was the 41st monarch of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.
Jitō's reign spanned the years from 686 through 697.
In the history of Japan, Jitō was the third of eight women to take on the role of empress regnant. The two female monarchs before Jitō were Suiko and Kōgyoku/Saimei. The five women sovereigns reigning after Jitō were Genmei, Genshō, Kōken/Shōtoku, Meishō, and Go-Sakuramachi.
Traditional narrative
thumb|Illustrated poem by Empress Jitō
Empress Jitō was the daughter of Emperor Tenji. Her mother was Ochi-no-Iratsume, the daughter of Minister Ō-omi Soga no Yamada-no Ishikawa Maro. She was the wife of Tenji's full brother Emperor Tenmu, whom she succeeded on the throne.
Empress Jitō's given name was , or alternatively Uno.
Events of Jitō's reign
Jitō took responsibility for court administration after the death of her husband, Emperor Tenmu, who was also her uncle. She acceded to the throne in 687 in order to ensure the eventual succession of her son, Kusakabe-shinnō. Throughout this period, Empress Jitō ruled from the Fujiwara Palace in Yamato. in 690 at enthronement she performed special ritual then gave pardon and in 692 she travelled to Ise against the counsel of minister Miwa-no-Asono-Takechimaro.
Prince Kusakabe was named as crown prince to succeed Jitō, but he died at a young age. Kusakabe's son, Karu-no-o, was then named as Jitō's successor. He eventually would become known as Emperor Monmu. Empress Genmei, who was followed on the throne by her daughter, Empress Genshō, remains the sole exception to this conventional argument.
In 697, Jitō abdicated in Monmu's favor; and as a retired sovereign, she took the post-reign title daijō-tennō. After this, her imperial successors who retired took the same title after abdication.
Kugyō
Kugyō (公卿) is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre-Meiji eras.
In general, this elite group included only three to four men at a time. These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background would have brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career. During Jitō's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:
- Daijō-daijin, Takechi-shinnō (the 3rd son of Emperor Tenmu)
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<poem style="margin-left: 2em;" lang="ja">
やすみしし 我が大君の
夕されば 見したまふらし
明け来れば 問ひたまふらし
神岳の 山の黄葉を
今日もかも 問ひたまはまし
明日もかも 見したまはまし
その山を 振り放け見つつ
夕されば あやに悲しみ
明け来れば
うらさび暮らし
荒栲の
衣の袖は
干る時もなし
</poem>
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<poem style="margin-left: 2em;">Yasumishishi waga ōkimi no
Yū sareba meshita furashi
Akekureba toita furashi
Kamuoka no yama no momichi to
Kyō mo ka mo toita mawamashi
Asu mo ka mo meshita mawamashi
Sono yama o furisakemitsutsu
Yū sareba aya ni kanashimi
Akekureba
Urasabikurashi
Aratae no
Koromo no sode wa
Furu toki mo nashi
</poem>
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<poem style="margin-left: 2em;">
Oh, the autumn foliage
Of the hill of Kamioka!
My good Lord and Sovereign
Would see it in the evening
And ask of it in the morning.
On that very hill from afar
I gaze, wondering
If he sees it to-day,
Or asks of it to-morrow.
Sadness I feel at eve,
And heart-rending grief at morn—
The sleeves of my coarse-cloth robe
Are never for a moment dry.
</poem>
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One of the poems attributed to Empress Jitō was selected by Fujiwara no Teika for inclusion in the very popular anthology Hyakunin Isshu:
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