Empress Genmei

Empress Genmei ruled Japan from 707 to 715. She commissioned the Kojiki and moved the capital to Heijō-kyō, beginning the Nara period.

Kojiki: An early eighth-century Japanese chronicle combining myths, genealogies, and accounts of rulers through Empress Suiko. Genmei commissioned this chronicle, completed in 712.
Emperor Monmu: A Japanese emperor who ruled from 697 to 707 and was the son of Prince Kusakabe. Genmei succeeded her son after his death.
Emperor Tenmu: A Japanese emperor who ruled from 673 to 686 and strengthened the central court’s authority. His reign helped establish the court institutions Genmei inherited.
Kojiki-den: A late eighteenth-century commentary on the Kojiki by the Japanese scholar Motoori Norinaga. Its influential interpretation renewed attention to the chronicle Genmei commissioned.
Nara period: A period of Japanese history from 710 to 794, when the imperial court was based at Nara. Her reign and capital move ushered in this period.
Empress Genshō: A Japanese empress who ruled from 715 to 724 and was the daughter of Empress Genmei. Genmei abdicated in her daughter’s favor.
Empress Jitō: A Japanese empress who ruled from 690 to 697 and was the wife of Emperor Tenmu. She preceded Genmei in the line of female sovereigns.
Motoori Norinaga: An eighteenth-century Japanese scholar known for his studies of the Kojiki and classical Japanese literature. His work shaped later understandings of Genmei’s commissioned chronicle.
Heijō-kyō: The planned capital of Japan, established in 710 at the site of present-day Nara. Genmei moved the court here from Fujiwara-kyō.
Emperor Shōmu: A Japanese emperor who ruled from 724 to 749 and sponsored major Buddhist institutions. His reign followed Genmei’s and continued imperial rule at Nara.

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