Genmei
Genmei
661 — 722
Japon
Reigning empress of Japan from 707 to 715, Genmei is one of the few women to have held supreme power in Japan. She is notably responsible for commissioning the Kojiki, Japan's first historical chronicle.
Key Facts
- 707: ascended the throne as reigning empress following the death of Emperor Monmu
- 712: commissioned and oversaw the compilation of the Kojiki, Japan's first historical chronicle
- 715: abdicated in favor of her daughter, Empress Genshō
- Her reign was marked by the transfer of the capital to Nara (710)
Works & Achievements
On Genmei's orders, the scribe Ō no Yasumaro transcribed the oral recitations of Hieda no Are and produced the Kojiki, Japan's first historical and mythological work. This foundational text recounts the birth of the Japanese islands and the imperial genealogy tracing back to the gods.
Genmei ordered the construction and relocation of the capital to Heijō-kyō, designed after the model of Chang'an. This decision would inaugurate 84 years of occupation of the site and give rise to the Nara period, the classical age of Japanese civilization.
Following the discovery of copper in Musashi Province, Genmei had Japan's first official coins struck. This monetary reform aimed to unify economic exchange and strengthen the authority of the central state.
Genmei issued an edict ordering each province to compile geographical and ethnographic records. The surviving fragments — most notably the Izumo Fudoki — are a valuable source for the social and cultural history of early Japan.
The Taihō Code, promulgated under Emperor Monmu in 701, was put into practice and consolidated during Genmei's reign. This Tang-inspired penal and administrative code defined the structure of the Japanese state for centuries to come.
Anecdotes
In 712, Genmei ordered her scribe Ō no Yasumaro to transcribe in writing the ancient tales that Hieda no Are had memorized years earlier. The result was the Kojiki (古事記, 'Record of Ancient Matters'), the oldest surviving work written in Japanese, recounting the myths of Japan's origins and the genealogy of emperors from the founding deities.
In 708, following the discovery of a copper deposit in Musashi Province (present-day Tokyo region), Genmei decided to mint Japan's first official currency. The Wadō kaichin (和同開珎) — round copper coins with a square central hole, modeled on Chinese coinage — were circulated throughout the archipelago, marking a decisive turning point toward a centralized monetary economy.
In 710, Genmei moved the capital from Fujiwara-kyō to Heijō-kyō, on the site of present-day Nara. This new capital was built on the grid plan of Chang'an, the great metropolis of Tang China, with an imperial palace to the north and broad, structured avenues. This decision inaugurated the Nara period, an era of intense cultural and political flourishing for Japan.
In 713, Genmei issued an edict ordering each province to compile Fudoki (風土記), geographical records describing natural resources, local legends, and the etymologies of place names. These documents remain an invaluable source for understanding daily life and the traditions of the archipelago at the beginning of the 8th century.
Genmei is one of eight reigning empresses in Japanese history. After the premature death of her son Emperor Monmu in 707, she took the reins of power at the age of 46. When she abdicated in 715, she passed the throne to her own daughter, Empress Genshō — one of the rare examples in world history of two women succeeding each other directly at the head of state.
Primary Sources
Her Majesty the Empress commanded: "I have learned that the imperial chronicles transmitted among the various families have already departed from the truth. If these errors are not corrected now, their meaning will be lost before many years have passed." She therefore ordered that the stories memorized by Hieda no Are be written down and presented to the court.
In the first month of the third year of Wadō [710], the court was transferred to the palace of Nara. The city was built following the model of Tang China, and the empress took up residence in the new Heijō Palace to govern the empire.
In the fifth month of the sixth year of Wadō [713], an imperial edict was issued: each province was to compile a Fudoki recording its local products, the etymology of district and village names, the fertility of the land, and any notable traditions and legends handed down from ancient times.
In the first year of Wadō [708], copper was discovered in the province of Musashi. As a mark of good omen, the era was renamed "Wadō" (harmonious copper). Coins were minted and put into circulation throughout the country to facilitate trade and strengthen central authority.
In the beginning, when heaven and earth separated, the deities who came into being in the Plain of High Heaven were Ame-no-Minakanushi, then Takamimusubi, then Kamimusubi. These three deities were born alone and immediately hid themselves from sight.
Key Places
Capital founded in 710 by Genmei, built on a grid plan modeled after Chang'an, with the imperial palace to the north and wide boulevards. It remained Japan's capital for 84 years and lent its name to one of the most brilliant periods in Japanese civilization.
The residential and administrative palace complex in northern Nara, where Genmei lived and ruled from 710 to 715. Partially restored, the site is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Japan's previous capital, founded in 694 by Empress Jitō, which Genmei left in 710 in favor of Nara. Its ruins stand as evidence of Japan's first attempt at a planned metropolis modeled on Chinese urban principles.
The political cradle of imperial Japan, home to successive courts since the early 7th century. Genmei spent part of her youth here, and it was in Asuka that the tradition of centralized monarchy she carried forward was forged.
The burial site of Genmei, located north of Nara. This burial mound (kofun) holds the remains of the empress, who died in 721.