Ono no Imoko

Ono no Imoko

Ono no Imoko (小野 妹子?) was a Japanese politician and diplomat in the late 6th and early 7th century, during the Asuka period.[1]

Ono was appointed by Empress Suiko as an official envoy (Kenzuishi) to the Sui court in 607 (Imperial embassies to China), and he delivered the famous letter from Japan's Prince Shōtoku which began "The Son of Heaven where the sun rises (Japan), to the Son of Heaven where the sun sets (China), may good health be with you." Emperor Yang was angered at being addressed in this way, although it is not clear whether he was angered more by the insult of Sui being referred to as the land of the setting sun, or by the use of Son of Heaven to refer both to himself and to the emperor of what China considered to be nothing more than a relatively insignificant barbarian state to the northeast.

Nevertheless, Emperor Yang was probably more interested in obtaining Japan's support in his campaigns against Goguryeo than in matters of decorum, and despite the insult, he sent his own envoy, Pei Shiqing (裴世清), back to Japan with Ono.

Ono was then appointed envoy to Sui for a second time in the fall of 608 and accompanied Pei Shiqing on his return trip to China. Ono returned to Japan from his second mission in 609 and then largely disappeared from the historical record.

Ono no Imoko is often cited as an example of an official who achieved promotion under the new meritorious Twelve Level Cap and Rank System implemented by Prince Shōtoku in 603. When Ono first appeared in the historical record and was appointed envoy to Sui, his rank was listed as Greater Propriety (5th rank), but he was later promoted to the top rank of Greater Virtue, largely due to his successful missions to the Sui court.

Ono no Imoko's family was notable for linguistics and scholarship, and the descendants of the family include Ono no Komachi, beautiful female poet; Ono no Takamura, poet and scholar; and Ono no Michikaze, calligrapher.

Notes

  1. ^ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Ono no Imoko" in Japan encyclopedia, p. 755 at Google Books; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, see Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File.

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ono no Takamura — Ono no Takamura, in a book illustration by Kikuchi Yōsai. In this Japanese name, the family name is Ono . Ono no Takamura (小野 篁 …   Wikipedia

  • Ono no Takamura — Este artículo está titulado de acuerdo a la onomástica japonesa, en que el apellido precede al nombre. Ono no Takamura, por Kikuchi Yosai …   Wikipedia Español

  • Imperial Japanese embassies to China — Imperial embassies to China were Japanese diplomatic missions intermittently sent to China between the year of 600 and 894. The missionaries were chosen from low class aristocracies or Buddhist priests. As tributaries of Imperial China,… …   Wikipedia

  • Asuka period — The Nihongo|Asuka period|飛鳥時代|asuka jidai, was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 (or 592 645), although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato polity evolved much during the Asuka …   Wikipedia

  • Chinese garden — redirects here. For other uses, see Chinese Garden (disambiguation). Chinese garden Zhishan Garden in the the garden styles of the Song and Ming dynasties[1] …   Wikipedia

  • Ikenobō — ▪ Japanese floral art school       oldest school of floral art in Japan; the term Ikenobō later came to be used loosely to describe any classical Japanese flower arrangement. The Ikenobō (literally, “priest s residence by a pond”) school was… …   Universalium

  • Twelve Level Cap and Rank System — The primary distinction between this new system and the old kabane system by which a person s rank was determined based on heredity, was that the cap and rank system allowed for promotion based on merit and individual achievement. One of the more …   Wikipedia

  • Chanoyu und Ikebana: Wege der Selbstbildung —   Stetige Selbstbildung ist ein Ideal des Konfuzianismus in China, Korea und Japan. Der konfuzianische »Edle« ist nicht edel, weil er im Adelsstand geboren wurde, sondern weil er sich um die Formung zu einer ethischen Persönlichkeit auf… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • August 1 — Events*30 BC Octavian (later known as Augustus) enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Republic. *527 Justinian I becomes the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire. *607 Ono no Imoko is dispatched as envoy to the Sui… …   Wikipedia

  • 607 — yearbox in?= cp=6th century c=7th century cf=8th century yp1=604 yp2=605 yp3=606 year=607 ya1=608 ya2=609 ya3=610 dp3=570s dp2=580s dp1=590s d=600s dn1=610s dn2=620s dn3=630s NOTOC EventsBy PlaceEurope*Ceolwulf of Wessex fights the South… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”