, also known as was the 17th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Both the Kojiki, and the Nihon Shoki (collectively known as the Kiki) recorded events that took place during Richū's alleged lifetime. This emperor is best known for an assassination attempt on his life by his brother Suminoe after the death of their father Emperor Nintoku. Although no firm dates can be assigned to his life, Richū's brief reign is conventionally considered to have been from 400 to 405.
During his reign local recorders were allegedly appointed for the first time in various provinces, a royal treasury was established, and court waitresses (Uneme) first appeared. Richū had both a wife and a concubine during his lifetime which bore him 4 children (2 boys and 2 girls). None of his children would inherit the throne as Richū appointed the title of crown prince to his other brother Mizuhawake. Richū allegedly died sometime in 405 at the age of 70, and his brother Mizuhawake was crowned as Emperor Hanzei in the following year. While the location of Richū's grave is unknown, he is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto tomb. Modern historians have come to the conclusion that the title of "Emperor" and the name "Richū" were used by later generations to describe him. There is also a general consensus that Richū was not a legendary figure.
Protohistoric narrative
The Japanese have traditionally accepted this sovereign's historical existence, and a mausoleum (misasagi) for Richū is currently maintained. The following information available is taken from the pseudo-historical Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, which are collectively known as or Japanese chronicles. These chronicles include legends and myths, as well as potential historical facts that have since been exaggerated and/or distorted over time. These records state that Richū was born to sometime in 336 AD, and was given the name . When Nintoku died in 399 AD, a period of mourning was followed by a scandal that almost took the Crown Prince's life.
Assassination attempt
Sometime during the interval before Richū assumed the throne, he sent his younger brother, to make marriage arrangements for his consort . Kurohime was also officially appointed as a concubine later in that year. Although the two had two sons and a daughter, Richū appointed the title of "Crown Prince" to his brother Prince Mizuhawake (later Emperor Hanzei) in 401 AD. Orientalist scholar James Murdoch includes Emperor Richū in the "earliest non-legendary" sovereigns of Japan, while academic Richard Ponsonby-Fane stated that this "may be termed the semi-historical period". Scholar Francis Brinkley lists Emperor Richū under "Protohistoric sovereigns", and notes that rulers from this point forward no longer have reigns of "incredible length". Richū has also been possibly identified with King San in the Book of Song by Confucian scholars and Arai Hakuseki. According to Chinese records, King San sent messengers to the Liu Song dynasty at least twice in 421 and 425.
Scholars William George Aston and Brinkley disagree on the introduction of local recorders. Aston states in his reasoning that the arrival of the Korean scholar Wani did not take place until 405 AD, and "[historians] have not yet got down to time of accurate chronologically". His name might have been regularized centuries after the lifetime ascribed to Richū, possibly during the time in which legends about the origins of the imperial dynasty were compiled as the chronicles known today as the Kojiki.
While the actual site of Richū's grave is not known, this regent is traditionally venerated at a kofun-type Imperial tomb in Sakai, Osaka. The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Richū's mausoleum, and is formally named . It is also identified as the kofun. Outside of the Kiki, the reign of Emperor Kinmei ( – 571 AD) is the first for which contemporary historiography has been able to assign verifiable dates. The conventionally accepted names and dates of the early Emperors were not confirmed as "traditional" though, until the reign of Emperor Kanmu between 737 and 806 AD.
| Katsuragi no Ashita no Sukune<br>
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Issue
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!Status || Name || Mother || Comments
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| First Son (Prince)
| As the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki disagree on her relationship to Emperor Richū, she could have also been the daughter of Prince Ichinobe no Oshiwa. This is supported by her alleged lifespan of 440 to 485 AD which would have occurred after Richū's death in 405 AD.
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| Princess
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