the basis for Japan's governmental structure for centuries afterwards.

Background

Prince Osakabe was born to Emperor Tenmu and Kajihime no Iratsume in approximately 663 A.D.[2]

According to the Nihon Shoki in the fifth month, on the fifth day of 679 A.D. Prince Osakabe, Prince Kusakabe, Prince Otsu, Prince Takechi, Prince Kawashima, and Prince Shiki, all swore to Emperor Tenmu that they wouldn't engage in future succession disputes. This occurred after Emperor Tenmu ascended the throne after the Jinshin War.[3] In the first months of 704 A.D. he, Prince Naga, Prince Toneri, and Prince Hozumi were collectively awarded two hundred households by Emperor Monmu and Empress Genmei.[4]

Along with Prince Kawashima, Osakabe was appointed to lead the emperor's 681 initiative, which was tasked with compiling the Imperial Chronicles and Fundamental Dicta.[5]

Works

The Nihon Shoki or The Chronicles of Japan, are a historiographical collection of writing composed into thirteen books covering the Japanese history from its beginning until Empress Jitō was forced to relinquish her throne in 697. Prince Osakabe was a contributor to the project since its inception in the 680's.[6] Osakabe, like many other courtiers of the time, was also a poet, and one of his poems is included in the Man'yōshū. The Volume III of this collection opens with a poem - written by Kakinomoto no Asomi Hitomaro - dedicated to Osakabe.[7]

Osakabe's contribution to the reforms undertaken by Emperor Monmu included the draft of several laws and decrees based on the Chinese model.[8] With small modifications, many of these are still valid today.[8]

Genealogy

Parents

Consort and issue(s):

References

  1. ^ Sakamoto, Taro (2011). The Six National Histories of Japan. UBC Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0774842969.
  2. ^ Singer, Kurt (2002). The Life of Ancient Japan : Selected Contemporary Texts Illustrating Social Life and Ideals before the Era of Seclusion. Taylor and Francis. p. 66. ISBN 9781903350010.
  3. ^ Torquil., Duthie (2014). Man'yo{u00AF}shu{u00AF} and the Imperial Imagination in Early Japan. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-9004264540. OCLC 872642540.
  4. ^ Sakamoto, TarÅ (1991). The Six National Histories of Japan. UBC Press. p. 35. ISBN 0774842962.
  5. ^ Sakamoto, Taro (1991). The Six National Histories of Japan. Vancouver: UBC Press. p. 35. ISBN 0774803797.
  6. ^ Brown, Delmer M (1993). Asuka and Nara Culture: Literacy, literature, and music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 468. ISBN 9780521223522.
  7. ^ Duthie, Torquil (2014). Man'yōshū and the Imperial Imagination in Early Japan. Leiden: BRILL. p. 281. ISBN 9789004251717.
  8. ^ a b Saito, Hisho (2010). A History of Japan. Oxon: Routledge. p. 25. ISBN 9781136924637.


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