Emperor Ōjin
Emperor of Japan
Emperor Ōjin (応神天皇, Ōjin Tennō; Japanese pronunciation: [oː.(d)ʑiɴ, -(d)ʑin ten.noꜜː]), also known as Hondawake no Mikoto (誉田別尊; alternatively written 譽田別命, 誉田別命, 品陀和気命, 譽田分命, 誉田別尊, 品陀別命) or Homuta no Sumeramikoto (譽田天皇), was the 15th (possibly legendary) Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Both the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki record events that took place during Ōjin's alleged lifetime. Ōjin is traditionally listed as the first emperor of the Kofun period, and is primarily known for being the controversial son of Empress Jingū. Historians have mixed views on his factual existence; if Ōjin was indeed a historical figure, then it is assumed he reigned much later than he is attested.
No firm dates can be assigned to Ōjin's life or reign, but he is traditionally considered to have reigned from 270 to 310. According to the Shinto religion and Buddhism in Japan, Emperor Ōjin is the divine spirit of the deity Hachiman (八幡神). While the location of Ōjin's grave (if any) 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 "Ōjin" was used by later generations to describe this possibly legendary Emperor.
Legendary narrative
The Japanese have traditionally accepted this sovereign's historical existence, and a mausoleum (misasagi) for Ōjin is currently maintained. The following information available is taken from the pseudo-historical Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, which are collectively known as Kiki (記紀) or Japanese chronicles.
“Emperor Ōjin” enters the record as emperor of Japan. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Emperor, Ōjin and Japan can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 28, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q317997. VIAF identifies the subject as 9695462. The Library of Congress control number is nr90018721. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Emperor Ōjin” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.