Emperor Buretsu

Buretsu is considered to have ruled the country during the late-fifth century and early-sixth century, but there is a paucity of information about him. There is insufficient material available for further verification and study.

Buretsu was a son of Emperor Ninken and his mother is Empress Kasuga no Ōiratsume (春日大娘皇女). His name was Ohatsuse no Wakasazaki (小泊瀬稚鷦鷯). He had no children.

Buretsu's contemporary title would not have been tennō, as most historians believe this title was not introduced until the reigns of Emperor Tenmu and Empress Jitō. Rather, it was presumably Sumeramikoto or Amenoshita Shiroshimesu Ōkimi (治天下大王), meaning "the great king who rules all under heaven". Alternatively, Buretsu might have been referred to as ヤマト大王/大君 or the "Great King of Yamato".

Buretsu is described as an essentially wicked historical figure. Nihonshoki likened him to Di Xin of the Shang dynasty, but the record in Kojiki has no such indication. There are several theories on this difference. Some believe that this was to justify and praise his successor Emperor Keitai, who took over under questionable circumstances. In history textbooks available before and during World War II, part of Buretsu's record was intentionally omitted.

If Emperor Keitai began a new dynasty as some historians believe, then Buretsu is the last Emperor of the first recorded dynasty of Japan.[4]

The actual site of Buretsu's grave is not known.[1] The Emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) at Nara.

The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Buretsu's mausoleum. It is formally named Kataoka no Iwatsuki no oka no kita no misasagi.[5]

• Empress: Kasuga no Iratsume (春日娘子)

• Emperor of Japan
• List of Emperors of Japan
• Imperial cult

• Aston, William George. (1896). Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner. OCLC 448337491
• Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). Gukanshō: The Future and the Past. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-03460-0; OCLC 251325323
• Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887
• Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Nihon Ōdai Ichiran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691
• Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-04940-5; OCLC 59145842