Empress Jingū

Empress of Japan

169

269 (aged 100) (Kojiki)

Posthumous nameJapanese style: Okinagatarashihime no Mikoto (気長足姫尊 or 息長帯姫大神 ) Chinese style: Empress Jingū (神功皇后 )

Empress of Japan Empress Jingū 神功皇后 Empress JingūEmpress of JapanReign201–269 (de facto)PredecessorChūai (traditional)SuccessorŌjin (traditional)Empress consort of JapanTenure192–200Born169Died269 (aged 100) (Kojiki)BurialGosashi tomb (五社神古墳 ) (location: Nara)SpouseEmperor ChūaiIssueEmperor Ōjin Empress Jingū (神功皇后 , Jingū-kōgō) was a legendary Japanese empress who ruled as a regent following her husband's death in 200 AD. Both the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki (collectively known as the Kiki) record events that took place during Jingū's alleged lifetime. Legends say that after seeking revenge on the people who murdered her husband, she then turned her attention to a "promised land". Jingū is thus considered to be a controversial monarch by historians in terms of her alleged invasion of the Korean Peninsula. This was in turn possibly used as justification for imperial expansion during the Meiji period. The records state that Jingū gave birth to a baby boy whom she named Homutawake three years after he was conceived by her late husband. Jingū's reign is conventionally considered to have been from 201 to 269 AD, and was considered to be the 15th Japanese imperial ruler until the Meiji period. Modern historians have come to the conclusion that the name "Jingū" was used by later generations to describe this legendary Empress. It has also been proposed that Jingū actually reigned later than she is attested. While the location of Jingū's grave (if any) is unknown, she is traditionally venerated at a kofun and at a shrine. It is accepted today that Empress Jingū reigned as a regent until her son became Emperor Ōjin upon her death. She was additionally the last de facto ruler of the Yayoi period.